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?

I created this plan for FS2, but it could easily be adapted for other ages. Children explore a range of instruments before coming together to form their own minibeast band. The children loved it!

This is a set of 2 Art plans based around the famous painting ‘Starry Night’. The first plan focuses on the beautiful night sky in the painting, whilst the second looks at the buildings in the painting. Each plan has 3-4 creative activities which the children can rotate around. This could be done over 2 full days or a few weeks/half term. The art work the children create can be used to create a beautiful display. A simple powerpoint accompanies the planning to introduce the children to the painting and artist.

6 activity cards to encourage children to count on and find missing numbers in addition number sentences, using number bonds to 5. Each card has an addition number sentence and a ladybird to use to solve the problem. You could laminate the cards and use them with whiteboard pens, unifix cubes, counters or Play Dough. Children add additional dots using a pen, unifix cubes, counters or roll Play Dough balls and then count on to help them find the missing number. Butterfly and Caterpillar activity cards are available in my shop. These encourage counting on using number bonds to 10 and 20.

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.

Multi-sensory Weekly planning for Phase 2 Phonics New Teaching - s a t p Based on Letters and Sounds, with Jolly Phonic resources to support (action, song, stories)

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.

An ideal activity for the first week back at school. Designed for Year 1 children, but could be edited for older children. 3 sheets to introduce children to the idea that Maths is all around us, and encourages them to think about their age, the number of letters in their name, how tall they are and so on.

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?'.

Written for FS2, a carousel of Maths activities for children to rotate through over 4 sessions.

Random Name Generator to help you choose children for questions, monitor jobs and so on. Simply change the names - add or delete slides as necessary. One slide per child in your class. Each slide has a girl or boy riding on a dragon, stars and rainbow clipart to make the presentation colourful and engaging. To start the generator, put the presentation into slide show mode and press 's', randomly select a child's name by pressing 's' again, restart by pressing 's' again, and so on. Children love it!

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.

This is an extremely detailed lesson plan used for a Maths observation. Our topic was The Enchanted Wood, and I like to try and link my lessons to the topic. Most resources are included or should be available in most classrooms. However, I did make the large 100 square for the floor with the children earlier in the week. They each decorated some number squares with woodland creatures, trees, flowers etc for our 'Out of the Woods' game, and then we 'tacky backed' it together. Good for number recognition/ordering. The frog game is available on Twinkl, or you could easily make some frog counters and lily pads. Resources included are the learning objectives, success criteria and plenary reflection questions. Also, word problems for the whole class and guided activity, along with true/false cards. The lesson is clearly differentiated for children still working on one more/one less to 20, one more/one less to 100, ten more/ten less, and application of this knowledge to solving word problems. Extension ideas are also included. This lesson was planned for a Year 1 class and enjoyed by all.

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.