This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s war poem ‘Charge of the Light Brigade.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful throughout teaching, or for exam revision or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the key English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. It is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Ted Hughes’ power and conflict poem 'Bayonet Charge.’ Teachers have found the activities particularly useful throughout teaching, or for exam revision or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the key English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. It is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’

Based on the popular game show 'Pointless', these resources are perfect for use as a starter activity, plenary, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change the questions/answers. Containing sound clips, engaging visuals, and suitably challenging questions, these resources are effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several fully functional and challenging games, including: - English ('Building Adjectives', and learning 'Macbeth.') - Maths ('Shape, Space, and Measure) - Science (Physics, Space.) - History ('World War II' and 'The Tudors.') - Geography (Populations) Plus, a blank template for you to create your own Pointless games, based on whatever topic your class is studying! The nature of the game ensures that this resource can challenge students of all levels.

Included in this resource pack are three non-fiction information texts, with corresponding activities, about the following areas of Victorian life: -Life for Rich and Poor Victorian Children; -Chimney Sweeps; -The Life of Queen Victoria. The activities aligned with each text become progressively more difficult, allowing children to showcase different skills, including: retrieving, interpreting, inferring, identifying, analysing, evaluating and creating. This enables you to tailor the learning to children’s individual needs. All files are provided as PDFs and Word files (in the zip files). I have previously used these resources with Year 3, 4, and 5 children.

Based on the popular game show 'Pointless', this resource is perfect for use as a whole lesson resource, enrichment option, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change questions. (I've also added a blank template so that you can make your own games from scratch). Containing almost 30 slides of sound clips, interesting tasks, and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several full rounds of questions to build or revisit knowledge of characters, plot, and themes in 'Private Peaceful.' Round 1. The characters in Private Peaceful Round 2. Quotations from the text Round 3. Settings and Objects Round 4. Themes in Private Peaceful The nature of this game ensures that the resource can challenge students of all levels. A blank template has also been added, so that you can create your own games!

Based on the popular game show 'Pointless', this resource is perfect for use as a whole lesson resource, enrichment option, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change questions. (I've also added a blank template so that you can make your own games from scratch). Containing almost 30 slides of sound clips, engaging visuals, and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several full rounds of questions to build or revisit knowledge of characters, plot, and themes in 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.' Round 1. The characters in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Round 2. Quotations from the text Round 3. Settings, themes, and objects Round 4. Similarities between Bruno and Shmuel The nature of this game ensures that the resource can challenge students of all levels. A blank template has also been added, so that you can create your own games!

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Thomas Hardy’s war poem 'The Man He Killed.’ They are perfect for aiding the progress of students learning poetry either in KS3 and KS4 in preparation for poetry/unseen poetry at GCSE, as the tasks draw on English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies - it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. The booklet is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Ciaran Carson’s ‘Belfast Confetti.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful throughout teaching, or for exam revision or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the key English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. Activities within the booklet include: ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these. ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’ Plus many, many more activities! I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer.

This KS1 whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through the reading of a Paul Perro poem about The Great Fire of London. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The poem is provided in both Word and as a PDF. The session is best suited for children in years 1-2, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

Based on the popular game show ‘Pointless,’ this resource is perfect for use as a whole lesson resource, enrichment option, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change questions. (I’ve also added a blank template so that you can make your own games from scratch). Containing 24 slides of sound clips, engaging visuals, and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several full rounds of questions to build or revisit knowledge of Ancient Greece. Round 1. Ancient Greek Gods Round 2. Places in Ancient Greece Round 3. Key Dates Round 4. Objects and Ideas in Ancient Greece Round 5. Famous Ancient Greeks The nature of this game ensures that the resource can challenge students of all levels. A blank template has also been added, so that you can create your own games!

Based on the popular game show ‘Pointless,’ this resource is perfect for use as a whole lesson resource, enrichment option, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change questions. (I’ve also added a blank template so that you can make your own games from scratch). Containing 24 slides of sound clips, engaging visuals, and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several full rounds of questions to build or revisit knowledge of Romans. Round 1. Roman Leaders/ Emperors Round 2. Places in the Roman Empire Round 3. Key Dates Round 4. Objects and Ideas in Roman Times Round 5. Roman Words The nature of this game ensures that the resource can challenge students of all levels. A blank template has also been added, so that you can create your own games!

