Florence Nightingale demonstrates how to wash hands effectively and uses a song to remember the different stages to ensure your hands are clean. 2020 is the UN Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Handwashing is essential practice to health professionals but should also be important to all of us if we want to stay healthy and prevent the spread of germs and diseases. These two films show how to clean hands well using the NHS guidelines on the different steps and a song written by Kate Cunningham to remember them. Film 1 shows why a quick rinse under the tap is not enough, followed by the song. Film 2 is the short version with just the song. Kate is the author of Vlad and the Florence Nightingale Adventure picture book and more information about the books, visits and events can be found on the Reading Riddle website

The planning and resources are based on the research and illustrations from the picture book Vlad and the Florence Nightingale Adventure. It works well with the book but can also be used independently. Florence Nightingale’s influence included working to make hospitals cleaner, train nurses to be professionals and gathering data to determine what changes improved healthcare. The lessons cover these ideas and include looking at hospitals past and present, timelines, science investigation on hygiene, the role of a nurse now and in history, first aid and making a difference and data gathering. There are links to RE, PSHE, Science, English and Maths. Within the lessons are Big Questions link to the topic to promote speaking and listening. There are powerpoints and resources to support lessons. Planning for English lessons on persuasive writing and instructions has been downloaded separately. For further information about the Vlad series of books (Vlad and the Great Fire of London, Vlad and the First World War), school visits, lesson resources and encouraging reading with families see the Reading Riddle website.

This is a set of 5 lessons which focus on the personal testimonies of those caught up in the First World War. The activities and objectives are included on the lesson plan and there are resource sheets and a planning sheet. Children work in groups to read and re-enact stories from eye-witness accounts. They then plan and write their own accounts and read them to the class. For other free resources, information about the Vlad history stories school visits and online sessions visit the Reading Riddle website.

This is a word mat including vocabulary needed to write as part of a topic on Florence Nightingale. It uses illustrations from Vlad and the Florence Nightingale Adventure. Look for the other planning and resources on the topic from my shop on TES or on the Reading Riddle website Check out the website for information on the books, author visits and links to other resources.

This planning has the resources and links needed to write a newspaper article about what Dr Phoebe Chapple did to be awarded the Military Medal during the First World War. It would work well with the story book Vlad and the First World War - but does stand alone. Dr Phoebe Chapple was an Australian doctor who paid to travel to England and join the medics serving in the First World War. She was awarded a Military Medal after putting herself in danger during an attack on a medical centre on the Western Front. She survived and returned to Australia after the war. Read about her and other inspirational people from a wide range of backgrounds in Vlad and the First World War, which includes a fact file about the real people included in the story. For information about school visits go to the Reading Riddle website.

These resources support a set of lessons on purposeful persuasive letter writing (KS2). Based on research I did to write Vlad and the First World War, they focus on Walter Tull and Phoebe Chapple. Both could have been awarded the Military Cross, but prevailing attitudes discriminated against them. The lessons support writing a letter to persuade the Ministry of Defence to award them posthumously. It includes a set of lesson plans linked to the literacy curriculum, templates for making notes and crib sheets if you want to focus on the letter writing rather than note taking. There are website links for research and 2 videos summarising their lives. Government offices respond to letters so if sent will receive a letter back. Further resources are available on the Reading Riddle website along with information on my books and school visits.

This 6 minute video shows the evidence for the fire starting at Pudding Lane in Thomas Farriner’s bakery. It shares Pepys diary entry, the Hearth Tax entry for 1666 and maps from 1593, 1667 and now. The film then moves to Pudding Lane to show what it looks like now, the memorials and the spot where it all began. It is suitable for sharing during the primary topic and is based on the research I used when writing my picture book, Vlad and the Great Fire of London. I have lots of other resources here and on the Reading Riddle website.

This is a word sheet which includes labelled illustrations from the book Vlad and the First World War. The book includes a fuller glossary, map, fact file and story told by Vlad flea and his companion Crisp VC, the carrier pigeon. For other resources, activities and information on visits go to the Reading Riddle website.

