Thanks to the wonderful teachers from around the world who have chosen my resources. I care passionately about quality and value and want you to fill your teaching ‘shelf’ with confidence, saving precious time. Hopefully they won’t be staying on the shelf for long as you’ll use them again and again! I’m a Primary Teacher and published writer with an English degree and French A-level. My resources are mostly Primary but some suit Secondary classes too. I hope your students enjoy using them.
Thanks to the wonderful teachers from around the world who have chosen my resources. I care passionately about quality and value and want you to fill your teaching ‘shelf’ with confidence, saving precious time. Hopefully they won’t be staying on the shelf for long as you’ll use them again and again! I’m a Primary Teacher and published writer with an English degree and French A-level. My resources are mostly Primary but some suit Secondary classes too. I hope your students enjoy using them.
KS2 (Key Stage 2) or early KS3 imaginative / descriptive writing story starters cards, featuring high quality photo prompts, vocabulary banks, prompt questions and more. These 20 full-page story generators can be used across a range of abilities and ages, especially in Year 4, 5, 6 and 7 (Y4 / Y5 / Y6 / Y7), to spark ideas for stories. Great for reluctant writers and they have a dyslexia friendly format too. PDF format. In Scotland use for Primary 4, 5, and 6 and S1.
You can purchase this as part of this Creative Writing Story Prompts BIG BUNDLE 100 Prompts!
Use as warm ups, early finishers activities and as a framework for free writing sessions
Each of the 20 A4 cards features a visual element (photo / picture stimulus), a starter sentence or part-sentence to help launch children into their fiction / narrative writing
Prompt questions to get ideas going
A word bank and suggested openers to add variety to their writing
A box at the bottom reminds students to read their work aloud, check for full stops and capital letters and common spellings
Range of subjects and genres including sport, mystery, humour, fantasy and historical. Plenty of variety so children can choose ones that appeal to them.
UK and US English versions included, with spellings and references to ‘full stops’ and ‘periods’ etc amended as appropriate
Designed to offer maximum support for dyslexic learners and those with similar barriers to learning. Verdana font and spacing used are both dyslexia-friendly and the background colours are designed to reduce glare. Both the UK and US cards are also included with the background colours removed and could be used if printing on dyslexia friendly paper or card.
Could be used to support the writing of a full story
Could also work well as a regular tool to support struggling writers in one-to-one or small group sessions, where students write a few sentences inspired by the prompts, without worrying about completing a story.
SAVE AS PART OF OTHER BUNDLES, SUCH AS…
Creative Writing Story Prompts
KS2 Writing
See below for more options.
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Complex Sentences Cards
Full Stops and Capital Letters Cards
Improving Sentences Worksheets
For New Year 2024 and back to school after the Christmas holidays, here is a differentiated January nonfiction passage / informational text reading comprehension, cloze procedure task, and fun puzzles, designed for upper Primary (Upper KS2 - Years 5 and 6 and equivalents) or early Secondary (KS3 - Year 7 and equivalents). These New Years themed close reading tasks and fun activities are in a printable non-editable PDF file with 20 pages. An additional US spelling / grammar version is included in the Zip file with a small number of amendments to the UK version. Also available in this money-saving**January Reading Comprehensions BUNDLE**.
Most activities are provided at two levels of challenge, therefore they will suit a range of year groups and provide appropriate levels of challenge for different abilities within many classes.
I am designing these non-fiction comprehension and activities packets to provide a variety of interesting and relevant texts and related activities, a time-saving bank of flexible themed tasks linked to dates throughout the year. They feature specially written very short texts (about 250 - 300 words). Each pack is linked to a particular month but of course you can use them whenever you want! Each provides comprehension questions, a cloze procedure task and other linked tasks. The other tasks are on aspects of spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, writing or reading (this varies across the different packs). Build all activities into your Literacy or English programme, or use for cover lessons, homework, early finisher tasks or for those times when everything goes crazy and you just need something low-prep, meaningful, relevant and engaging at the last minute! I hope you enjoy using them.
CONTENTS:
Reading passage (2 levels of difficulty)
Cloze procedure task (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage
Comprehension questions (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage
Vocabulary grid puzzle (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage
Proofreading puzzle
Full answer keys
Teacher notes
YOU MIGHT LIKE…
Complex Sentences Activity Cards
Editing SPaG Puzzles Worksheets
Full Stops and Capital Letters Cards
Improving Sentences Writing Worksheets
Winter Stories Creative Writing Story Prompts
Creative Writing Story Prompts
Upper Key Stage 2 (KS2) creative writing resource to improve your students’ sentence structure. Whether used as a regular SPaG warm up or VCOP starter for writing, early finisher task, or main lesson task, these creative writing worksheets will get your students uplevelling their writing and extending sentences. There are 40 A4 dyslexia-friendly complex sentence construction trails, which includes differentiation and worked examples, to help add detail and interest to descriptive / creative writing. While stretching sentences, students will uplevel their vocabulary and use a variety of ambitious sentence structures. They’ll try more powerful verbs, interesting nouns, similes, start with adverbs or -ing and -ed words, add adjectives, drop further information into sentences using subclauses, use connectives to add information etc.
