I have been an SLT co-ordinating English, dance, drama and music. I have covered PPA by delivering drama and dance to children from EYFS - Y6. I have delivered INSET on drama, dance and music both in schools and at a county level. I have delivered the drama module for B.Ed students at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
I write children's poems and have had some published in compilations. I have written drama and dance lessons based on poetry, for Early Years Educator and Scholastic.
I have been an SLT co-ordinating English, dance, drama and music. I have covered PPA by delivering drama and dance to children from EYFS - Y6. I have delivered INSET on drama, dance and music both in schools and at a county level. I have delivered the drama module for B.Ed students at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
I write children's poems and have had some published in compilations. I have written drama and dance lessons based on poetry, for Early Years Educator and Scholastic.
This is a 12 stanza rhyming, story, performance poem about the day the Vikings raided the monastery on Lindisfarne.
The poem is presented as an 11 slide PPT presentation, and accompanied by a written version too. There are also tips for performance poetry included. These tips are also presented as nine PPT slides.
The poem would be great for enhancing your teaching of this historical story. It is succinct and would be perfect for performing.
It would also be ideal for a whole class assembly.
This is a pack of 16 poems to cover ‘The Seasons’; four poems for each season. Each poem comes with an activity and writing frames where applicable. Two poems are accompanied by K.S.1 dance lessons.
The pack includes a 51 page resource booklet including the poems, activities and writing frames.
There are also four PPT presentations - one for each season. These contain the poems and teaching slides. There are two example pages from each PPT presentation in the preview section
See previews for full description, of the poems.
AUTUMN
AUTUMN - seven stanzas, rhyming & non-rhyming with a pattern
BONFIRE NIGHT - one stanza, non-rhyming using calligrams
FRIEND OR FOE? - presented in three different ways, rhyming
CRACKLE! SPIT! - four stanzas, rhyming poem using onomatopoeia and a pattern. Comes with two K.S.1 dance lessons
WINTER
I LOOKED OUTSIDE - four stanzas, rhyming. Comes with a K.S.1 dance lesson
THE WEATHER OF WINTER - six stanzas, non-rhyming performance poem using descriptive language and metaphors
SNOWDROP - two stanzas, rhyming shape poem
IT’S CHRISTMAS - eight stanzas, rhyming with a pattern
SPRING
A TALE OF SPRING - rhyming, conversation poem between two people. Also contains a list poem within it
GOLDEN ONE - one stanza, non-rhyming with a pattern, a simile and metaphors
SPRING’S HERE - six stanzas, non-rhyming containing a poem within a poem
SPRING ACROSTIC - one stanza, acrostic
SUMMER
THE SUN - one stanza, rhyming using similes
SUMMER HOLIDAY - two stanzas, rhyming, contrasting
YES, YES, YES, IT IS! - eight stanzas, non-rhyming question & answer poem with a pattern
LOLLIPOP - one stanza, rhyming shape poem
A 15-stanza rhyming, story, performance poem telling the story of
‘Saint George and the Dragon’.
The poem is presented as a 16 slide PowerPoint presentation, and accompanied with a written version as well as tips for performance. These performance tips have also been turned into PPT teaching slides.
The poem would be perfect for teaching the class this well-known story. It tells the story succinctly and is excellent for teaching performance poetry.
It would also be ideal for use in an assembly.
This is a pack of five poems about transport, for E.Y.F.S. and K.S.1. The poems are all simple and rhyming. A suggested activity for each poem is included.
THE WATER LAPS…: a four stanza rhyming poem describing being on a ship.
BICYCLE, BICYCLE: a seven stanza rhyming poem with a repetitive pattern. Each stanza describes a different part of the bike e.g. wheels, handlebar etc.
HERE COMES THE TRAIN!: an eight stanza rhyming poem describing the journey of a train. It uses onomatopoeia and has a repetitive pattern. Great for adding actions to in P.E.