Vlad and Tutankhamun’s Tomb is a story about Kel the tomb artist and the rush to prepare Tutankhamun’s tomb after his sudden and unexpected death. The illustrations show the methods and materials the artists used and this plan explains this and helps children understand some of the logistic and artistic challenges to painting the tombs. There are activities including the resources to recreate an illustration from the book and produce a large scale mural for the classroom wall. Finally, there is information about copyright - what it means, how to check it in a book and crediting artists and understanding that this is their livelihood.

This Teacher’s Guide gives you the history, context and curriculum links you need for the topic of Romans. It is a companion book to the picture book Vlad and the Roman Triumph and is suitable for KS1 and KS2 (the picture book is available from all the usual book buying outlets). Vlad and the Roman Triumph encapsulates what it was like to be a Roman, from the ceremonial parade of the Emperor to the daily life of ordinary Romans, it shares it through story and detailed pictures. The information is historically accurate and researched. In turn this Guide takes you through the story, revealing the source of information and how it can be drawn out, what key vocabulary is on each page, and questions to check understanding, deduction and inference. The Guide has 32 pages and has the following content: history curriculum objectives timeline of events social structure of Roman society and daily life of a Roman Britain before the Romans Roman invasion and its impact on Britain Sources of further information Big questions: Ideas and discussion points to deepen understanding It aims to give a grounding in understanding the topic, to be able to teach it, and support using the picture book. There are further free resources including lesson plans for history and literacy available to download separately on TES or on the Reading Riddle website. This is part of the Vlad flea picture book series, which aims to bring history to life through stories, and support teachers by providing resources. To get the latest information about new resources, events and books you can sign up to our newsletter on the website.

This is a set of 6 lesson space plans with objectives and links. They are in a word document so fully editable so you can alter or reformat them. All supporting resources marked in the planning are available to download from the Reading Riddle website (including a space timeline activity, powerpoint about satellites and space wordmat). The lessons cover: What is space? A timeline of space achievement. What does it take to be an astronaut/cosmonaut? Designing a spacesuit and how design has changed over time. Our Solar System - what have we discovered and what will happen in the future? The lessons link to Vlad and the Space Race, which is part of the Vlad flea history picture books. You can use them without this book but the reason I wrote it was to bring history into the classroom through historically accurate stories as I believe that engages the children. For further information about the books, school visits and resources visit the website. Thank you , Kate Cunningham

This lesson helps children consider the London refugees after the Great Fire of London. It considers what happened to them and what they took when they fled. They are then encouraged to make links with modern refugees and discuss the differences between now and 350 years ago. it gives the opportunity to reveal and challenge misconceptions about life in seventeenth century. It also raises awareness that people have often had to flee danger at different times and in different parts of the world. It includes a lesson plan, powerpoint (with a copy of Charles II proclamation on the London refugees and how to help them) and differentiated work sheets showing similarities and differences between now and then. The images are taken from my book Vlad and the Great Fire of London. I hope it is useful. If you like this and are interested in me coming in to do storytelling you can further information on the Reading Riddle website.

This powerpoint summarises the what, who, why, when and how of Remembrance Day. It uses simple language and clear illustrations from the picture book, Vlad and the First World War. The powerpoint is editable to suit your specific audience but the illustrations are the copyright of Sam Cunningham so should not be used elsewhere. If you want any further information on the book or the first book Vlad and the Great Fire of London please visit the Reading Riddle website.

A differentiated lotto game matching pictures to phrases and introducing vocabulary around the Great Fire of London. Pictures are taken from my book Vlad and the Great Fire of London illustrated by my son. There are 6 target boards with varying levels of difficulty in the phrases so the game can be played by mixed ability groups. The game is in a word document so can be adapted according to your needs. I have added other free resources around this topic and although you don’t need the book for any of the materials, it is available from Amazon if you want to use it. Information about my storytelling events are on the Reading Riddle website.

Using the events of the Great Fire of London, this planning enables children to take an alternative character and write their story. Using drama the children consider the events and write a story set in September 1666. For further ideas and planning see the Reading Riddle website. Vlad and the Great Fire of London is available from Amazon or The National Archives bookshop.