In this lesson, students learn about the key symbols found across Christianity, and in particular in churches. Some of the symbols covered include: the cross/crucifix, alpha/omega, the sign of the holy trinity, and the animal symbols of the disciples. Students learn about what symbols are used for, before discussing the key meanings of the church symbols. This resource pack contains a comprehensive 15-slide Powerpoint, alongside all of the resources needed for the group ‘symbol detectives’ activity (for this task, I put the symbols and clues around the room, and have groups do a circuit of them. A creative extension activity is also provided in order to challenge higher ability learners. In the past, I have used this lesson with children from across Key Stage 2 - the key learning is aligned with NC expectations for RE, and also the content prescribed by most diocese regions. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide.

In this lesson, students learn about the a number of the main types of Christianity, including Protestant (Anglican), Roman Catholic and Orthodox denominations. Children learn about why there are different kinds of Christianity, before exploring the features of each faith and the respective churches. This resource pack contains a comprehensive 14-slide Powerpoint, alongside all of the resources needed. A creative extension activity is also provided in order to challenge higher ability learners. In the past, I have used this lesson with children from across Key Stage 2 - the key learning is aligned with NC expectations for RE, and also the content prescribed by most diocese regions. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide. Note - children will need access to computers/ books in order to complete the research task.

This engaging and informative lesson helps students to infer and deduce the hidden meanings in the introduction section of Darren Shan’s ‘Cirque Du Freak.’ Students act as ‘Text Detectives’ reading between the lines to find out deeper meanings in the introduction, using this information to make predictions about what may happen in the text. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Understanding why individual subject content was chosen for the introduction (e.g. the fear that spiders can arouse in many people); - Reading the introduction, and answering comprehension questions to demonstrate their understanding; - Functioning as ‘Text Detectives’, inferring and deducing the hidden meanings about narrator and plot that are provided within the introduction; - Using inferences from textual evidence to make insightful and evidence-based predictions about the story; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Newspaper Article - ‘The shape of fear - why spiders scare us so much;’ - Extract from ‘Cirque Du Freak’ - The Introduction; - Text Detectives worksheet (and teacher model answer sheet); - 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 7 and 8 classes, however colleagues have used them for between years 4 and 9 with minimal adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This engaging and informative lesson helps students to understand the social and historical context of ‘freak shows’ in order to aid their reading of Darren Shan’s ‘Cirque Du Freak.’ Students gather knowledge about when, where, and how freak shows operated, and apply this understanding to the text. They then form and write their own arguments regarding whether they believe freak shows should be allowed. There are easily enough resources for 2-3 lessons here. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Reading and understanding information about the history of freak shows; - Answering comprehension questions and creating a timeline to demonstrate their understanding; - Reading selected extracts from the text, in order to link ideas regarding context and text together; - Forming and writing a fair and balanced argument, using a model example and a helpsheet, about whether they think freak shows should be legal; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Information Text - Freak Shows - Extract from ‘Cirque Du Freak’ - Chapters 2 and 8; - Timeline Template; - Balanced Argument Worksheet; - Writing to Argue Help-sheet - 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 7 and 8 classes, however colleagues have used them for between years 4 and 9 with minimal adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

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 ‘Cirque Du Freak.’ Round 1. The characters in Cirque Du Freak Round 2. Quotations from the text Round 3. Settings and Objects Round 4. Themes in Cirque Du Freak 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 whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Louie Stowell’s ‘Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good.’ 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 KS2. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning. The extract is provided as a PDF, and a link to the online version is also included on the first slide.