STRANGE SILVER BIRD: a poem describing a rocket, written as one long stanza. It could also be broken up into six short stanzas. Each line is very short to keep the poem moving along.
THE CAR: a calligram poem using the shape of the car.
ACTIVITIES
THE CAR: There is a template for each mode of transport to be used for calligram poems. There is also the same template but with details added to be used as colouring sheets, if so desired.
The poems BICYCLE, BICYCLE and HERE COMES THE TRAIN! have writing frames for the children to have a go at creating their own stanzas, or full poems. These can then be put together to make a whole class poem or done individually, in pairs or in groups.
STRANGE SILVER BIRD: I have included the poem cut up into stanzas so the children can have a go at putting it back together. I have also included it split into pairs of lines, so the children can put it back together using the rhymes.
THE WATER LAPS…: Read this to the children, or show it on the PPT and ask them to draw what’s being described. Is it a calm picture? Is there a storm? What’s in the picture besides the ship? Is the ship big or small? What shape are the windows? Are the dancing horses actually horses? I have also included some reading comprehension questions to go with this poem.
ENVIRONMENT WHOLE CLASS ASSEMBLY
Included in this pack:
A short play
An original poem (PPT slides and a written version)
I’m An Eco-Warrior, Get Me Into There!
This is a play for a class of 30 children and is about four environmental issues: forests, rivers, ice caps and oceans. Each issue is represented in a game show by an Eco-Warrior. Each issue has a rap to perform and a group of Fact Finders. The Fact Finders each have a short paragraph of facts to say.
Every child has the chance to speak, either with scripted dialogue or through the rap. There are scripted dialogue lines for 22 children and the other children are involved in the raps. You could also add more presenters and share the dialogue out between them.
I have included the script as a word document so changes can be made to accommodate more or less speaking parts. Fact Finders can be added to by sharing the dialogue out more, or cut down by giving each Fact Finder more to say. Rappers can also be added to or cut down. One rapper from each environmental issue also has a single line of dialogue.
As well as the whole play I have included the Fact Finder scripts and raps separately for ease of chopping them up, so you don’t have to give everyone the full script.
Once Upon a Time There Was a Planet… is a 12 stanza non-rhyming poem about the affects we’re having on the environment. It’s presented as a 13 slide power point presentation, with powerful images. There is a written version included too.
The poem is ideal for individual, paired, group or whole class work and would make an excellent addition to your class assembly.
The first half illustrates how wonderful our planet is and the second half illustrates the devastating affect humans are having on the planet.
This is an 11 stanza, rhyming poem about nine minibeasts.
Each stanza is about a different minibeast but doesn’t give away which on it is. The stanza is then followed by a stunning photograph of the minibeast.
The poem is presented as a 22 slide PPT presentation, with each verse being mounted on a background photograph.
There is also a written version of the poem.
This poem would be ideal for teaching basic facts about minibeasts, and would be very good for an assembly.
This is a 14 stanza, rhyming poem about creatures that live in the sea. It is ideal for K.S.1 children.
It is presented as a 15 slide PPT presentation. Each stanza is about a different creature and is accompanied by a beautiful picture of said creature.
There is also a written version of the poem.
This poem would be ideal for individual, paired, group or whole class poetry work, as well as perfect to support work on the sea. It would also be excellent for use in an assembly.
This is a 12 stanza, non-rhyming poem about the affects humans are having on the environment. The first half is about the wonderful things on the planet, and the second half is about what’s happening to them now.
It is presented as a 13 slide PPT presentation, with each verse having a powerful image as the background. There is also a written version of the poem.
This poem would be ideal for individual, paired, group or whole class poetry, as well as perfect to support work on the environment.
This bundle includes a story poem and a play script.
Story Poem: This is an original story poem telling the tale of Jonah and the Whale.
It has 11 eight line, rhyming stanzas.
This pack includes a 12 slide PPT presentation of the poem, as well as a written version.
It is ideal for telling the children this familiar story; doing so succinctly and with humour. It could also be used as the basis for a whole class assembly.