Ideal for KS2, especially Year 5 and Year 6 (Y5 / Y6), or KS3. In Scotland, ideal for Primary 6 and 7.
All files in PDF within Zip file
Scaffolds the imaginative writing of reluctant or struggling writers, while also challenging more able writers
Each page starts with a simple, boring sentence and, step-by-step, learners extend and improve it, adding elements of VCOP and other sentence improvement techniques to construct a fuller description
The worked examples provided could be shared on the board and perhaps printed and laminated to support less confident creative writers
Works well as a regular SPaG warm up / starter for writing, an early finisher task, homework or main lesson task
All resources included with and without cream background
Printing with this background could support dyslexic learners and those with other barriers to learning or print no background versions on pastel paper to reduce glare
Fonts used are dyslexia-friendly
Use as worksheets or laminate for regular use (using dry-wipe pens)
Enlarge to A3 for paired or group use
INCLUDES:
30 sheets for middle and higher ability / older students
10 worked examples for these
10 sheets for lower ability / younger students, featuring built in examples and fewer instructions
SAVE AS PART OF…
Improving Sentences BUNDLE
Literacy Activities KS2 BUNDLE
Writing and Sentences Activities BUNDLE
Literacy Activities Year 5 / 6 BUNDLE
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Complex Sentences Activity Cards
Creative Writing Prompt Cards
Christmas Literacy fun! These 6 December no prep KS2 Editing / Proofreading Literacy puzzles worksheets (and full solutions) are ideal for the busy end of term. Use for starters, main lesson tasks or early finisher activities to practise a range of spelling, punctuation and grammar during December. 3 puzzles were originally designed for Year 6 and 5 (P7 and P6) and 3 simpler ones for Year 3 and 4 (P4 and P5). Both sets could be used in the same class for differentiation if required. They could also be used for revision in early KS3. Versions are included with and without a festive background picture. All sentences are Christmas-themed.
Now available in a good value Christmas Puzzle BUNDLE with this festive mental maths puzzle pack: Christmas Mental Maths Puzzles
An engaging alternative to worksheets, these festive puzzles make ideal starter, early finisher, revision or filler tasks for this special time of year. Similar to codebreaker puzzles, a Christmas-related word is revealed after completing the editing work. Each puzzle contains 20 lines of text (or 15 in the simpler ones). Pupils circle any mistakes they spot. If there are 3 or more mistakes in a single line, they highlight the corresponding letter in the grid at the bottom of the page. At the end they rearrange the highlighted letters to reveal the Christmas word. Puzzles can be completed individually or in pairs / groups, with pupils supporting each other and pooling their editing / proofreading skills.
Pupils often forget or avoid re-reading their own work to check for errors so it is great to get them carefully checking in these puzzles. Spotting common spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors may help them remember to check their own work and help them avoid errors themselves.
Some of the aspects of SPaG included: common spelling errors, full stops, capital letters, question marks, commas, colons, speech marks, proper nouns, missing words, repeated words, tenses, subordinate clauses and embedded clauses. (Not all concepts feature in the 3 simpler puzzles (Puzzles 4-6).
You might also be interested in this popular pack, which is great for any time of year: Editing / Proofreading Puzzles Year 5 / 6
For engaging, time-saving resources to plan Primary Literacy / English, Maths / Numeracy and French lessons, visit FullShelf Resources
This is a popular hands-on Year 1 (Y1) making sentences or jumbled sentences word ordering resource. It’s a full class set of 30 different reusable simple sentence building activity boards, which now also comes with an additional worksheet version of all boards. Originally designed for Year 1 (or Primary 2 in Scotland), these sentence construction SPaG / Grammar activities could be used elsewhere in EYFS / Reception (Primary 1 in Scotland) and Key Stage 1, depending on ability. Emergent writers love lifting the words off the boards to sort and unscramble them to find the hidden sentence. With an engaging picture clue and title on each board, this word sequencing Literacy Basic Skills resource suits a range of learning styles. After carefully reading the jumbled words, your early writers correctly rearrange them on the board before writing the sentence out on the lines provided, using a dry-wipe pen. Regular practice with scrambled sentences should help children begin to form sentences independently.
This is a 65 page PDF document in a Zip file, together with an additional editable Word document of the word cards only.
Each mixed-up sentence contains a word beginning with a capital letter to help identify the first word and to reinforce this important punctuation rule, and a full stop to pick up and place at the end. While constructing these sentences, children also learn about word order, parts of speech and that a sentence must make sense on its own.
These contain 4-5 words. A more challenging set featuring 6-8 word sentences is available, as is a muddled up questions version. SAVE by buying all 3 Sentence Ordering packs in a bundle.
Jumbled Sentences (6-8 words)
Jumbled Sentences (Questions)
Jumbled Sentences BUNDLE
Colour print on quality card to make it sturdy and laminate for repeated use. It’s ideal for using as a regular activity, with children working on a different one each time. Or choose the ones you make up if working with a small group. It could be used with SEN / ASN groups or others requiring writing support.
