This is an activity called Sweet Talk, a public speaking exercise for pupils from Y4-Y9. Hits 4 objectives for presentation and communication. The resource consists of a presentation to introduce the lesson, full and clear lesson plan, and three resources files (mark sheets for pupils' use, topic cards and reward tokens). Children are given time to prepare their Christmas themed topic, after which they speak for a whole minute to the class. Each member of the class assesses the performance and scores it out of 3. At the end of the session, scores are compared (show of hands), and pupils receive sweet tokens according to the number of points they are awarded. These are then cashed in for teacher goodies. It's an activity I invented one Christmas, and which subsequently became firmly embedded into the weekly timetable. Parents either love it or hate it. It is valued by those who notice and appreciate the increase in their child's confidence and articulacy; it's much less popular with those who resent having to get involved with homework!

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 a 13 page pdf file containing 5 separate activities suitable for KS3 or upper KS2 English. The unit begins with a 500 word comprehension about the origin of Christmas crackers. The comprehension contains 15 questions, with available marks indicated. A mark scheme is supplied. It is followed by differentiated dictation: 3 versions of the same 100 word text based on the reading passage. Teacher notes are supplied. The third activity is a speed dictation (Dictagloss). Another 100 word text is read at speed and pupils are tasked with re-assembling it collaboratively. This activity should generate a lot of talk. Full teacher notes accompany the text. After that there is a worksheet on root words and word families, with teacher notes. Finally, the writing activity is an acrostic poem entitled CRACKERS. 2 examples of teacher-generated acrostic poems are included in the teaching notes.

For younger primary classes. Ten thematically linked sentences containing capital letter and full stop errors which pupils have to correct. The sentences form a mini narrative about a child with a migraine, and suggestions are given in the teacher notes on ways in which the narrative could be exploited in writing lessons on various genres.

This is an exercise for younger primary pupils. They are given 10 sentences, some of which have missing capital letters or full stops. One of the sentences is correct, and another has two errors. The sentences from part of a mini-narrative, so can be used as the basis of a scaffolded writing task. Teacher suggestions are provided.

For KS1 and lower KS2. Many children forget about capital letters at the beginning of sentences when they are concentrating on the ideas in their writing, or simply trying to write quickly. This presentation is simply a reminder - with examples - of the rules. The examples are introduced one by one, so could be used by teachers as a written exercise, dictating each sentence before showing it on screen.

For beginners in the language, or anyone who is unsure of the rules of French pronunciation. A zip file contained three folders and one html file. Click on the html file to bring up a web page with links to sound files and Hot Potatoes games.

A zip folder contains seven interlinked files, all of which are needed for this timed activity. Seven sentences have been jumbled up, and the student has one minute to put the words and the punctuation in the right order.

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

This resource consists of two worksheets, each with 10 sentences where verbs have to be changed from the simple present to the simple past (preterite) tense. Some contain more than one verb. Answers are supplied.

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.

For KS2 or KS3. An upbeat melody to a song with several verses incorporating key vocabulary for buying fruit and d veg at the market. Several files are included: the music score, lyrics, mp3 file, two pages of colour picture cards for games or speaking activities, and a questionnaire grid for whole class speaking activity.

For KS2 and KS3. French shopping language - buying fruit and vegetables at the market. A cumulative song that works a bit like the game 'I went to the market and bought ...", which would make a good supplementary activity for a lesson.

For KS2 and KS3. Score, lyrics and MP3 file, plus a sentence scaffolding sheet where pupils make sentences for ordering food of various flavours using à la, au etc.

Upper KS2 or older pupils will enjoy this song covering a range of holiday vocabulary: packing bags, going to the swimming pool, restaurant and café. MP3 file and sheet music with lyrics included.

A French action song with lots of repetition. For teaching names of animals and verbs describing their actions. Great for younger classes, but I've also used this with Y6 who loved letting their hair down!.

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 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.

KS2 resource for teaching imperatives through song. Includes words, music score, sound files, presentation, flashcards and lesson plan. Listening, speaking, reading and writing objectives covered.

For KS2 classes. A spelling starter covering the rules governing spelling of adverbs ending in -ly. The presentation could be used a slide at a time as short starters over a week, or in one longer session.