Play Script: This is a play suitable for an end of year production or Year 6 leavers’ assembly. It lasts about 30 minutes. It is set in the modern day which makes the story more accessible to the children. It is amusing and appeals to both boys and girls.
There are 24 speaking parts (including 11 narrators which could be condensed into less) and non-speaking parts for the football fans, the rock group, the storm sequence and the underwater sequence.
Music suggestions are made for the various sequences and these can be kept very basic or choreographed as full dances. Costume is left up to you as it is set in modern day.
This pack includes 16 original poems about Spring, Autumn and Christmas.
AUTUMN: This is a pack of six poems - spanning both key stages - using Autumn as the stimulus.
Autumn - a rhyming poem about the transition from autumn to winter
Yes, Yes, Yes It Is! - a non-rhyming question and answer poem about autumn
Friend or Foe? - a rhyming poem about Halloween which can be written in three different ways
Crackle! Spit! - a rhyming poem with a pattern, about Bonfire Night. There are two accompanying dance lessons for K.S.1 with this poem
Bonfire Night - a non-rhyming poem which can be written in a straightforward way, or as calligrams
We Dare You To! - a rhyming poem about the dangers of playing with fireworks, and also the issue of wanting to fit in. This has an accompanying Y5/6 drama lesson
The pack includes general activities to do with the poems, as well as specific activities for the individual poems.
There is a 40 slide PPT presentation to support the activities.
SPRING: This is a pack of five poems about Spring for Y2/3. Each poem is accompanied by a full lesson.
Lesson 1. Umbrella Chant - a choral chant, performance poem
Lesson 2. Spring Acrostic - a non-rhyming acrostic poem (includes a framework)
Lesson 3. A Tale of Spring - a rhyming list poem (includes a framework)
Lesson 4. Golden One - a non-rhyming descriptive poem (includes a format)
Lesson 5. Yes, Yes, Yes It Is! - a non-rhyming question and answer poem (includes a framework)
All lessons are supported with power point slides and resources
CHRISTMAS: This is a pack of five poems about Christmas, spanning both key stages. Four are based on Christmas itself and one is about snow.
I Looked Outside - a rhyming poem about a snowfall in the night
No Crown of Jewels - a rhyming poem about the birth of Jesus, and the truth about Christmas rather than the glitz
It’s Christmas! - a rhyming poem using a different Christmas element for each stanza, for example; the tree, Santa and a present. This poem also follows an obvious pattern
What? - a rhyming poem comparing the baby Jesus to the latest toy that children desperately want at Christmas
Yes, Yes, Yes It Is! - a non-rhyming question and answer (verse and chorus) poem, again with an obvious pattern.
The poems are supported with a 43 slide power point presentation
There are general activities which can be used with all of the poems, as well as specific activities for some of them.
This bundle contains 25 detailed drama lessons.
KS1: This pack contains 14 drama lessons based on five popular fairy tales. It is accompanied by 22 resource sheets and a PPT presentation. The lessons include individual, paired and group work.
There are full descriptions of the drama strategies used.
The Three Little Pigs: three lessons using mime, freeze frame, hot seating, T.I.R and sculpture.
Hansel and Gretel: three lessons using mime, script work, sculpture and T.I.R
Little Red Riding Hood: three lessons using sculpture, thought circle, mime, hot seating and movement to music
The Enormous Turnip: two lessons using mime, thought circle, hot seating and movement to music
The Three Billy Goats Gruff: three lessons using sculpture, improvisation, script work, hot seating and movement to music
KS2: This pack contains 11 drama lessons based on four popular fairy tales. It is accompanied by 16 resources and a PPT presentation.
There are full descriptions of the drama strategies used.
The Three Billy Goats Gruff - two lessons based on script work. The strategies used are freeze frames, and performing a script as well as creating their own. There is also a short script for the whole story, which could be used for an assembly.