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop an understanding of who Christopher Columbus was and the impact that he had on the world: In particular, they: -Learn who Christopher Columbus was and what he is known for; -Explain how Columbus’ voyages have impacted the world today; -Evaluate the actions and behaviour of Christopher Columbus. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall of basic history skills, key terms, and the meaning of exploration; -Watching an engaging video (hyperlinked) to gain a base understanding of his life, voyages and achievements; -Answer comprehension questions demonstrating what they have learnt from the video; -Exploring quotations from Columbus’ own account of his voyages, to discover how he mistreated native people in the lands that he explored; -Evaluating Columbus’ impact on the world; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they feel they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (18 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included are the quotations for the development task - in both Word and PDF format. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

Based on the popular game show ‘Pointless,’ this resource is perfect for use as a whole lesson resource, enrichment option, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change questions. (I’ve also added a blank template so that you can make your own games from scratch). Containing 24 slides of sound clips, engaging visuals, and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several full rounds of questions to build or revisit knowledge of Ancient Egypt. Round 1. The pharaohs of Ancient Egypt Round 2. Places in Ancient Egypt Round 3. Hieroglyphics Round Round 4. Objects and Ideas in Ancient Egypt Round 5. Ancient Egyptian Gods The nature of this game ensures that the resource can challenge students of all levels. A blank template has also been added, so that you can create your own games!

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop an introductory understanding of what explorers are and how exploring has changed over time. In particular, they: -Define what an explorer is and consider the skills explorers need; -Identify some important explorations from the past; -Understand the factors that have helped to develop exploration. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall of basic history skills and key terms; -Defining what explorers are and considering the key skills and qualities that they need; -Understanding base information about how the earliest humans explored to become natives of different areas around the world; -Considering how exploration was limited before the 1400s; -Considering the technological and societal changes that made wider exploration possible; -Imagining that they were an explorer from this time, and contemplating the different expeditions that they would like to undertake; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they feel they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (17 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included is the worksheet for the development task - in both Word and PDF format. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

These original writing mats offer a varied and visually engaging way for students to independently increase the depth and breadth of their imaginative writing. Designed on A3, they simply need to printed and given to students before they begin creative writing tasks. They could also be used as colourful word posters to brighten up your classroom and familiarise children with new vocabulary. The benefits of using these resources as writing mats is twofold: Firstly, the vibrant, wide-ranging, and student-friendly landscapes offer students a wealth of new writing stimuli. Secondly, the simple concrete noun labels save substantial learning time, as the effort that students may have previously exerted deliberating over the spellings of the common nouns is vastly reduced. Instead, students have the time to focus upon the teacher's intended key writing focus areas. This resource pack aids children in visualising imaginary settings, many of which fit in with Primary/ early Secondary topics. There are 10 different imagination landscapes in this pack: -Nightmare World -Ancient Egypt -Christmas -Medieval Times -The Future -Pirates -Olympics -Romans -The Circus -Fairy Tales Every image used in this resource pack is licensed for commercial use, and all are cited on a separate document within the pack. This pack can either be purchased alone, or as a bundle alongside the 'World Landscapes' writing mats for just 1 pound more.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s understanding of the social activist Martin Luther King Jr., whilst also developing a range of comprehension skills when reading non-fiction texts. The resource pack contains an original non-fiction text giving key facts about Martin Luther King’s life. It also contains a colourful and thought-provoking PowerPoint presentation, which develops learning through a range of retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The session is best suited for children in years 1-3, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 1 to 2 of Emma Carroll’s 'Secrets of a Sun King.’ In this section of the text, Lil’s grandfather is taken to hospital, and she is both mystified and captivated after opening the package containing the ancient Egyptian jar. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Making predictions; -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Summarising the key events of the chapters. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. There’s a lot in the session (20 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for children in key stage 2, (they were originally used for those in years 4 and 5).

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 5 to 6 of Emma Carroll’s 'Secrets of a Sun King.’ In this section of the text, Lil reads Professor Hanawati’s letter and the first section of the transcription of Lysandra’s story. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Explaining key ideas. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. There’s a lot in the session (18 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for children in key stage 2, (they were originally used for those in years 4 and 5).

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 7 to 8 of Emma Carroll’s 'Secrets of a Sun King.’ In this section of the text, Lil reads the translation detailing Kyky’s chariot accident, and learns that her parents have been hiding a secret from her about a baby boy born in 1899. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Making predictions based on clues in the text. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. There’s a lot in the session (18 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for children in key stage 2, (they were originally used for those in years 4 and 5).

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 12 to 13 of Emma Carroll’s 'Secrets of a Sun King.’ In this section of the text, the children manage to decipher the remainder of Lysandra’s script. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Sequencing key plot events. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. There’s a lot in the session (18 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for children in key stage 2, (they were originally used for those in years 4 and 5).