A retelling of a folk tale well-known in Germany and Ukraine. 12 comprehension questions with answers. Links to websites with other versions of the tale are provided in the teacher notes. Good for KS1 as a stimulus for writing, art and craft, and for KS2 as part of a study on different versions of legends and folk tales. It lends itself too to cross-curricular work: a study of eastern European countries in geography, or of mini beasts/arachnids in science, or research into the history of tinsel on Christmas trees.

Good for KS2 and lower KS3 for revising doubling rules, this quiz consists of 20 Christmassy sentences with missing words containing double letters. Grammatical function is given in place of the words (e.g. noun, adjective, verb). Good as a starter, or for homework. Answers are supplied.

This is cursive handwriting from the beginning. The first lesson covers the formation of c,a,d,g,o, and the animation in the PowerPoint show demonstrates top and bottom joins; the second lesson covers i,e, and the animation shows how the dot is put on the i after the word has been completed; the third lesson, which builds on the first two, introduces top loops with the letters l.h. Transitions between slides are teacher-controlled, but individual slide content contains conceal/reveal animation. There are PDF versions of the presentations which are intended for display. The PDFs of small cards are for laminating, and can be used in conjunction with the handwriting lines.

This is the first of a series of short texts for teaching SPaG. I was looking for material that I could use for teaching spelling, grammar and punctuation, and which could be used at the end of the week as a dictation assessment. Unable to find anything suitable, I ended up scribbling them myself on a Monday morning. Most of the themes are directed at the class I was teaching at the time, but some teachers may relate to them. I called them The Monday Nag, for obvious reasons! The pack contains a PowerPoint presentation, and five activities. There is a spelling sheet covering the points highlighted in the text, a Cloze activity, a supported dictation worksheet for lower ability learners, a writing task, and a crossword on grammatical terms best suited for more able pupils. I would suggest working through the PowerPoint on the first session of the week and leading up to the writing task and the dictation at the end of the week, by which time children should be thoroughly familiar with both text and SPaG content.

For upper KS2. Two pdf files to support the teaching of sentence punctuation, and particularly the problem of run-on sentences and comma splices. A help sheet that can either be distributed to pupils or used as classroom display, plus a worksheet with answers.

For upper KS2 and KS3. A sheet with 10 straightforward sentences for grammatical analysis. Each word has to be written in the appropriate column in an accompanying Parts of Speech grid. The first one is provided as an example. Brief teacher notes are provided on the difference between possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives, as well as the use of more difficult adverbs.

Quick spelling starter focussing on the doubling rule. Pupils are challenged in 10 slides to find words which are misspelt. Answers provided.

For KS1 and lower KS2. A seven slide (plus title and end) presentation on how commas are used for lists. Nouns, noun phrases and adjectives are covered fully, and at the end there is an indication that the same rules apply for other types of lists (verbs and adverbs, for example). Each demonstration slide is followed by a whole class 'Try this' activity, which could be done on individual whiteboards or in books. Available as either PowerPoint or PDF. The second file is a worksheet where pupils have to supply the commas in sentences containing lists. Answers are provided. Lesson plan also included.

The poem about Henry King, who died from chewing string, is the text. Also included in the PDF are a poem analysis sheet and a jigsaw exercise to help with the learning of the text. Probably best for KS2, and would make a good lesson as part of a comic poetry unit of work.

PowerPoint presentation showing how to punctuate speech in 3 positions in the sentence.

This activity consists of a teacher card with 50 spellings and their meanings plus 30 different pupil cards (10 sheets of 3). The teacher has the choice of reading out the words or - for more able groups - the meanings. Great as a starter or plenary activity.

This is the second Bingo activity based on the spelling list for Year 5/6) It consists of a teacher card with 50 spellings and their meanings plus 30 different pupil cards ( 10 sheets of 3). The teacher has the choice of simply reading out the words from the caller card, or - for higher ability groups - the meanings. Great as a starter or plenary activity.

This is a 12 slide presentation which would be useful to anyone who is unsure about what the subjunctive is and how to recognise it. The slides show examples of how the present and past subjunctive appear in 9 set expressions in English. Students are challenged to write sentences using five of the expressions. There is a linked worksheet available separately.

This resource provides enough material for a week or more. At the end of the unit, pupils should have a good knowledge of the text, and the more able should know it by heart. It consists of a copy of the spell from the witches’ scene from Act IV of Macbeth with a glossary, a comprehension exercise with suggested mark scheme, a poetry analysis exercise, and a group activity where pupils are challenged to stage the scene. The outcome could make a worthwhile and entertaining contribution to a class or whole school assembly.

PDF version of presentation for KS2 about adding suffixes to different types of words.

These four texts are retellings in modern English of traditional Chinese folk tales. One - the story of the Nian - is specifically about the origins of Chinese New Year traditions. The other three could be used at any time of the year. These have several common themes (money, religion, magic, kindness, and more which could be suggested by pupils themselves), and would make a good starting point for textual comparison or cross-curricular work (eg RE, citizenship). The texts all come with a set of 10 questions which could be used for discussion in assembly, or for formal written comprehension in the classroom. The folk tale format makes the texts accessible to a wide age range, including KS1, whereas the themes broached in many of the questions make them more suitable for able KS2 or KS3 classes.

A complete lesson for introducing or revising commas for lists. Objectives, introduction, independent work and plenary all included.

Flash game. Teacher reads out an addition under 20 (eg 5+9). Child with correct answer flips the corresponding number to reveal a letter. As letters are revealed, pupils try to make words on their whiteboards. Winner is the one with most words.

An online Google Slides game for practising verbs. It works well on desktop computers or interactive whiteboards, especially in full screen mode. It's less suitable for mobile devices. Players have to identify words in sentences in order to collect fruit to make a fruit salad. If they go wrong, they are sent back to the beginning. Beware of the cheat potential with this, however: the slide controls at the bottom om the screen enable the player to click through the slides without answering the questions!