Words are printed in faint grey in a random order. Once laminated, cut the word strips and stick each word on top of this faint type, using Blu Tack, Blu Tack ‘Glu Dots’ or equivalent. Each strip is in a different colour to help identify the board it is from. Train the children to replace the words to these starting positions and to wipe boards before putting them back. Good quality laminating pouches and easy-wipe pens will help with this!
Please visit: FullShelf Resources
3 four in-a-row games and 3 puzzles worksheets for fun revision of the KS2 Y5 / Y6 statutory word list of 100 words. They work well for Year 6 SATs tests preparation, or use as starter tasks, early finisher activities or as stations in spelling / SPaG lessons. Ideal as fun, meaningful fillers activities too. These use UK spelling, punctuation and grammar rules.
SAVE as part of a SPaG Revision Activities BUNDLE, which also contains SPaG Editing / Proofreading Puzzles.
3 HIDDEN WORD / SPOT THE MISTAKES PUZZLES:
Puzzles feature sentences containing multiple words from the Year 5 and Year 6 spelling list, most spelled correctly
Students check carefully to spot errors and highlight corresponding letters in the grid at the bottom
Rearrange highlighted letters to form another word from the spelling list
To save printing, print puzzles on card and laminate. Students use whiteboard pens, allowing repeated use
Puzzles are included with a pastel background, to reduce glare for dyslexic learners and others for whom this is helpful. If not colour printing, it becomes a greyscale background, which you might like, though there are also versions without a background
Spotting errors may help students remember to check their own work and help them avoid errors themselves
Individual, pairs or small group use
For differentiation put lower ability children into pairs, perhaps with a higher ability student. You could allow a word list or dictionary for support
3 FOUR IN A ROW GAMES:
Each board contains 36 sentences featuring a misspelled word from the Year 5 and Year 6 word list
These words are printed in bold and underlined
Pairs or individuals can play against each other, aiming to correct 4 adjacent spellings in a line - horizontally, vertically or diagonally
Students roll dice to determine from which column they must pick a sentence
Print and laminate for regular use
Originally designed for A3 printing, and I recommend this, with students writing directly on the board with a thin whiteboard pen. However, it works fine in A4 (you may need to adjust printer settings). If A4, students could write their spelling on a mini whiteboard or paper and put their initials in the space if correct
Thank you for supporting my store.
YOU MIGHT LIKE…
Creative Writing Prompt Cards
Improving Sentences Activities BUNDLE
20 more Key Stage 2 (KS2) or early KS3 imaginative / creative writing story starters cards, featuring high quality photo prompts, vocabulary banks, prompt questions and more. These full-page story generators can be used across a range of abilities and ages, especially in Year 4, 5, 6 and 7, to spark ideas for fiction. They’re great for reluctant writers and they have a dyslexia friendly format too. PDF format (not editable for licensing reasons).
You can purchase this as part of this Creative Writing Story Prompts BIG BUNDLE 100 Prompts!https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/creative-writing-story-prompts-photo-starters-bundle-12530022.
Use as warm ups, early finishers activities and as a framework for free writing sessions
Each of the 20 A4 cards features a visual element (photo / picture stimulus), a starter sentence or part-sentence to help launch children into their fiction / narrative writing
Prompt questions to get ideas going
A word bank and suggested openers to add variety to their writing
A box at the bottom reminds students to read their work aloud, check for full stops and capital letters and common spellings
Range of subjects and genres including sport, mystery, humour and fantasy. Plenty of variety so children can choose ones that appeal to them.
UK and US English versions included, with spellings and references to ‘full stops’ and ‘periods’ etc amended as appropriate
Designed to offer maximum support for dyslexic learners and those with similar barriers to learning. Verdana font and spacing used are both dyslexia-friendly and the background colours are designed to reduce glare. Both the UK and US cards are also included with the background colours removed and could be used if printing on dyslexia friendly paper or card.
Could be used to support the writing of a full story
Could also work well as a regular tool to support struggling writers in one-to-one or small group sessions, where students write a few sentences inspired by the prompts, without worrying about completing a story.
MORE LITERACY RESOURCES…
KS2 Writing
Writing and Grammar Activities
Complex Sentences Cards
Editing SPaG Puzzles Worksheets
Full Stops and Capital Letters Cards
Improving Sentences Worksheets
Fun Literacy and English revision activities! Proofreading or editing practice is made enjoyable with these 6 Upper Key Stage 2 or Early KS3 (KS2 / KS3) SPaG revision puzzles worksheets - spelling, punctuation and grammar activities designed for Year 5, 6 and 7 Literacy or English lessons. PDF format.
