This engaging and purposeful lesson is the third in a series of lessons that enable children to gradually build towards composing an effective, well-structured recount. This lesson focuses on guiding children towards creating full, interesting sentences to describe their stimulus. By the end of the lesson, they write the opening section of their recount. The eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (18 slides) guides teachers and children along the following learning journey: -Knowledge recall - revisiting what children already know about recounts; -SPAG starter: Expanded noun phrases; -Understanding how prepositions can aid us in expanding sentences; -Exploring how expanded noun phrases and prepositions can be used in combination to create interesting, detailed full sentences; -Following a model example to develop effective sentences within the first paragraph (a structure strip is also provided to help the children to formulate this paragraph in an organised manner); -Reflecting on their learning from across the lesson. These lessons were originally created for children in lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). The focus of the recount in these resources is a ‘journey’, but the resources have been made in a way that they can be easily adapted to your chosen topic/ subject matter.

This engaging and purposeful lesson is the fifth in a series of lessons that enable children to gradually build towards composing an effective, well-structured recount. This lesson focuses on helping children to vary their sentence structures, to produce interesting and imaginative compositions. The eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (20 slides) guides teachers and children along the following learning journey: -Knowledge recall - revisiting what children already know about recounts; -SPAG starter: Identifying word types: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives and determiners -Understanding that writing is more interesting and imaginative when writers vary the type of word that they open the sentence with (i.e. not always pronouns and determiners); -Enhancing a boring, monotonous example by adding variety to sentence openers (the worksheet for this is provided, both in Word and PDF); -Improving their earlier written attempts by following steps to increase the variety and quality of their sentences; -Following a model example to develop variety and imagination within the next paragraph of their written compositions (a structure strip is provided, in both PDF and Word format, to help them to organise and sequence this section of their composition); -Reflecting on their learning from across the lesson. These lessons were originally created for children in lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). The focus of the recount in these resources is a ‘journey’, but the resources have been made in a way that they can be easily adapted to your chosen topic/ subject matter.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Michael Morpurgo’s 'When Fishes Flew.’ 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: ‘Morpurgo’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 Nandi and Maria’ - 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 Nandi’ - 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.

This engaging and purposeful lesson is the second in a series of lessons that enable children to gradually build towards composing an effective, well-structured recount. In this lesson, children learn to build vocabulary to use in their writing, drawing on a range of word types (nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs) and using each of their five senses. The eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides teachers and children along the following learning journey: -Knowledge recall - revisiting what children already know about recounts; -SPAG starter: Word classes (nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs); -Establishing a three-part structure for the recount; -Watching a ‘Climbing Everest’ video (hyperlinked) to gain inspiration and consider how a journey can be structured and described; -Using a clear template and the five senses to build appropriate and effective vocabulary; -Sharing and building upon one another’s vocabulary and ideas; -Reflecting on their learning from across the lesson. The PowerPoint presentation (19 slides) and activity resources needed are provided (the worksheet template is provided in both Word and PDF). These lessons were originally created for children in lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). The focus of the recount in these resources is a ‘journey’, but the resources have been made in a way that they can be easily adapted to your chosen topic/ subject matter.

