At 6:30pm on Thursday 8th September 2022, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had died at the age of 96. An official statement was placed outside the palace stating “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.” In these reading comprehension activities, your students can find out all about her life including: -her birth and early life -her wedding and children -her coronation as queen -her seventy year reign -her declining health -tributes paid to her when she died -plans for her funeral Please see the preview - what you see is what you are purchasing. Questions include a range of reading skills. I hope this is an informative way for your students to find out about the life of the Queen while challenging your students in their reading comprehension skills.

This package on the 2022 Winter Olympics is full of interesting facts, stories and statistics which will inspire and challenge your students through a range of Common Core-aligned reading activities. The reading skills that children will develop are in finding and recalling facts, inference, word meaning and summarising. CONTENTS 2022 Winter Olympics: Beijing – Comprehension questions based on the 24th Winter Olympics and further questions on China. This includes some geography. Sports of the Winter Olympics – A guide to four prominent winter sports with some interesting questions based on photographs that refer to the text. An Olympics like no other – A text exploring the use of artificial snow at Beijing 2022, and the threat of Covid-19 during the games. These questions rely on children using inference and summary skills. History of Winter Olympics – Tables and infographics containing statistics on where past games have been held and which nations and individuals have won the most medals. A series of number-based questions follow. Unlikely Olympic Heroes – The wonderful stories of the Jamaican Bobsled team and Eddie the Eagle, who lit up the 1988 games in Calgary. Questions compare the stories, request students to identify the obstacles, and relate the stories to personal experience. A Bit About Me Before teaching, I was a journalist. I still work as a freelance writer, and like nothing more than writing engaging texts to challenge and inspire children and young people. I choose subjects that may not be on the curriculum but are still of great importance for students to know about. Everything I write has been comprehensively researched from a number of sources and been written by myself. No plagiarism here! This is all original material. My questions are pitched at a high level, but with a bit of patience and persistence (and some adult help if necessary) most students will have great fun as they learn, especially as the penny drops I am aware of the impact of printed resources on our environment so try to condense my reading activities into as compact a space as possible. Hopefully this will help you save time in printing, and keep the bills down! Check out my store if you enjoy this – you’re sure to find more. Thanks!

This guided reading resource includes four epic stories of survival. These include the pilot who crash landed in the Hudson River, the football team who got trapped for weeks in a flooded cave and the child who fell into the gorilla enclosure at the zoo. Using the ‘LIMS’ approach, students work through Literal, Inference, Meaning and Summary questions to ensure that as your students find out about these captivating stories, they will also practise skills in reading right across the curriculum. As answer scheme is provided, and the product is ready to print and go. Here is a short sample taken from one of the stories: But shortly after take off, disaster struck. As the plane climbed from the airport, the pilot’s view was filled with a huge flock of large birds. Passengers heard a series of loud bangs, and showers of flame coming from the engines followed by silence and a sickening smell of fuel. The plane had struck a flock of Canada Geese, and lost power in both of the aircraft’s engines. Now useless as a plane, Sully found himself in charge of a 75-tonne glider. He had to think quickly. And examples of questions: *What type of birds struck the engine of Flight 1549? *Why is the plane described as a glider in the second paragraph? * This is the second set of survival stories I have compiled. The other package can be found here: Stories of Survival

The Paris Olympics will bring the world together for a festival of sport in 2024. In these reading comprehensions, your students will get to find out about some of the stories about the Olympics. Find out about: THE OLYMPICS IN PARIS THE OLYMPICS IN ANCIENT GREECE THE HISTORY OF THE MODERN OLYMPICS Questions and answers are provided, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required. As with all of my reading exercises, I try to write content that is interesting and engaging - stories that may not be on the curriculum, but are important for children to know. Your students will develop reading comprehension skills through a range of retrieval and inference questions, using skills to skim and scan the text. There are also word meaning and text summary questions in the activities. Just print and go…no prep needed! Please note - one of the comprehensions here is available as an individual activity. Check my store if you just want one comprehension!***

Who will be the next President of the United States? Will Donald Trump continue for a second term? Or will veteran Democrat Joe Biden beat him to the White House? These reading comprehension activities, ideal for close reading, will help your students find out about the candidates for the 2020 US presidential election. Your students will develop reading comprehension skills through a range of retrieval and inference questions, using skills to skim and scan the text. There are also word meaning and text summary questions in the activities. Just print and go…no prep needed! I have also included a black and white version of the product to avoid the costs of colour graphics printing, Thanks for your interest!