Only suitable for countries that follow UK spelling, punctuation and grammar rules
Use for main lesson activities, starters, early finishers challenges, homework tasks, SATs test preparation or for those days when you just need a quick, no prep but meaningful activity for students to practise key skills
Spot the Mistakes / Find the Errors proof-reading puzzles are fun alternatives to standard worksheets
Concepts included are: homophones and other common spelling errors, full stops, capital letters, question marks, commas, colons, speech marks, proper nouns, missing words, repeated words, tenses, subordinate clauses and embedded clauses
Use for independent learning, paired work or groups
For differentiation put lower ability children into pairs, perhaps with a higher ability student
Full answer keys provided
Pages 1-12 contain versions with a pastel background, which can be printed in colour or in greyscale and could support some learners to view the sentences more clearly. Versions without this background can be found on pages 13-24.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Students circle or highlight errors in each line of text. If they find lines with 3 or more errors, they take the corresponding letter from the grid at the bottom of the page and - when finished - rearrange these letters to find a hidden grammar or punctuation word.
SAVE WITH THESE BUNDLE OPTIONS…
Starters and Finishers Activities BUNDLE (Maths and Literacy)
Literacy Activities Year 5 / 6 BUNDLE
SPaG Revision Activities BUNDLE
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Complex Sentences Activity Cards
Creative Writing Prompt Cards
First and Third Person Lesson
Full Stops and Capital Letters Cards
Improving Sentences Writing Trails Worksheets
Spelling Word List Year 5/6 Games and Puzzles
For Year 4, 5, 6 and 7,(Y4 / Y5 / Y6 / Y7) this is an Upper Key Stage 2 / Early KS3 BUNDLE of flexible creative writing and grammar / SPaG resources in dyslexia friendly format, to extend and improve sentences, spark imaginative writing ideas and to support students working out where sentences should begin and end. In Scotland, use for Primary 5, 6, 7 and S1.
INCLUDES:
20 Imaginative Writing Story Starters Prompt Cards
40 Improving and Extending Sentences Worksheets (differentiated)
40 Full Stops and Capital Letters Self-Check Punctuation Cards (differentiated)
Ideal literacy warm ups, early finishers, extension tasks, whole class activities etc throughout the year
Also great for back to school or end of term: during busy times, keep these on hand for useful learning and consolidation opportunities with little-to-no planning required
Target particular children, perhaps SEN / ASN, who require extra support but useful for middle and higher ability too
MORE INFO:
Creative Writing Story Prompts: 20 A4 cards with a a picture / photo, word bank, starter sentence and questions to stimulate a story. Students could choose one to spark a full piece of imaginative writing, just a paragraph or two or perhaps a description.
Improving Sentences Worksheets: 40 sentence uplevelling trails at 2 levels to support students in writing more ambitious, complex sentences. Print as worksheets or laminate for regular use (with dry-wipe pens). Worked examples of extended sentences included.
Full Stops and Capital Letters Cards: 40 differentiated cards with an unpunctuated paragraph on one side and corrections on the other. They support students working out where sentences begin and end, to avoid fragments and run on sentences - a skill that often needs regular practice, even in Upper KS2. They are a great stepping stone to students more independently checking and editing their own writing. Instead of printing, display a card on screen for whole class completion. Answer versions can be shown on screen too for self- or peer-marking.
For more detailed information and previews of these popular Literacy and English resources, please click on the individual packs.
I hope this bundle provides engaging, time-saving activities that you’ll come to time and again throughout the year and that you can use with class after class. Thank you so much for supporting my store.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE…
Super Sentences Activity Cards
Editing / Proofreading Puzzles Worksheets
Spelling Word List Year 5/6 Games and Puzzles
Roald Dahl Giant Crossword
Giant Books Quiz Crossword
First and Third Person Lesson
OTHER LITERACY BUNDLE OPTIONS…
Writing and Grammar Starters / Early Finishers Activities BUNDLE
Writing and Sentences Activities BUNDLE
Literacy and Maths Meaningful Fillers BUNDLE
Literacy Activities KS2 BUNDLE
Improving Sentences BUNDLE
Literacy Activities Year 5 / 6 BUNDLE
Complex Sentences Activities Cards BUNDLE
SPaG Revision Activities BUNDLE
Explore more at FullShelf Resources
First and Third Person grammar lesson PowerPoint presentation and activities (48 slides) - and now in PDF format too - to teach narrative writing point of view. Many students often switch accidentally between first and third person narration when writing texts of their own and this presentation really highlights this, to help them spot when they have made this mistake.
No preparation required
Originally designed for Key Stage 2 (KS2) Year 4, 5 and 6 (Y4 / Y5 / Y6) but could suit some older students. In Scotland, use for Second Level Literacy, Primary 5, 6 and 7).
