I found it difficult to find any simple comprehension practice activities for my struggling readers, so I designed 5 very simple activities which involve children reading CVC words like pig, mop, bat and then colouring in the matching picture. The children then read a sentence, for example, The cat is in the red box. Finally, they answer 2 simple multiple choice questions, for example, What is in the box?

A 3 day unit with a follow up idea for a 4th day. Resources include 3 days of planning written for Year 1, but adaptable for EYFS and Year 2. Also included are 3 differentiated recipe resource sheets for children to sequence the Witches Brew made on day 1 (4 ingredient simple recipe included); a powerpoint of ideas to help children think of their own ingredient ideas - with a focus on adjectives; and cute differentiated mini cauldron pages for children to write their own recipes for Witches Brew and make into a book.

Detailed English planning for Year 1 based on the story of Stick Man by Julia Donaldson. Activities are differentiated as appropriate. There are plenty of opportunities for speaking and listening, along with peer work. Day 1 focuses on working together to make a list of different ways to use a stick. Day 2 encourages children to answer the question 'What is the most dangerous thing about being a stick man?' Children are invited to take on the point of view of Stick Man, arguing their view point and justifying their decision. Day 3 invites children to pretend they are Stick Man and recount the story to their family at dinner. Day 4 focuses on Stick Man's feelings and emotions throughout the story. Day 5 invites children to write postcards and letters from Stick Man’s point of view back to his family about one of his adventures.

Simple activity for introducing plurals. Cut out the 10 cards and laminate. Children spend time adding the correct ending to make the noun plural to match the pictures using e or es (5 of each). Children can then record the singular word and plural word on the recording sheet next to the corresponding picture.

Colourful, fun activities for children to apply their knowledge of digraphs wh and ph. Activities include search, read, write the classroom and roll the die games.

A 2 day English plan to start off a new year. Written for Year 1, the plan introduces the idea of lists and captions through getting to know the children and the children getting to know their new classroom. Includes a template for 'Where did my shoes take me this summer?'.

This planning is based on the story Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Claire Freedman. It includes a detailed weekly plan aimed at Year 1 children, but could easily be adapted for EYFS as it was written for children just moving into year 1. The main objectives of the plan focus on sentence work and adjectives, but also includes independent activities based on the story. Also included are resources to support the plan - underpants template, images from the story, dinosaur sentences with adjectives, writing frame, and colourful underpants with the letters of the alphabet.

I have struggled to find simple comprehension activities which allow children to read a sentence independently and respond by answering simple questions. I feel this is important as many Year 1 children are now required to complete comprehension tests, so it is important they have experience of this as early as possible. Here are 6 simple comprehension activities which are suitable for children who are working within phase 3 phonics. Each activity involves reading a sentence, drawing a picture, and answering 2 simple questions related to the question. An example of a sentence is 'It is fun to go to the zoo'. An example of a question is 'Where is it fun to go?'

3 days of planning and resources based on the beautiful, inspirational John Lewis' The Bear and the Hare Christmas advert. Activities include exploring why Christmas is special to us, writing a letter to Bear describing why he should wake up for Christmas, and adding speech bubbles to scenes from the animation. Written for Year 1, this planning could easily be adapted for older children.

This was written for a Year 1 class, but could easily be adapted for Year 2. It is 3 days worth of English planning and resources. Children write facts about the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood and then compare it to the Chinese story of Lon Po Po (stories from different cultures) written by Ed Young. Resources include 3 days of differentiated planning; differentiated fairy tale facts sheets for Little Red Riding Hood and Lon Po Po (pictures are also included for BA group); and a Venn Diagram collaborative activity which should ideally be enlarged to A3, along with statements to sort. Children could go on to write their own version of Little Red Riding Hood by changing the character, setting and so on.