Jack & the Beanstalk - three lessons. The strategies used are: corporate brain, conscience alley, freeze frames, improvisation, movement to music, mime and T.I.R.
Dick Whittington - three lessons. A short version of the story is included. The strategies used are: hot seating, improvisation, freeze frames, mime, scripts and picture whoosh!
Little Red Riding Hood - three lessons. A full, new version of the story is included. The strategies used are: sculpture, improvisation, conscience alley, hot seating, thought circle, freeze frames and moving pictures
This is an original story poem telling the tale of ‘Jonah and the Whale’.
It has 11 eight line, rhyming stanzas.
This pack includes a 12 slide PPT presentation of the poem, as well as a written version.
It is ideal for telling the children this familiar story; doing do succinctly and with humour. It could also be used as the basis for a whole class assembly.
This is an original poem written to support a theme on food and shopping. It has 13 four line, rhyming stanzas
This pack includes a 14 slide PPT of the poem as well as a written version.
It is ideal for using to inspire the children to write their own list/rhyming poems, or for group/whole class poetry lessons, or to support the class work on shopping.
This is an original poem written for a Y6 leavers’ assembly.
It is made up of 12 four line, rhyming stanzas.
It can be used for individual, paired, group or whole class poetry writing. It is also ideal for using in the end of year leavers’ assembly.
It covers the topic of Y6s leaving primary school, and their hopes and dreams as they look forward to moving to secondary school. It can either be simply recited or acted out.
Included is a 13 slide PPT presentation.
This is a pack of five drama lessons based on Anthony Browne's popular book 'The Tunnel'
A full description of each drama strategy used in the lessons is included, as are general notes for using the pack.
Lesson 1: How characters are different, how they feel and creating a conversation between the two main characters. Uses - freeze frame, hot seating and sculpture
Lesson 2: Solving conflict and acting out a script. Uses - freeze frame, sculpture, scripts and silent participation
Lesson 3: A character's thoughts, what a character should do and creating a whole class piece to music. Uses - conscience alley, hot seating and performance
Lesson 4: Creating an atmospheric scene, creating a scene from off-stage and creating a performance for the rest of the class. Uses - atmosphere and acting out
Lesson 5: Using freeze frames to present ideas and key parts of the story, a character's thoughts & feelings and creating conversations to show how characters have changed. Uses - freeze frame, moving pictures and thought tapping
'Emilio lives with his mother, in a village on a Caribbean island. He is a very naughty boy and causes lots of problems. When he’s naughty he makes sparks fly. His mother gets very angry with him, and when she is angry the air rumbles loudly. The villagers are scared of them both. The Village Leader decides that the villagers have had enough, and he sends them both far away. It takes three attempts before Emilio and his mother are sent far enough away, so they can’t scare the villagers anymore…'
This short play (for a whole class assembly) is based on a traditional Caribbean tale and would link very well to a topic on the weather. There are speaking parts for every child in a class of 30. However, you can change this by simply giving fewer children more to say, and have some children with non-speaking parts. For example, there are seven Ibis birds all saying one line each; this could easily be changed to less birds speaking.
I have left the play as a word document so changes can be made.
Characters:
4 narrators
Emilio (This could be changed to Alesha if you want it to be a girl instead of a boy)
Mother (This could be changed to father if you want it to be played by a boy)
Village Leader (This would traditionally be a man but could easily be played by a girl)
4 rabbits
4 hens
4 sheep
4 villagers
7 Ibis birds
Line count (the number of times the character speaks in the play, not the number of sentences spoken. There is a lot of repetition e.g. the villagers say the same thing every time they come on):
Village Leader – 16
Emilio – 7 (including singing his song accompanied by the class)
Mother – 7 (mainly singing her song accompanied by the class)
Narrator 1 - 2
Narrator 2 – 2
Narrator 3 – 2
Narrator 4 – 2
Villagers (1-4) - 3
Rabbits (1-4) – 2
Hens (1-4) – 2
Sheep (1-4) – 2
Ibis birds (1-7) - 1
This unit uses three traditional stories from Spain, Poland and Norway.