Teaching points and activities for a SPaG lesson or to build into a writing lesson
Includes mention of Second Person
Examples of each viewpoint / narrators are given (singular and plural) along with explanations of when and why they are used, mostly within fiction writing
Strong reference to pronoun use
Tasks of varying challenge, including whiteboard work and slides that could be printed or displayed on a whiteboard for completion in exercise books / jotters
‘Spot the Mistake’ plenary activity
Engaging texts written especially for this presentation
If you do not have PowerPoint where you work, use PDF instead
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Complex Sentences Activity Cards
Creative Writing Prompt Cards
Editing SPaG Puzzles Worksheets
Full Stops and Capital Letters Cards
Improving Sentences Writing Trails Worksheets
Spelling Activities Year 5 / 6
BIG VALUE LITERACY BUNDLES…
KS2 Writing BUNDLE
Improving Sentences Activities BUNDLE
Writing and Grammar Starters / Early Finishers Activities BUNDLE
Writing and Sentences Activities BUNDLE
Complex Sentences Activities Cards BUNDLE
SPaG Revision Activities BUNDLE
For engaging, time-saving printables and presentations to help plan Primary Literacy, Maths and French lessons, visit FullShelf Resources
Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s important contributions to civil rights during Black History Month or on Martin Luther King Day (MLK Day) in January with these DIFFERENTIATED non-fiction reading passages / informational texts with comprehension questions, cloze procedure tasks, vocabulary grid puzzle and homophones worksheet (there, their, they’re). These resources are designed for upper Primary (Upper KS2 - Years 5 and 6 and equivalents) or early Secondary (KS3 - Year 7 and equivalents). These Martin Luther King themed close reading tasks and other ELA activities are in a printable non-editable PDF file with over 20 pages. Both UK and US spelling / grammar versions of all resources are included within the Zip file. Also available in this money-saving January Reading Comprehensions BUNDLE.
All activities are provided at 2 levels of challenge, so will suit a range of year groups and provide appropriate levels of challenge for different abilities within many classes.
I am designing these non-fiction comprehension and activities packets to provide a variety of interesting and relevant texts and related activities, a time-saving bank of flexible themed tasks linked to dates throughout the year. They feature specially written very short texts (about 250 - 300 words). Each pack is linked to a particular month but of course you can use them whenever you want! Each provides comprehension questions, a cloze procedure task and other linked tasks. The other tasks are on aspects of spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, writing or reading (this varies across the different packs). Build all activities into your Literacy or English programme, or use for cover lessons, homework, early finisher tasks or for those busy times when you just need something low-prep, meaningful, relevant and engaging at the last minute!
CONTENTS:
Reading passage (2 levels of difficulty)
Cloze procedure task (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage
Comprehension questions (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage
Vocabulary grid puzzle (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage, student will work on extending vocabulary, while practicing spelling and working on parts of speech knowledge.
Homophones worksheet – there, their, they’re (2 levels of difficulty) – practice these commonly confused words, while also learning important things about
MLK and the obstacles he faced.
Full answer keys
Teacher notes
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Winter Creative Writing Story Prompts
Creative Writing Story Prompts
This is a popular hands-on Year 1 making sentences word ordering resource. It’s a full class set of 30 different reusable simple sentence building activity boards and now also comes with an additional worksheet version of all boards. Originally designed for Year 1 (Y1) (or Primary 2 in Scotland), these sentence construction SPaG / Grammar activities could be used elsewhere in EYFS / Reception (Primary 1) and Key Stage 1, depending on ability. Emergent writers love lifting the words off the boards to sort and unscramble them to find the hidden sentence. With an engaging picture clue and title on each board, this word sequencing Literacy Basic Skills resource suits a range of learning styles. After carefully reading the jumbled words, your early writers correctly rearrange them on the board before writing the sentence out on the lines provided, using a dry-wipe pen. Regular practice with scrambled sentences should help children begin to form sentences independently.
This is a 66 page PDF document in a Zip file, together with an additional editable Word document of the word cards only.
Each mixed-up sentence contains a word beginning with a capital letter to help identify the first word and to reinforce this important punctuation rule, and a full stop to pick up and place at the end. While constructing these sentences, children also learn about word order, parts of speech and that a sentence must make sense on its own.
These sentences contain 6-8 words. A simpler set featuring scrambled 4-5 word sentences is available, as is a muddled up questions version. SAVE by purchasing all 3 Sentence Ordering sets in a bundle.
Jumbled Sentences (4-5 words)
Jumbled Questions
Jumbled Sentences BUNDLE
Print in colour on quality card to make it sturdy and laminate for repeated use. It’s ideal for using as a regular activity, with children working on a different one each session. Or choose the ones you make up if working with a smaller group. It could be used with SEN / ASN groups or others requiring support with writing.
Words are printed in faint grey on each sheet in a random order. Once laminated, cut the word strips and stick each word on top of this faint type, using Blu Tack, Blu Tack ‘Glu Dots’ or equivalent. Each strip is in a different colour to help identify the board it is from. Train the children to replace the words to these starting positions and to wipe boards before putting them back. Good quality laminating pouches and easy-wipe pens will help with this!
Pleae visit FullShelf Resources
25th January is Burns Night when people all over the world with Scottish connections attend a Burns Supper. Celebrate the life and poems of Scotland’s national Bard this January - or at any other time of the year - with these differentiated non-fiction / informational text reading passages with comprehension questions, a cloze procedure task, discussion writing prompt card and a crossword puzzle. They were designed for upper Primary (Upper KS2 - Years 5 and 6 and equivalents) or early Secondary (KS3 - Year 7). These close reading tasks and other activities are in an 18-page PDF. A US version with minor spelling changes is also included in the Zip file.
