Four Hot Potatoes vocabulary activities: proverbs, opposites, odd one out and similes. Probably best suited to upper KS2 or KS3.

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.

For English reading, spelling and vocabulary at KS2 and KS3. Nine pages of word lists with seven different colour-coded levels on each page. Pupils can work as a whole class or in mixed ability groups. Four suggestions for reading, spelling and vocabulary activities.

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

Five Puzzles: 1 on Carols and Songs, one on the Christmas Story, the others more general. One of the crosswords is interactive (Hotpot)

Short, 3 slide presentation demonstrating how a new paragraph is required for both change of speaker and change of focus.

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

Teacher controlled PowerPoint for whole class Look Cover Write Check activity. Words are revealed for reading, then hidden while pupils write them on whiteboards or in books. There are 34 words in the presentation: those ending in double consonants (including ck). Exception words are also included.

Teacher controlled PowerPoint for whole class Look Cover Write Check activity. Words are revealed for reading, then hidden while pupils write them on whiteboards or in books. There are 23 words in the presentation, including exception words (such, rich etc).

This is a nine slide presentation explaining in simple terms how the past subjunctive is used in such phrases as 'If I were you …" A linked worksheet is available separately.

A good resource for KS2 for the period from October to New Year. The non-fiction text is about the problems caused by fireworks in the period lasting from just before Hallowe’en to just after New Year. It is accompanied by a 20 mark comprehension exercise with a mark sheet. The text would make an excellent starting point for class debate, and for a writing assignment on balance argument or persuasive writing. The 15 slide PowerPoint is on capital letters and covers 14 cases when they should be used. It is accompanied by an extract from the reading text which has been stripped of all capital letters.

This worksheet could be used for classes from KS2 and beyond. Even more useful, perhaps, for staff training. The subjunctive appears on the curriculum nowadays, but there are few adults who are confident in recognising or using it.

This resource has been written for KS2 and contains enough material for at least one lesson. It consists of a grammar exercise and a creative writing task. On each of 10 slides of the PowerPoint, there is a Hallowe’en themed sentence with the verb in the present tense. The first task is for pupils to change the verb to the past tense and then write it out. The sentences are sequential, and create the beginning of a Hallowe’en story. The writing task is simply to finish the story. Follow-up work could consist of editing and improving the story.

Worksheet on using the past subjunctive and recognising the difference between subjunctive and indicative mood. It’s in the National Curriculum f or KS2 English, but would be equally useful for KS3/4 and for staff training. Linked presentation on the past subjunctive is available separately.

The resource consists of a copy of the text and a crossword with text-based clues.

The homophones 'there, their and they’re are difficult for many pupils to master, and they benefit from regular revisiting. This resource is aimed at KS2 and KS3,but would also be valuable for groups of older pupils (and sometimes staff) who are still a bit unsure. The animated presentation begins with a slide which shows how all three homophones are used. It is teacher controlled, so can be shown a line at a time to allow for discussion and explanation as required. It is followed by 15 animated slides where a sentence with a blank is displayed so that pupils can either respond orally, or have a go at writing answers on individual white boards. The answer is shown at the click of the mouse. A text file is provided explaining why there is some confusion over whether ‘there’ (in ‘there is’) is sometimes classified as a pronoun. There is a set of 40 accompanying cards for printing and possibly laminating. Each shows a sentence containing a blank, similar to those on the presentation. The task is a multiple choice one, requiring pupils simply to fill in the letter a,b or c corresponding to the word needed to fill the blank. A pupil sheet is provided for this, as well as a teacher answer sheet.

The second in a series of short reading passages written for Lower KS2. It is followed by a mini- comprehension task where pupils have to choose which of three statements is true . There is a SPaG exercise linked to the passage. The final activity is extended writing.

This is the third of a series of short reading passages written for Lower KS2. It is followed by a mini- comprehension task where pupils have to choose which of three statements is true . There is a SPaG exercise linked to the passage. The final activity is extended writing.

This is the first of a series of short reading passages written for Lower KS2. It is followed by a mini- comprehension task where pupils have to choose which of three statements is true . There is a SPaG exercise linked to the passage. The final activity is extended writing.

Children (and many adults) find it difficult to distinguish between ‘of’ and ‘have’ in phrases such as ‘should have eaten’, ‘can’t have done’. This resource consists of three fill-the-gap worksheets where students have to insert ‘of’ or ‘have’ into sentences.