This engaging and purposeful lesson is the first in a series of lessons that enable children to gradually build towards composing an effective, well-structured recount. The first lesson focuses on what recounts are, establishing the main features and techniques. The eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides teachers and children along the following learning journey: -Knowledge harvesting what children already know about recounts; -SPAG starter: Homophones -Finding out more about recounts and the essential techniques through watching a BBC Teach ‘Michael Rosen’ video, and answering comprehension questions about what they have watched; -Establishing a success criteria for recounts; -Analysing a ‘WAGOLL’ (what a good one looks like) and identifying the features and techniques from the success criteria; -Reflecting on their learning from across the lesson. The PowerPoint presentation and activity resources needed are provided (any readings or worksheets are provided in both Word and PDF). These lessons were originally created for children in lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4). The focus of the recount in these resources is a ‘journey’, but the resources have been made in a way that they can be easily adapted to your chosen topic/ subject matter.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘When Fishes Flew.’ The resource pack includes the extract and all of the activities for the session, which the class are guided through via a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation. 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 session is best suited for children in upper KS2, but it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop an understanding of the well-known aviator Amelia Earhart, as a part of their study of significant explorers. In particular, they: -Learn who Earhart was and what she is best-known for; -Understand the context of the world in which she lived; -Explain what made her achievements so inspirational; -Evaluate how she demonstrated the characteristics of a successful explorer. 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; -Gaining a background understanding of the world in which Amelia Earhart lived, including technological developments and gender expectations; -Learning about her life and her key achievements, and discussing which they feel are most impressive and why; -Discussing how Earhart was an inspiration, through discussing her achievements, legacy and key quotations; -Evaluating how Earhart demonstrated the key characteristics of successful explorers, through a ‘Diamond 9’ activity. -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they believe they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (21 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included are the templates for the Diamond 9 activity. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) but they could easily be used with upper KS2 - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop an understanding of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. In particular, they: -Learn who Hillary and Norgay were and what they are known for; -Explain what made their achievements so incredible; -Learn more about the personality traits of both Hillary and Norgay; -Evaluate how both climbers were recognised after the climb. 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; -Gaining a background understanding of the dangers of climbing extremely high mountains; -Watching an engaging video (hyperlinked) to gain a base understanding of the key details of the climb; -Considering the key details and personality traits of both climbers; -Evaluating how the recognition for Hillary and Norgay differed after the successful climb, reflecting on how fair they feel this was; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they believe they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (19 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included are the images for the character profile activity. 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.

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop their understanding of different explorers from over time. In this lesson, children sequence exploration events and compare explorers from over time. Specifically, they: -Recall the achievements of different explorers from across history; -Place significant exploration events in chronological order; -Consider how the role of explorers has changed over time. It was originally taught as the final lesson in a sequence of lessons focusing on different explorers. Please note that to complete the final written task, it does help if children have either been taught the prior lessons in this sequence (available on this platform) or have other prior understanding of at least two explorers. 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, the meaning of exploration, and the achievements of different explorers; -Following clear instructions and utilising given resources to produce their own timelines of different exploration achievements from between 1400 to the present day. -Using information and prompts to compare and contrast different explorers from across time; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they believe they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (20 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included are the event cards for the timeline activity. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) but they could easily be used with upper KS2 - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make precise and detailed interpretations of Harper Lee’s language choices throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. In particular, students identify and analyse the effect of Lee’s language in her descriptions of settings in the novel, using precisely selected extracts, before applying these concepts to their own descriptive writing attempts. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Defining and exemplifying the descriptive writing techniques, through a fun and interactive bingo game; Identifying the language techniques that Lee uses in her descriptions of settings in the novel;’ Analysing the effectiveness of Lee’s descriptive writing; Creating their own descriptions of settings, using Lee’s model examples, a structure strip, and the techniques that they have gathered over the course of the lesson; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Bingo Cards Teacher’s Bingo Questions/Guidance; Selected extracts (from chapters 1, 12 and 15); Descriptive Writing Structure Strip; Descritpive Writing Helpsheet; Comprehensive Lesson Plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 8 and year 13 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This engaging and interesting lesson aims to improve students’ knowledge of John Steinbeck’s key messages in his novella Of Mice and Men. It also aims to build their skills in retrieving information from texts, considering the outcomes about the characters, and making precise and confident interpretations about Steinbeck’s intentions. The lesson uses a range of tasks, that require students to use their visual and interpersonal skills. It follows this learning journey: - Investigating the life of John Steinbeck, including his influences, experiences, and beliefs; - Finding relevant quotations to ascertain which characters fulfilled their dreams, and what this could tell us about Steinbeck’s message; - Completing analysis paragraphs on how Steinbeck reveals his message through the final chapters of the text, using a template and a success criteria; - Evaluating each others’ argumentative attempts. The resource includes a comprehensive and visually engaging PowerPoint presentation, a worksheet to decipher which characters achieved their dreams, a template and success criteria for the main task, and a lesson plan/ teacher guidance sheet. All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation. You can choose to buy this resource alone, or as part of the ‘Of Mice and Men - All Lessons and Scheme’ bundle, which contains seven full lessons, resources, teachers notes, and PowerPoint presentations, plus a Pointless Of Mice and Men game, for just £5!