Also available in this January Reading Comprehensions BUNDLE.
Please check the preview to assess suitability. The non fiction comprehension and cloze task are provided at two levels of challenge, therefore they will suit a range of year groups and provide appropriate levels of challenge for different abilities within many classes.
Famous Scottish poet Robert Burns (often known as Rabbie Burns) was born on January 25 1759 and became one of the world’s best known writers. On Burns Night, his life and achievements are celebrated in Scotland and all over the world, especially in countries where many Scots have emigrated, such as Canada.
I am designing these non-fiction comprehension and activities packs to provide a time-saving bank of flexible themed tasks linked to dates throughout the year, though of course you can use them whenever you want. They feature very short texts (about 250 - 300 words). Each provides comprehension questions, a cloze procedure task and other linked tasks. The other tasks are on aspects of spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, writing or reading (this varies across the different packs). Build all activities into your Literacy / English programme, or use for cover lessons, homework, early finisher tasks or for those busy times when you need something low-prep, meaningful, relevant and engaging at the last minute!
CONTENTS:
Reading passage (2 levels of difficulty)
Cloze procedure task (2 levels) – using same passage
Comprehension questions (2 levels) – using same passage
Discussion writing prompt card (with and without background color) - this will help students to write a balanced argument about whether Burns is the greatest Scot ever. Students could carry out research to expand on the arguments and explore further points, if you want them to write a more detailed piece.
Burns Supper crossword puzzle (research task) - the text provides some answers but this will require internet access to search for most answers (unless they have done a Burns study)
Full answer keys
Teacher notes
YOU MIGHT LIKE: Scotland Crossword
Super Sentences is a fun creative writing VCOP activity or SPaG game (spelling, punctuation and grammar), ideal for Key Stage 2 (KS2) and early KS3, Year 5, 6 and 7 (Y5, Y6 and Y7) which promotes ambitious vocabulary and variety in sentence structures. Improve sentences by using it again and again! PDF format.
40 printable sentence-formation cards
Colour and black and white versions
Great as a regular morning starter, early finisher task or warm up for writing.
An introductory card models ways to add interest and variety to sentences.
Encourages building complex and compound sentences, using subordinate clauses etc.
Let students write as silly a sentence as they want and relish playing with words to banish boring sentences!
Also available is Sensational Sentences, featuring even more ambitious vocabulary for older or more able students.
SAVE BY GETTING BOTH PACKS IN:
Complex Sentences Cards BUNDLE
MORE BUNDLE OPTIONS FOR THIS RESOURCE:
Improving Sentences BUNDLE
Literacy and Maths Time Fillers Year 5 / 6
MORE INFO:
Designed as a dice game, it can be used in other ways. As individuals, in pairs or in groups, students roll to find out which 3 words they must incorporate into a sentence (Instructions are on the cards). There are 6 groups of words on each card – openers/connectives, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and two groups of nouns. Students place the selected words anywhere in their sentence, as long as it makes sense, recording the sentence on paper or a mini whiteboard. You may wish to allow flexibility (changing verb tense, using the verb as an adjective etc.)
To cater for different situations and abilities, change the number of words they roll for, have students team up with a partner or select any words they want from the card. I encourage dictionary use for unfamiliar words and urge students to keep sentences they are especially proud of for use in longer pieces of writing. The activity might spark a whole story!
Print on card or paper and laminate for repeated use. With a smaller group, choose the ones you print and/or laminate cards back to back. Alternatively, display cards on the screen for whole class use.
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Editing SPaG Puzzles Worksheets
Creative Writing Prompt Cards
First and Third Person Lesson
20 winter themed Key Stage 2 (KS2) or early KS3 imaginative / creative writing story starters cards, featuring high quality photo prompts, vocabulary banks with descriptive words, prompt questions and more. Ideal for the winter months, with ideas for cold and snowy day stories, winter holidays and wintry setting descriptions. There is no reference to Christmas so you can use them with students who don’t celebrate Christmas and use in January and February as well as in November and December. These full-page story generators can be used across a range of abilities and ages, especially in Year 4, 5, 6 and 7 (Y4 / Y5 /Y6/ Y7), to spark ideas for stories. They’re great for reluctant writers and they have a dyslexia friendly format. PDF format (not editable for licensing reasons).
You can purchase this as part of this Creative Writing Story Prompts BIG BUNDLE 100 Prompts!
Use as warm ups, early finishers activities and as a framework for free writing sessions
Each of the 20 A4 cards features a visual element (photo / picture stimulus), a starter sentence or part-sentence to help launch children into their fiction / narrative writing
Prompt questions to get ideas going
A word bank and suggested openers to add variety to their writing
A box at the bottom reminds students to read their work aloud, check for full stops and capital letters and common spellings
UK and US English versions included, with spellings and references to ‘full stops’ and ‘periods’ etc amended as appropriate
Designed to offer maximum support for dyslexic learners and those with similar barriers to learning. Verdana font and spacing used are both dyslexia-friendly and the background colours are designed to reduce glare. Both the UK and US cards are also included with the background colours removed and could be used if printing on dyslexia friendly paper or card.
