This differentiated informal letter task requires students to finish or redraft Stanley’s letter from chapter 9 of Louis Sachar’s novel Holes. If Stanley is twisting the truth so that his mom won’t worry, what else might he write? There are three styles of worksheet for the writing activity included, plus a printable sheet of checklist slips (four per sheet) to give out as necessary. Introduction and planning activity also included… All versions come in both US letter and UK A4 document size.

This abstract and concrete noun sorting activity is designed to prompt discussion as well as stretch learners and consolidate skills. Attractive flashcards come in three designs, and I have also included PNGs of image-only flashcards for you to add an extra layer of discussion, or to differentiate for your gifted and talented learners. The text on each flashcard is fully editable for you to adapt the font or change the language, making this set of cards a bilingual resource too!

Blackout Poetry is a great creative pre-reading activity, and this activity focuses on the three different versions of the lullaby in Louis Sachar’s Holes. Different worksheets allow you to explore single stanzas, pairs of stanzas, or all three versions. You also have the option to use worksheets with fully redacted words, or redacted words with grammatical prompts (noun, adjective, verb, etc). Editable Google Apps version included, and all worksheets are provided in US letter size and UK A4 size.

This differentiated art, sketching or drawing task requires students to create an image of the Yellow Spotted Lizard from Louis Sachar’s novel Holes. There are three styles of lizard outline included, and five levels of differentiation: Outline only Outline with empty quote boxes Outline with empty quote boxes and prompt arrows Outline with pre-populated quote boxes Quotation boxes only (no outline) All versions come in both US letter and UK A4 document size.

Encourage your students to step into the shoes of a character or historical figure by creating a TikTok account for them. Great fun, but requires thought and justification! What would their TikTok handle be? What’s the profile picture? How about the bio? How many followers do they have, and what do their last six videos look like? As well as a profile screen, this set of sheets includes screens for followers, following and suggested follows. It also has screens for paused videos and comment sections. There are three types of sheet provided, and one of them is individual screens each on a single page. US and UK document sizes included. have fun!

Great starter and exit tasks for lessons on Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. This slideshow features summaries for all six chapters; every chapter summary is split across two slides and there are six spelling, punctuation or grammar errors in each. That’s 12 errors per summary. Each summary also comes as a printable worksheet, and answer keys are built into the slideshow. There are also recap extension tasks at the end of each summary for additional stretch!

Analyse the figurative language and literary devices from eight Tiktok sound trends and viral songs seen during March 2021! Use either as a full lesson in preparation for a bigger analysis task, as individual recap tasks for skills, or as a series of engaging starters for figurative language and device lessons. Best suited to upper KS3 and KS4. This resource comes in both US and UK document sizes (letter and A4), features eight sets of lyrics (recognisable to many students who use Tiktok), colour-coded answer keys, and an additional PowerPoint version for class collaboration. If you love this resource, follow me for an update when I release the sound trend tasks for April 2021 and beyond!

Coach your students through the close reading and annotation of extracts from the opening chapters of Holes, then instruct them in the use of the differentiated essay frame to challenge and stretch pupils at all levels. The extract and annotation sheet includes focused extracts and chapter references, and the essay frame shows a clear route of progress with a built-in example and extension column to model development of ideas. Easel version included! This resource includes US letter and UK A4 size versions, and editable Google Docs version of the essay frame.

This graphic novel reflection task can be used with any part of any graphic novel! No prep required - just print and go. After reading, give your students either an A3 one-pager or a back-to-back smaller version of the sheet. This resource acts as a graphic organizer to explore and reflect on the pages that have just been read, whether that’s one page or one hundred! There are four A3 version and four letter-size double-sided version, making this resource 12-pages for you to select from as necessary. All sheets prompt your students to think closely about… The characters The way the images and frames are used Personal reactions to the content Questions raised Predictions for the upcoming pages (or post-novel if you finish the text) Evaluation of the final three frames of the day’s reading Drawing of a frame in a different style of the student’s choice

Need a creative task that you can use over and over again, with any book? This set of twelve creative worksheets asks students to select evidence from their reading to build an image of a specific character. Set the character for the class, give a selection to choose from, or let your students choose their own! This also works for classes where students are all reading their own novels. There are three styles to choose from, and the drawing guides are differentiated; simple outlines, realistic outlines, and no outline at all for the really confident ones! The resource comes in both US and UK document sizes, making this resource 24 pages long.