These lessons were planned for a series of 4 EYFS English lessons, but could easily be adapted for Year 1 children. The first lesson focuses on introducing the story and the children talking and writing about their own bedtime routines. The second lesson encourages children to retell the story using words and actions before sequencing the story using pictures and sentences. The third lesson takes the children outdoors as they change the setting of the story to Mr Bear trying to get to sleep in his tent in the woods. Children go on a sound walk to identify sounds which might keep Mr Bear awake. The final lesson encourages children to write their own simple story of Peace at Last with the new setting of the 'the woods'. If you do not have access to woodland, other outdoor areas could be used. All activities are differentiated and engaging. Hope your children enjoy them as much as mine. The sequencing pictures have been taken from the story Peace at Last by Jill Murphy.

Creative English Plan aimed at Year 1. It uses the story of It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G Shaw to encourage children to explore pictures in clouds. A favourite childhood pastime of my own! Can be used without the story. Encourages speaking, listening, sentence writing and the use of conjunctions.

This lesson was written for a creative writing day, but could be used over 2-3 days instead. You need to start by creating a magic door in your classroom. I decorated my stock room door with paper, made a letter box, key hole, window, hinges, had a vine running up it, and flowers. The idea is that it looks like a door from a traditional tale home. The children will firstly spend time thinking of questions about who/what is behind the magic door. Suddenly, a letter magically appears in the letter box. It asks the children to look for clues to help them imagine who/what is behind the magic door. The children find the clues and then use their senses to imagine they are entering the magic door - what do they smell, hear, feel, touch, taste? Who do they see? Is it a giant? a fairy? a witch? Written for Year 1, but easily adapted for other age groups.

This is an ideal activity for the first week back to school after the Christmas holidays. It includes a detailed lesson plan and resources. The lesson starts with that all important time for children to talk about their favourite Christmas presents. This is followed up by differentiated writing activities using templates. The activities include drawing favourite Christmas presents and labelling; drawing favourite Christmas presents and writing simple sentences to go with the pictures; and 3 differentiated thank you letter templates so children can send a special thank you for their special gift. This gives children a real purpose for writing and letters can be posted/given to friends, relatives or Santa himself!

This resource includes a detailed weekly plan focused on teaching the vowel digraph 'ow' through fun multisensory clown themed activities. Friday looks at teaching the alphabet. Each day has 4 clearly differentiated activities to support children working within phase 2 and 3 phonics. Some resources are included although most can be found in the classroom or online. Have fun!

Full week's English planning for Grade 1. Children start the week by describing their favourite superhero and then go on to discuss whether Emmet from The Lego Movie is a superhero. The children describe Emmet and then go on to create Bricksburg or Cloud Cuckoo Land out of lego/collage materials. They finish the week by describing one of these settings using their senses. AWESOME week of activites which particularly inspired the boys in my class. Please note - this was written based on English National Curriculum

My children loved these activities. Ideally, you will need access to a woodland area. We began by visiting the 'Wise Tree' in the wood. The children sat around the tree and waited for it to whisper their names. They approached the tree and chose a name from each bag. This became their woodland name, for example Creeping Blackberry or Misty Willow. The children loved these names and we ended up using them in our daily register! The children then used their senses to describe the woods. On Day 2, the children wrote a description of the woods using their senses and exciting adjectives. On Day 3 we began to question whether or not the wood is enchanted! The children looked for clues in the woods before making their decision. For example, is it just a flower or is it a fairy's umbrella? On Day 4 the children wrote a description of what they found. For example, Walking in the enchanted wood I see an icy, frozen troll's tear. This can then be made into a shape poem on Day 5. This was a wonderful week of activities, loved by boys and girls alike. Enjoy!! Please note this was written using the English National Curriculum objectives

Multi-sensory Differentiated Weekly planning for Phase 2 Phonics New Teaching - ck, e, u, r, and tricky word the Based on Letters and Sounds, with Jolly Phonic resources to support (action, song, stories)

Multi-sensory Differentiated Weekly planning for Phase 2 Phonics New Teaching - g o c k and tricky word I Based on Letters and Sounds, with Jolly Phonic resources to support (action, song, stories)