This interesting and highly-stimulating lesson enables students to describe and understand the key aspects of Africa’s major rivers and lakes. Whilst gaining a wide range of knowledge about the rivers and lakes, students also become familiar with a wide range of vocabulary pertinent to the geography curriculum. The lesson follows a clear, logical, bite-size learning journey, which guides students towards relevant and constructive learning objectives. Over the course of this journey, they become able to: -Remember key facts about the African continent to contextualise their learning; -Identify African rivers and lakes on a map, and identify the countries and regions within the continent; -Learn about the Nile and Lake Victoria - modelled in the presentation; -Retrieve, share, and describe key information about various rivers and lakes in Africa, through a researching activity. -Peer assess each others’ descriptions using the learning objectives. The lesson requires access to atlases and/or web-searching devices. This resource pack includes: -A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation (16 slides); -A blank map for the atlas activity; -Research template for the main activity; The resources within this lesson can be easily adapted to suit home/remote learning.

In this lesson, students demonstrate their understanding of churches and what happens in them. Children participate in a 15 question quiz (with answers provided) to showcase their understanding of: -The features of churches; -Symbols found in churches; -Different denominations of Christianity and how their churches differ. Children then produce a non-chronological report detailing all that they have learnt about churches. The resource pack contains a comprehensive 23-slide Powerpoint, alongside all of the planning resources needed for the report. In the past, I have used this lesson with children from across Key Stage 2 - the key learning is aligned with NC expectations for RE, and also the content prescribed by most diocese regions. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Darren Shan’s ‘Cirque Du Freak.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS3 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework. Children have found these resources extremely engaging, and for teachers 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: - ‘Context: Freak Shows’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Know the purpose, audience and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension.’ - ‘Shan’s Description of Truska’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Know how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, present meaning.’ - ‘Mr Crepsley’ and ‘Rhamus Twobellies’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Study setting, plot, and characterisation, and the effects of these.’ - ‘Vocabulary Inspector’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Learn new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is 21 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included).

This engaging and informative lesson helps students to identify and analyse the descriptive devices used by Darren Shan throughout the description of the freak show in ‘Cirque Du Freak.’ In addition to interpreting and discussing the similes, metaphors, varied vocabulary, and alliteration used by the writer, students imaginatively use these devices themselves to create their own act for the Cirque Du Freak! The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Defining each of the different types of descriptive devices, through completing an interactive group activity; - Reading extracts from chapters 10-13, and identifying the language techniques used by Darren Shan to describe the freak show acts; - Analysing the effectiveness of each of Darren Shan’s descriptive devices; - Creating their own act for the Cirque Du Freak, utilising appropriate and effective descriptive devices throughout; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Cards for the Card Sorting Activity;’ - Extracts from ‘Cirque Du Freak’ - Chapters 10 to 13 - the freak show; - Analysing Language Devices worksheet; - Character Profiles Template (in Word and PDF); - Your Own Act Template (in Word and PDF). There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 7 and 8 classes, however colleagues have used them for between years 4 and 9 with minimal adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This engaging and informative lesson helps students to understand and analyse how the character of Steve Leonard is introduced and developed throughout Darren Shan’s ‘Cirque Du Freak.’ In addition to considering how Shan uses foreshadowing in his introduction, students plot how Steve’s character develops as the events of the plot take place. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Reading and comprehending the opening chapters, understanding how Steve’s character is initially presented to the reader; - Defining the key term ‘foreshadowing’, and considering how this technique has been used by Shan in his introduction of Steve; - Tracking the changes in Steve’s character throughout the text; - Analysing the characterisation of Steve throughout the text, utilising textual evidence to back up ideas; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Extracts from ‘Cirque Du Freak’ - Chapters 1-2; - Analysing Steve’s Character Essay Template; - Character Development Graph Template; - Detailed 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 7 and 8 classes, however colleagues have used them for between years 4 and 9 with minimal adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This engaging, comprehensive lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue ‘My Last Duchess’, through focusing comprehensively upon the subject matter, language, and structure of the poem. By the end of the lesson, students demonstrate their knowledge of the poem analytically, through assured, appropriate, and sustained interpretations. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Inferring key meanings about the content of the poem using the language in the title; Securing contextual understanding of who the real-life Duke may be, and of Robert Browning, the poet; Reading and interpreting the poem, using a provided line-by-line analysis, and interactive group activities; Developing their understanding through inferring and analysing key language and structural choices; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and substantial; (including hyperlinks to informative and engaging videos) Copy of poem; Deeper thinking worksheet (and teacher answer sheet); Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses; Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. This was originally taught to middle-ability year 9/10 groups, but can easily be differentiated for groups of different ages and abilities. All resources are provided in both Word (inside the zip file - to allow for editing) and PDF (to prevent formatting issues). All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising knowledge relating to coastal regions. It contains comprehensive sections on: -Different types of coastal landscapes (e.g. bays and headlands); -Different zones of coastal landscapes (e.g. sublittoral zone, intertidal zone); -Features of coastal regions (including erosion, wildlife, longshore drift, threatened coastline, etc.); -How beaches are formed; 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). The resource is most suitable for students in KS2 or KS3.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students revising knowledge relating to Australia, as a part of their study of physical and human geography. It contains comprehensive sections on: Overview and map; Regions and Countries of Australia; Longest Rivers; Highest Mountains; Human Geography Features; Physical Geography Features. 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). The resource is most suitable for students in KS2 or KS3.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘War Horse.’ 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 Year 5 and 6, but it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students revising knowledge relating to Australia, as a part of their study of place, human and physical geography. Overview and Maps; Physical Geography; Human Geography; Comparison with the United Kingdom; Australia Timeline; Key Vocabulary. 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 clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for Year 6 teachers, parents and children when covering ‘Ratio’ in mathematics. The content is organised into the following sections: -Overview: Learning areas covered, key definitions, why this learning is important; -Ratio Language; -The Ratio Symbol; -Scale Factors and Similar Shapes; -Ratio and Fractions; -Proportion; -Key Vocabulary. 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.