A great bellringer, brain break, warm up or ‘getting to know you’ task that can also be used as an extended task. Differentiated in nine different ways, this resource encourages students to select and edit their thoughts to a strict limit… harder than they anticipate! It’s also worth using for fast finishers. Includes: 9 levels of differentiation Quick and extended versions of the task US letter and UK A4 document sizes and terminology Fully editable Google Docs version

No-Prep Group Work! Just print, pass and problem-solve! A set of desk placemats to encourage groups of students to discuss and share information about quotations, characters and context linked to specific m the novel. This can either be an oracy task alone, or discussion alongside the creation of a revision map on A4 or A3 paper. Includes a double-sided ‘Thoughtpad’ sheet for students to log ideas along the way. Includes five characters, six tasks per sheet, and works well with groups of 4-8 students. Laminate for multiple use!

Help your students to analyse the themes in any text using these printable sticky note sheets. Print prompts and questions to distribute among the class, or give full sets to students for them to evaluate and apply as individual or group work. This product includes… Base template to ensure that your sticky notes go in the right place 12 themes to be printed onto 12 sticky notes (2 pages, 6 per page) 12 themes to be printed onto full page sets of sticky notes (12 pages, 6 per page) Blank editable boxes for you to create your own information (1 page, 6 per page) All materials included are provided in US letter and UK A4 size documents.

A fun, thoughtful ‘would you rather’ slideshow and accompanying worksheets for KS3 and KS4 students with a back to school theme. For example, would your students rather do lessons one day a week without electricity, or one day a week outdoors in any weather, and why? Encourage discussion around fifteen prompt pairs, all focused on the school theme. Great for warm-ups, bell-ringers or brain breaks. Either use the PowerPoint alone for verbal responses, use the full worksheets as a longer activity, hand out individual pairs as slips for a quick task… or a use as a combination! US and UK document sizes included, and Google Apps versions with editable worksheets provided.

Analyse the figurative language and literary devices from eight Tiktok sound trends and viral songs seen during April 2021! Use either as a full lesson in preparation for a bigger analysis task, as individual recap tasks for skills, or as a series of engaging starters for figurative language and device lessons. Best suited to upper KS3 and KS4. This resource comes in both US and UK document sizes (letter and A4), features eight sets of lyrics (recognisable to many students who use Tiktok), colour-coded answer keys, and an additional PowerPoint version for class collaboration. If you love this resource, follow me for an update when I release the sound trend tasks for May 2021 and beyond!

This resource is a great alternative to ‘First Chapter Friday’ or ‘Taster Tuesday’. Blurbsday tasks focus on the blurb on the back of the book, and encourage students to look at vocabulary, genres and editing skills. There are three tasks included, increasing in difficulty and length (half page, full page, and double sided), and all worksheets are provided in US letter and UK A4 size document. Editable Google Apps version also included!

This activity focuses on the idea of a time capsule - what would your students put in a time capsule to be opened more than 100 years from now? The resource features three formats: What eight items would you put in a time capsule, and why? What six items would you put in a time capsule, and how would people react if they dug it up in 100 years? What six items would you put in a time capsule, and how would the people in the society in your novel react if they dug it up? This makes this set of worksheets suitably flexible for one-off lessons, or linked to a range of tasks and subjects, or linked specifically to the study of a dystopian or futuristic novel or story. All worksheets are provided in US letter size and UK A4 size, and also as a Google Docs editable version.

This activity focuses on the idea of a time capsule - what would your students put in a time capsule to be opened in the past? The resource features three formats: What eight items would you put in a time capsule, and why? What six items would you put in a time capsule, and how would people react if they discovered it 100 years ago? What six items would you put in a time capsule, and how would the people in the historical society in your novel or story react if they dug it up? This makes this set of worksheets suitable for one-off lessons, or linked to historical study, or linked specifically to the study of a novel or story. All worksheets are provided in US letter size and UK A4 size, and also as a Google Docs editable version.

A fun, thoughtful ‘would you rather’ slideshow for secondary school students focused on Halloween. Great for October or autumn! Encourage discussion around 20 prompt pairs, all focused on the winter season. Perfect for warm-ups, bell-ringers or brain breaks.

A fun, thoughtful ‘would you rather’ slideshow for KS3 and KS4 school students focused on winter traditions and festivals around the world. Great for Christmas! Encourage discussion around ten prompt pairs, all focused on the winter season. Perfect for warm-ups, bell-ringers or brain breaks.