Could be used to support the writing of a full story
Could also work well as a regular tool to support struggling writers in one-to-one or small group sessions, where students write a few sentences inspired by the prompts, without worrying about completing a story
MORE LITERACY RESOURCES…
KS2 Writing
Writing and Grammar Activities
Complex Sentences Cards
Full Stops and Capital Letters Cards
Improving Sentences Worksheets
Key Stage 2 (KS2) Literacy / SPaG revision activities to use when recapping the basics of what makes a sentence to help students work out where to put full stops and capital letters. This grammar and punctuation (SPaG) activity provides revision of punctuating sentences with full stops and capital letters for Year 4, 5 and 6 (Y4, Y5 and Y6). There are 40 differentiated full stops and capital letters self-check sentences cards for independent or paired work. PDF format in a Zip file.
Regular use helps students avoid fragments and run on sentences in their own writing and recognise where sentences begin and end
Encourages students to use editing and proofreading skills
Use as a regular starter or early finisher activity or main task in a grammar lesson
30 middle / higher ability cards and a separate set of 10 for lower ability
MA and HA cards are the same, only the MA version gives a hint about the number of sentences to find
LA version has more basic sentences and shorter texts
Designed to be printed back to back with answer side (changes printed in red) so students can self-check
Answer sides could be printed separately instead
Best printed in colour but answers are in bold so okay in black and white too
NO PRINT OPTION: Why not display cards on the board as a regular whole class activity? Students could write the first word of each identified sentence on a whiteboard.
Front sides have a short, engaging paragraph with no full stops and capital letters. If cards are laminated, students could mark them on. They could also write text out if you wish, before self-marking.
Students must start proper nouns with capitals, though as the focus is sentence demarcation, I have kept these to a minimum.
Small number of commas also missing. These have been added to answer sides but not in red as they are not the focus.
Dyslexia-friendly font and spacing used, together with pastel background
All files also included without background
Non-pastel background versions could be printed on pastel paper
SAVE BY BUYING AS PART OF A BUNDLE…
Writing and Sentences Activities KS2 BUNDLE
Literacy Activities KS2 BUNDLE
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Complex Sentences Activity Cards
Creative Writing Prompt Cards
Editing SPaG Puzzles Worksheets
Improving Sentences
Spelling Games and Puzzles Year 5 / 6
This New Year, your students can learn about the Christian Feast of the Epiphany (January 6) or Three Kings Day (El Dia de Los Reyes) with these differentiated January nonfiction reading passages with comprehension questions, cloze procedure task, compare and contrast activity, and fun crossword puzzle were designed for upper Primary (Upper KS2 - Years 5 and 6 and equivalents) or early Secondary (KS3 - Year 7). While using and developing their literacy skills, students will learn about Three Wise Men and their role within the Christmas Story as well as finding out about the significance of Epiphany to Christians and some of the various traditions associated with this religious celebration in different countries. These Epiphany themed close reading tasks and fun puzzle are in a printable non-editable PDF file with 20 pages. An additional US spelling / grammar version is included in the Zip file with a small number of amendments to the UK version.
Also available in this money-saving January Reading Comprehensions BUNDLE.
Most activities are provided at 2 levels of challenge, so will suit a range of year groups and provide appropriate levels of challenge for different abilities within many classes.
I am designing these non-fiction comprehension and activities packs to provide a time-saving bank of flexible themed tasks linked to dates throughout the year. They feature very short texts (about 250 - 300 words). Each pack is linked to a particular month but of course you can use them whenever you want! Each provides comprehension questions, a cloze procedure task and other linked tasks. The other tasks are on aspects of spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, writing or reading (this varies across the different packs). Build all activities into your Literacy or English programme, or use for cover lessons, homework, early finisher tasks or for those busy times when you just need something low-prep, meaningful, relevant and engaging at the last minute!
CONTENTS:
Reading passage (2 levels of difficulty)
Cloze procedure task (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage
Comprehension questions (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage
Compare and contrast task – using additional text, where 2 students from different cultures outline their experiences of Christmas and Epiphany / Three Kings Day. A Venn Diagram is then to be filled in with key details to show similarities and differences.
Crossword puzzle - students will be able to answer many clues from having read the texts in this pack but could have internet access to search for the remaining clues.
Full answer keys
Teacher notes
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Winter Creative Writing Story Prompts
20 spooky Key Stage 2 (KS2) or early KS3 imaginative / creative writing story starters cards, featuring high quality photo prompts, vocabulary banks with descriptive words, prompt questions and more. Ideal to inspire horror or mystery stories with spooky setting descriptions for Halloween in October or use them throughout the year (as there is no direct mention of Halloween). These full-page story generators can be used across a range of abilities and ages, especially in Year 4, 5, 6 and 7 (Y4 / Y5 / Y6 / Y7), to spark ideas for stories. They’re great for reluctant writers and they have a dyslexia friendly format. PDF format (not editable for licensing reasons).