These engaging and purposeful lessons guide children towards creating their own Pablo Picasso cubism-style self portraits. Included in this resource pack are the third and fourth lessons in a series of six lessons. They focus on helping children to explore and develop creative ideas for their cubism portraits. This third lesson helps children to: -Recall important facts about self-portraits, Picasso and cubism; -Consider how they can present each facial feature in the cubism style; -Reflect on the feeling, tone and effect of their sketches, deciding on which ideas to develop further in the next lesson; This fourth lesson helps children to: -Consider, adapt and edit the use of lines and shapes in their designs/ sketches; -Develop the use of objects, symbols and colour in their work; -Put all of the ideas together from the sessions thus far to produce a final draft design. Included are eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentations which guide the learners through each aspect of the exploring and developing ideas phases. Each presentation is 12-13 slides long. These lessons were originally created for children in years 5-6, but may be adapted for slightly older and younger year groups. The other lessons in the series are available on this site in packs of two (like this resource), or the entire unit of lessons can be purchased as a part of a bundle.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Michelle Paver’s ‘Wolf Brother.’ 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 Year 5 and 6, but it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.

These engaging and purposeful lessons guide children towards creating their own Pablo Picasso cubism-style self portraits. Included in this resource pack are the first two lessons in a series of six lessons. They focus on helping children to understanding the meanings behind self-portraits, researching about Picasso’s life and understanding the cubism movement/ style. This first lesson helps children to: -Define self-portraits and understand why they are important; -Reflect on the key meanings behind some of the world’s most renowned self-portraits; -Think about their own identity and consider how their features may be shown in self-portrait through colours, shapes and symbols. This second lesson helps children to: -Use effective research skills and a research template to find out key information about Pablo Picasso’s life; -Analyse cubist paintings and understand the key features of the cubist movement; -Consider how facial features can be presented in the cubist style. Included are eye-catching and comprehensive PowerPoint presentations (11 slides each), and the identity worksheet/ research templates required for the tasks (in both Word and PDF). These lessons were originally created for children in years 5-6, but may be adapted for slightly older and younger year groups. The other lessons in the series are available on this site in packs of two (like this resource), or the entire unit of lessons can be purchased as a part of a bundle.