AMUSING, ENTERTAINING AND EDUCATIONAL! These reading comprehensions will test your students’ reading skills as they explore the four greatest April Fools of all time, as ranked by the Museum of Hoaxes. Using research skills and their reporter’s notebooks, the young journalists will find out about: Spaghetti growing on trees in Switzerland A fake volcanic eruption in Alaska Instant Colour TV in Sweden An iceberg in Sydney Harbour Each story comes with questions and answers, and will require students to check dictionaries; summarise stories; think critically; retrieve facts; and prioritise statements. They will also generate lively and fun classroom discussion. Would your students fall for these pranks? Can they come up with anything better? A template for a news story is also provided so children can write them up for themselves. A scaffold is included to show them how to fill in the boxes. Finally, posters are enclosed if you want to make the students’ work into a simple, effective display. As a journalist and teacher, it’s my passion that children should have an awareness of what is going on in the world through engaging reading material. Contents: 3: SWISS SPAGHETTI HARVEST 4: INSTANT COLOUR TV 5: ERUPTION OF MOUNT EDGECUMBE 6: THE SYDNEY ICEBERG 7-10: Questions 11-14: Answers 15: How to write a newspaper article 16: Newspaper template 17-20: Posters for display

Engaging stories from the Bible. FREE, AS A GIFT FOR ALL IN 2020. :-) This reading activity pack tells the story of the Jesus’ death and resurrection from Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday. It is ideal all year round for reading or Religious Studies, but is particularly useful in the run up to Easter, as they follow the last week in Jesus’ life. They can also be used as Sunday School activities or as readings in church. Based on the gospel accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, I have written five reports from key people in the Easter story about what happened with comprehension based questions and answers for each. These will bring the well-known story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection to your students in a fresh, engaging and enlightening way. The characters featured are: Peter Pontius Pilate A Roman soldier Mary Magdalen Cleopas The comprehension questions tackle the following skills: Literal and retrieval Word meaning Inference and deduction There is also an activity at the end to summarise each of the characters stories. Answers are provided…just print and go! As an added extra, there are a number of posters with key bible verses for your displays, including posters to colour in. These can be found at the end of the reading pack.

Who is Greta Thunberg? What is Climate Change? This pair of reading comprehension activities, ideal for guided reading, are will help your students find out about the teenager who has made the world aware of climate change. Your students will develop reading comprehension skills through a range of retrieval and inference questions, using skills to skim and scan the text. In particular, they will learn about: Greta Thunberg What is climate change? What causes it? What can be done about it? Just print and go…no prep needed! Answers are provided. I have also included a black and white version of the product on pages to avoid the costs of colour graphics printing - something I’m sure Greta would approve of! This activity is part of a set that that I am currently putting together: Girls who Dare to be Different Thanks for your interest!

Who will win the 2019 Rugby World Cup? This reading comprehension activity is aimed at 8-13 year-olds, and focuses on the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. Your students will develop reading comprehension skills through a range of retrieval and inference questions, using skills to skim and scan the text. In particular, they will learn about: The history of the tournament The favourites for to win in 2019 The World Cup trophy The chances of the United States* Answers are included. I have also included a black and white version of the product on pages 5-7 to avoid the costs of colour graphics printing. Thanks for your interest!

When Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, it was perhaps the greatest scientific achievement in history. July 2019 marks the fiftieth anniversary of this extraordinary voyage. Thousands of scientists, mathematicians, engineers and astronauts had a part to play in working together on the Apollo 11 mission - but space exploration goes much further than the Lunar landings. In this space exploration comprehension package, your students will take part in FIVE reading activities, which will open up the world of space exploration to them: *1) The Space Race: What was the space race, and why was it so important? The First Man on the Moon: A celebration of the life and achievements of Neil Armstrong. The Last Man on the Moon: A celebration of the life and achievements of Eugene Cernan “Houston, We’ve got a problem”: Disasters in space, featuring the amazing survival story of Apollo 13. Space Travel - next steps: Find out about plans to travel to Mars, passenger space travel, and how a 41-year old probe is still sending messages to scientists from 11 billion miles away!* Students will use inference and deduction skills as well as fact retrieval, word meaning and summarising. Questions and answers are provided, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required. As with all of my reading exercises, I try to write content that is interesting and engaging - stories that may not be on the curriculum, but are important for children to know.

This guided reading activity, aimed at 9 and 13 year olds, tests children’s comprehension, retrieval, inference and deduction skills. It will also promote lively and engaging classroom discussion as children decide for themselves who will win the World Cup in 2022! The activity has questions and answers, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required.

