This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension of the opening chapters of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach. It contains a link to the online chapter (on the first slide). This 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 session is best suited for children in years 2-3, 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 chapter 7 of Anne Holm’s ‘I Am David.’ In this section of the text, David is held hostage by the evil-hearted farmer and his family, and he forms a close bond with King the dog. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Making predictions about the final section of the story. 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. The lesson also includes an answer key for the retrieval questions, and model answer ideas for the more detailed responses. There’s a lot here (16 slides filled with questions and activities) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are suitable for students in either upper KS2 or lower KS3, depending upon the individual context of the school and students. I originally used them with year 6 children.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapter 6 of Anne Holm’s ‘I Am David.’ In this section of the text, David leaves Maria’s family’s home and finds his way through northern Italy into Switzerland. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Explaining key ideas and themes. 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. The lesson also includes an answer key for the retrieval questions, and model answer ideas for the more detailed responses. There’s a lot here (18 slides filled with questions and activities) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are suitable for students in either upper KS2 or lower KS3, depending upon the individual context of the school and students. I originally used them with year 6 children.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapter 5 of Anne Holm’s ‘I Am David.’ In this section of the text, David struggles to integrate himself into life in the Italian family’s home and he overhears the conversation between Giovanni and Elsa. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Empathising with characters. 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. The lesson also includes an answer key for the retrieval questions, and model answer ideas for the more detailed responses. A character profile template is provided (in both Word and PDF) for the main creative activity. There’s a lot here (17 slides filled with questions and activities) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are suitable for students in either upper KS2 or lower KS3, depending upon the individual context of the school and students. I originally used them with year 6 children.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapter 4 of Anne Holm’s ‘I Am David.’ In this section of the text, David is initially beaten by Carlo, before winning the respect of Carlo and his family after saving Maria from the shed fire. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Analysing characters. 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. The lesson also includes an answer key for the retrieval questions, and model answer ideas for the more detailed responses. A character profile template is provided (in both Word and PDF) for the main creative activity. There’s a lot here (17 slides filled with questions and activities) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are suitable for students in either upper KS2 or lower KS3, depending upon the individual context of the school and students. I originally used them with year 6 children.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapter 3 of Anne Holm’s ‘I Am David.’ In this section of the text, David develops his knowledge and his resourcefulness, as he learns a range of ways to survive. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Explaining key ideas about characters and 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. The lesson also includes an answer key for the retrieval questions, and model answer ideas for the more detailed responses. There’s a lot here (17 slides filled with questions and activities) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are suitable for students in either upper KS2 or lower KS3, depending upon the individual context of the school and students. I originally used them with year 6 children.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapter 2 of Anne Holm’s ‘I Am David.’ In this section of the text, David begins to enjoy living on the edge of an Italian town, only to be served a stark reminder of his continuing vulnerability. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Linking the story to its context. 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. The lesson also includes an answer key for the retrieval questions, and model answer ideas for the more detailed responses. There’s a lot here (17 slides filled with questions and activities) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are suitable for students in either upper KS2 or lower KS3, depending upon the individual context of the school and students. I originally used them with year 6 children.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapter 1 of Anne Holm’s ‘I Am David.’ In this section of the text, David escapes the camp, makes a vast journey by foot, van and boat, and then observes the beauty of the world for the first time. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Making predictions; -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings. 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. The lesson also includes an answer key for the retrieval questions, and model answer ideas for the more detailed responses. There’s a lot here (17 slides filled with questions and activities) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are suitable for students in either upper KS2 or lower KS3, depending upon the individual context of the school and students. I originally used them with year 6 children.