Copies of the three stories are included.
SPAIN: Half-a-Chick - This story has three accompanying drama lessons and covers body language, tone of voice, conversations, characters' thoughts & feelings and the giving & receiving of feedback. The drama strategies used are: listening circle, improvisation and conscience alley.
POLAND: The Dragon of Krakow - This story has two accompanying drama lessons and covers creating a setting, role work and whole class performance. The drama strategies used are: sculpture, process drama, T.I.R., moving pictures and scene carousel.
NORWAY: The Boy Who Went to the North Wind - This story has three accompanying drama lessons and covers the use of effects to illustrate key points in a scene. The drama strategy used is scripts
If you want to learn more about drama strategies take a look at my pack of 23 strategies for £5
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/drama-strategies-primary-23-strategies-for-the-non-specialist-to-develop-speaking-and-listening-11602421
This is a pack of eight original poems to use with various science topics for K.S.2. Included are general activity suggestions for all of the poems, and specific activities for the individual poems.
The poems are supported by a 37 slide PPT presentation.
1) Colours Say...: a non-rhyming poem with a pattern. Each stanza is about a different colour
2) FIZZLE! CRACKLE!: a rhyming poem about electricity. This would be ideal for a rap
3) FIRE! FIRE!: a non-rhyming two stanza poem which describes fire, using two different viewpoints
4) Machine: a rhyming poem about the sounds and movements of a machine. This would make an excellent performance poem, and could also be used for a dance lesson
5) MAGIC ME!: a simple rhyming poem about the five senses. Ideal for an U.K.S.2 class to prepare as a performance for K.S.1 children
6) How Does an Animal Move?: a non-rhyming poem with each stanza looking at the movement of a different animal
7) Sounds Around...: a rhyming poem about the sounds of everyday objects, without actually naming the objects.
8) A Mass of Puzzling Questions: a non-rhyming poem about space
This pack is based on two Greek myths, and each myth has three lessons. Various drama strategies are used as well as individual, paired, group and whole class work. The drama strategies are all explained, and there are also tips for using the pack.
Resource sheets and PPT slides are included where necessary.
Both myths come with an original version of the story.
King Midas and the Golden Touch:
Lesson 1: creating a conversation; improvising, planning and rehearsing an ‘off-stage’ scene
Uses - improvisation and dialogue
Lesson 2: considering what a character should do and what he thinks; creating a conversation
Uses - thought tapping and hot seating
Lesson 3: improvising a group scene; considering what a character should do and what he thinks; creating an ending for the story
Uses - hot seating, improvisation and conscience alley
Theseus and the Minotaur:
Lesson 1: using body language and tone of voice; considering what a character thinks; thinking, speaking and reacting in role
Uses - freeze frames, thought tapping, conscience alley and T.I.R.
Lesson 2: considering a character’s feelings; being in role for a whole class drama; deciding on what will happen next
Uses - hot seating, sculpture, freeze frame and T.I.R.
Lesson 3: choreographing movements; improvising a paired scene, considering a character’s feelings; predicting a character’s actions
Uses - movement, improvisation, hot seating and flash backwards & flash forwards
This pack contains 14 drama lessons based on five popular fairy tales. It is accompanied by 22 resource sheets and a PPT presentation. The lessons include individual, paired and group work.
There are full descriptions of the drama strategies used.
The Three Little Pigs: three lessons using mime, freeze frame, hot seating, T.I.R and sculpture.
Hansel and Gretel: three lessons using mime, script work, sculpture and T.I.R
Little Red Riding Hood: three lessons using sculpture, thought circle, mime, hot seating and movement to music
The Enormous Turnip: two lessons using mime, thought circle, hot seating and movement to music
The Three Billy Goats Gruff: three lessons using sculpture, improvisation, script work, hot seating and movement to music