You can purchase this as part of this Creative Writing Story Prompts BIG BUNDLE 100 Prompts!.
Use as warm ups, early finishers activities and as a framework for free writing sessions
Each of the 20 A4 cards features a visual element (photo / picture stimulus), a starter sentence or part-sentence to help launch children into their fiction / narrative writing
Prompt questions to get ideas going
A word bank and suggested openers to add variety to their writing
A box at the bottom reminds students to read their work aloud, check for full stops and capital letters and common spellings
Range of scariness levels - Students who get more easily spooked can find prompts to suit them too.
UK and US English versions included, with spellings and references to ‘full stops’ and ‘periods’ etc amended as appropriate
Designed to offer maximum support for dyslexic learners and those with similar barriers to learning. Verdana font and spacing used are both dyslexia-friendly and the background colours are designed to reduce glare. Both the UK and US cards are also included with the background colours removed and could be used if printing on dyslexia friendly paper or card.
Could be used to support the writing of a full story
Could also work well as a regular tool to support struggling writers in one-to-one or small group sessions, where students write a few sentences inspired by the prompts, without worrying about completing a story
MORE LITERACY RESOURCES…
KS2 Writing
Complex Sentences Cards
Editing SPaG Puzzles Worksheets
Full Stops and Capital Letters Cards
Improving Sentences Worksheets
Chinese New Year 2024 is celebrated on February 10 (Year of the Dragon) but the earliest the festival, also known as Spring Festival, can fall is January 21. Here are differentiated nonfiction informational text reading passages with comprehension questions, cloze procedure tasks, vocabulary grid puzzles, and direct speech worksheets, designed for upper Primary (Upper KS2 - Years 5 and 6 and equivalents) or early Secondary (KS3 - Year 7 and equivalents). Also available in this money-saving January Reading Comprehensions BUNDLE.
These Chinese New Year themed close reading tasks, puzzles and grammar worksheets are in a printable non-editable PDF file with over 20 pages. UK and US spelling versions are included in separate files within the Zip file to cater for both. All activities are provided at 2 levels of challenge, so will suit a range of year groups and provide appropriate levels of challenge for different abilities within many classes.
I am designing these non-fiction comprehension and activities packets to provide a variety of interesting and relevant texts and related activities, a time-saving bank of flexible themed tasks linked to dates throughout the year. They feature specially written very short texts (about 250 - 300 words). Each pack is linked to a particular month but of course you can use them whenever you want! Each provides comprehension questions, a cloze procedure task and other linked tasks. The other tasks are on aspects of spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, writing or reading (this varies across the different packs). Build all activities into your Literacy or English programme, or use for cover lessons, homework, early finisher tasks or for those busy times when you just need something low-prep, meaningful, relevant and engaging at the last minute!
CONTENTS:
Reading passage (2 levels of difficulty)
Cloze procedure task (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage
Comprehension questions (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage
Vocabulary grid puzzle (2 levels of difficulty) – using same passage, student will work on extending vocabulary, while practicing spelling and working on parts of speech knowledge.
Direct speech / punctuating dialogue with speech marks worksheet (2 levels of difficulty) – students punctuate a short passage (more challenging version) or sentences (easier version) of dialogue, that has a link to Chinese New Year. The more challenging version requires students to take a new line for each change of speaker, as well as putting in quotation marks / speech marks etc.
Full answer keys
Teacher notes
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Winter Creative Writing Story Prompts
A low-prep giant Roald Dahl crossword quiz puzzle, designed to be completed in groups, featuring 110 quiz style clues related to almost all Dahl's children's stories and poetry books and a few related to the writer's life. Great for Roald Dahl Day (September 13th), special reading events, end or start of term fun, at the end of a Roald Dahl author study or just as a Dahl celebration because almost all children love this author and his quirky characters! Why not use it as an early finisher activity, to be completed over several lessons? Suits Key Stage 2 (KS2) - Year 5 / Year 6 (Y5 / Y6) especially or early KS3 - Year 7 (Y7)and equivalents.
Collaborative completion works especially well as it will spark off informal reading chats as children compete against other groups to finish it, pooling knowledge of this popular children's author's texts - his stories, poems and works of autobiography. Children could research any questions they do not know. In addition to the Solution, I have also included an Answer Sheet with the answers listed in alphabetical order to give out for differentiation or when students have done as much as they can. You could print the crossword in A3 but it works fine in A4 too.
If you can spare a moment I would be grateful for a review. Many thanks.
Books featured are:
George's Marvellous Medicine
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Fantastic Mr Fox
Matilda
The Witches
The BFG
The Enormous Crocodile
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
The Twits
James and the Giant Peach
Danny the Champion of the World
Revolting Rhymes
Dirty Beasts
Esio Trot
The Magic Finger
The Minpins
Boy
Going Solo
Some of my other popular KS2 / early KS3 literacy resources:
Creative Writing Story Prompts
Super Sentences
For engaging, time-saving printables and presentations to plan Primary Literacy, Maths and French lessons, visit FullShelf Resources