This engaging and purposeful lesson is the sixth and final lesson in a series of lessons in which children develop an in-depth understanding of Ancient Greece. There is a particular focus on the achievements of the Ancient Greeks and how these have influenced the world. In this lesson, children consider how modern society has been influenced by the achievements of the Ancient Greeks. Specifically, they: -Understand how Ancient Greek discovery and learning has impacted the world; -Understand how Ancient Greek democracy and law has impacted the world. -Understand how Ancient Greek sport, culture and religion has impacted the world. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Understanding the meaning of the key concept ‘legacy.’ -Considering Greek achievements in each of the key areas (discovery and learning, democracy and law, and sport, culture and religion) and then linking these achievements to what is seen in the modern world; -Using clear guidance and a structure strip (provided) based on what they have learnt to form a clear, organised response to the enquiry question: 'How have Ancient Greek achievements influenced the world? -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they feel they have met the learning objective, and considering the questions that they have for further learning. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (24 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson and the structure strip for the main enquiry-response activity (provided in both Word and PDF). In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4), however this was an advanced class and these resources could easily be used with upper KS2. The key learning is aligned with KS2 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 almost 30 slides of sound clips 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 ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984).’ Round 1. The characters in Nineteen Eighty-Four Round 2. Quotations from the text Round 3. Settings and Objects Round 4. Themes in Nineteen Eighty-Four 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 informative session offers Early Years practitioners a more in-depth understanding of how to employ problem-solving activities effectively in their classrooms. It is intended to be used in a short, introductory, information-sharing CPD environment, and took me about 45 minutes to deliver. The session is rooted in findings from educational research (links included) and goes through: Exactly what constitutes problem-solving, and why it is so essential in the broader context of maths education; Key ingredients for ensuring that problem-solving tasks are engaging and effective; Some excellent model examples of problem-solving activities; How to incorporate ‘incidental problem-solving’ into classrooms; Useful links for resources and task ideas, and further reading. I hope that you find it useful!

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem ‘England in 1819.’ 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.’

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Percy William Wordsworth’s poem ‘Lines Written in Early Spring.’ 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.’

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Percy Imtiaz Dharker’s poem ‘A Century Later.’ 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.’

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Imtiaz Dharker’s poem 'A Century Later.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: -Context; -Line-by-Line Analysis; -Poetic Devices/ Language Devices; -Themes; -Form/Structure; -Poems for Comparison; -The Poet’s Influences. The organiser is perfect for those studying the ‘Worlds and Lives’ anthology. Key words and ideas are underlined for easy reference. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, 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 clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning about the artist Piet Mondrian, as a part of their art and design study. It contains comprehensive sections on: -Biography of the Artist; -Styles and Techniques; -Piet Mondrian Timeline; -Significant Works; -Key Vocabulary; -How do I create art like Mondrian? This resource can be adapted for all ages, but was originally designed for KS2 and KS3 children. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3, 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 detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Grace Nichols’ poem 'Like An Heiress.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: -Context; -Line-by-Line Analysis; -Poetic Devices/ Language Devices; -Themes; -Form/Structure; -Poems for Comparison; -Links to Further Reading. The organiser is perfect for those studying the ‘Worlds and Lives’ anthology. Key words and ideas are underlined for easy reference. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, 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.