This guided reading resource includes a pair of texts about Antarctica with four comprehension skills sheets to complete, providing reading passages and questions that are challenging and engaging. Using the ‘LIMS’ approach, students work through Literal, Inference, Meaning and Summary questions to ensure that in the course of a week, they have practised skills in reading right across the Common Core. Text is differentiated and an answer scheme is provided. Suggested itinerary: Day 1 (30 mins) – Read both texts as a class. Highlight key parts. Discuss together. What have we learned? What do we want know more about? It is worth asking the students to write down any questions they have about the texts and putting them on display. Day 2 (30 mins) – Literal sheet Day 3 (30 mins) – Inference sheet (or meaning sheet if you prefer) Day 4 (30 mins) – Meaning sheet (or inference sheet if you prefer) Day 5 (45 mins) – Summary sheet and looking back at questions from the start of the week. This is the first in a series of Paired text resources looking at the seven continents of the world. Keep an eye on my store. Differentiation: All questions are the same, which should make marking easier! However, the texts differ, with asterisks in the bottom right corner indicating the reading level.

This guided reading resource includes a pair of texts about North America with four comprehension skills sheets to complete, providing reading passages and questions that are challenging and engaging. Using the ‘LIMS’ approach, students work through Literal, Inference, Meaning and Summary questions to ensure that in the course of a week, they have practised skills in reading right across the curriculum. Text is differentiated and an answer scheme is provided. Suggested itinerary: Day 1 (30 mins) – Read both texts as a class. Highlight key parts. Discuss together. What have we learned? What do we want know more about? It is worth asking the students to write down any questions they have about the texts and putting them on display. Day 2 (30 mins) – Literal sheet Day 3 (30 mins) – Inference sheet (or meaning sheet if you prefer) Day 4 (30 mins) – Meaning sheet (or inference sheet if you prefer) Day 5 (45 mins) – Summary sheet and looking back at questions from the start of the week. This is the first in a series of Paired text resources looking at the seven continents of the world. Keep an eye on my store. Differentiation: All questions are the same, which should make marking easier! However, the texts differ, with asterisks in the bottom right corner indicating the reading level.

This guided reading resource includes a pair of texts about Europe with four comprehension skills sheets to complete, providing reading passages and questions that are challenging and engaging. Using the ‘LIMS’ approach, students work through Literal, Inference, Meaning and Summary questions to ensure that in the course of a week, they have practised skills in reading right across the Curriculum. Text is differentiated and an answer scheme is provided. Suggested itinerary: Day 1 (30 mins) – Read both texts as a class. Highlight key parts. Discuss together. What have we learned? What do we want know more about? It is worth asking the students to write down any questions they have about the texts and putting them on display. Day 2 (30 mins) – Literal sheet Day 3 (30 mins) – Inference sheet (or meaning sheet if you prefer) Day 4 (30 mins) – Meaning sheet (or inference sheet if you prefer) Day 5 (45 mins) – Summary sheet and looking back at questions from the start of the week. This is the first in a series of Paired text resources looking at the seven continents of the world. Keep an eye on my store. Differentiation: All questions are the same, which should make marking easier! However, the texts differ, with asterisks in the bottom right corner indicating the reading level.

This guided reading resource includes a pair of texts about Asia with four comprehension skills sheets to complete, providing reading passages and questions that are challenging and engaging. Using the ‘LIMS’ approach, students work through Literal, Inference, Meaning and Summary questions to ensure that in the course of a week, they have practised skills in reading right across the curriculum. Text is differentiated and an answer scheme is provided. Suggested itinerary: Day 1 (30 mins) – Read both texts as a class. Highlight key parts. Discuss together. What have we learned? What do we want know more about? It is worth asking the students to write down any questions they have about the texts and putting them on display. Day 2 (30 mins) – Literal sheet Day 3 (30 mins) – Inference sheet (or meaning sheet if you prefer) Day 4 (30 mins) – Meaning sheet (or inference sheet if you prefer) Day 5 (45 mins) – Summary sheet and looking back at questions from the start of the week. This is the first in a series of Paired text resources looking at the seven continents of the world. Keep an eye on my store. Differentiation: All questions are the same, which should make marking easier! However, the texts differ, with asterisks in the bottom right corner indicating the reading level.

This guided reading resource includes a pair of texts about Africa with four comprehension skills sheets to complete, providing reading passages and questions that are challenging and engaging. Using the ‘LIMS’ approach, students work through Literal, Inference, Meaning and Summary questions to ensure that in the course of a week, they have practised skills right across the curriculum. Text is differentiated and an answer scheme is provided. Suggested itinerary: Day 1 (30 mins) – Read both texts as a class. Highlight key parts. Discuss together. What have we learned? What do we want know more about? It is worth asking the students to write down any questions they have about the texts and putting them on display. Day 2 (30 mins) – Literal sheet Day 3 (30 mins) – Inference sheet (or meaning sheet if you prefer) Day 4 (30 mins) – Meaning sheet (or inference sheet if you prefer) Day 5 (45 mins) – Summary sheet and looking back at questions from the start of the week. This is part of a series of Paired text resources looking at the seven continents of the world. You can find the others in my store. Differentiation: All questions are the same, which should make marking easier! However, the texts differ, with asterisks in the bottom right corner indicating the reading level.