These whole class reading sessions aim to develop students’ comprehension skills through reading and interpreting the opening three chapters of Anna Sewell’s ‘Black Beauty.’ The resource pack includes the extracts needed (as a PDF) and both clear and well-presented PowerPoint presentations, guiding the teacher and learners through the various activities. Each reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop students’ retrieval, explanation, inference, sequencing and summarising skills. A vocabulary check helps to secure students’ understanding of any new or unfamiliar language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. There is everything here needed to teach both comprehension lessons. The resources are tried and tested with learners upper KS2, although with minor adaptations they could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This whole class reading session aims to develop students’ comprehension skills through reading and interpreting chapter 3 of ‘Black Beauty.’ The resource pack includes the extract needed (as a PDF) and a clear and well-presented PowerPoint, guiding the teacher and learners through the various activities. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop students’ retrieval, explanation, inference, sequencing and summarising skills. A vocabulary check helps to secure students’ understanding of any new or unfamiliar language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. There is everything here needed to teach one (selecting some of the activities) or two (using all of the activities) comprehension lessons. The resources are tried and tested with learners upper KS2, although with minor adaptations they could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This whole class reading session aims to develop students’ comprehension skills through reading and interpreting chapters 1-2 of 'Black Beauty.’ The resource pack includes the extract needed (as a PDF) and a clear and well-presented PowerPoint, guiding the teacher and learners through the various activities. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop students’ retrieval, explanation, inference, sequencing and summarising skills. A vocabulary check helps to secure students’ understanding of any new or unfamiliar language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. There is everything here needed to teach one (selecting some of the activities) or two (using all of the activities) comprehension lessons. The resources are tried and tested with learners upper KS2, although with minor adaptations they could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s fluency and comprehension skills through reading William Blake’s 'Spring.’ The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop comprehension skills through VIPERS activities: vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, and summarising. It also contains a vocabulary check and key contextual information to clarify any unfamiliar language and subject matter. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The extract needed is provided in both Word and PDF, and I’ve also a link to a web-based version of the poem on the first slide. The session is tried and tested, and was initially delivered to children in years 4-5, however with only minor adaptations it would be accessible to slightly older and younger children.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students revising knowledge relating to population and migration, as a part of their study of human geography. It contains comprehensive sections on: Overview; Key Population Concepts; Key Migration Concepts; Population Case Studies; (India, Japan, Nigeria, Mongolia) Migration Case Studies; (The War in Ukraine, Net Migration in the UK, The Partition of India, The Age of Migration) Population of Earth Timeline; Key Vocabulary. The organiser is designed to help children to learn the relevant human and physical geography knowledge from the KS3 Geography National Curriculum. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A3 or A4, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included).

This whole class reading session aims to develop students’ comprehension skills through reading and interpreting the opening section of Ollie Spark and the Accidental Adventure.’ The resource pack includes the extract needed (as a PDF) and a clear and well presented PowerPoint, guiding the teacher and learners through the various activities. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop students’ retrieval, explanation, inference, sequencing and summarising skills. A vocabulary check helps to secure students’ understanding of any new or unfamiliar language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The session is best suited for learners in years 4-6, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s fluency and comprehension skills through reading about Easter traditions around the world. The text that they read is taken from an article that was featured in the evening standard (it has been provided in both PDF and Word for easy printing, but the link to the article on the website is also provided). The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s VIPERS skills: vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, sequencing and summarising. 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 upper KS2, however it could easily be used with slightly older or younger children, depending upon the individual context of your class.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s fluency and comprehension skills whilst reading key extracts from an age-appropriate adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (the pages needed for the lesson are provided). The extract is from the ‘Shakespeare Stories: Romeo and Juliet’ adaptation by Andrew Matthews and Tony Ross. The sections of the story that children read are when Romeo and Juliet meet at the ball (Act 1 Scene 5) and the balcony scene (Act 2 Scene 1). The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s VIPERS skills: vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, sequencing and summarising. 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 text to read is provided in both PDF and Word format. The session is best suited for children across KS2 - the lesson has been tried and tested with children in years 4 to 6. Hope that you find it useful!

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Katherine Rundell’s 'Rooftoppers.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Section by Section Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Literary Devices; The Author’s Perspective. All key words and ideas are compartmentalised for easy reference. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3 or A4, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Katherine Rundell’s 'Rooftoppers.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS2 expectations within the National Curriculum framework. Children love learning from these resources, whilst they are also of great use to teachers, as there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: ‘Rundell’s Language Techniques’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Explain meanings of words that they know and ask the meaning of new words. Link the meaning of new words to words that they already know;’ ‘Character Analysis of Sophie and Matteo’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ ‘An Interview with Charles Maxim’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ ‘Storyboarders’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Read books that are structured in different ways and for a range of purposes.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is over 20 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. The resource is suitable for home/ remote learning.