This resource is designed to be used during Reading Workshop and is to be used with Samurai Rising by Pamela Turner. The pack has been designed in alignment with Common Core Reading Standards for Grades 6-8. About the Novel: A samurai fights for honor and survival in a real-life Game of Thrones. Stirring narrative nonfiction recounts the rise of Minamoto Yoshitsune from seemingly doomed infant to immortal warrior-hero (and one of the most famous samurai in Japanese history). Acclaimed author Pamela S. Turner delivers all the drama, romance, and tragedy of the original story–with delightfully dry wit and a healthy dose of modern perspective. Gorgeous ink paintings by celebrated graphic-novelist Gareth Hinds complete this irresistible package. About the Resource: Chapter Summaries Comprehension Questions (two for each chapter) Digging Deeper (setting, character analysis, point of view, big ideas) Creative Writing Tasks Non-Fiction Tasks (Yoshitsune Minamoto, Kiyomori Taira, bushido, Go-Shirakawa, samurai, Kyoto) A digital copy of the file on Google Slides is available with download for students to edit online instead of printing the pack.

This 51-page resource is designed to be used during Reading Workshop and is to be used with Clockwork (All Wound Up) by Philip Pullman. The pack has been designed in alignment with he 2014 National Curriculum of England’s Reading Objectives for Year 6. **About the Novel: **A tormented apprentice clock-maker, a deadly mechanical knight in armour - and the sinister Dr Kalmenius, who some say is the devil … Wind up these characters, fit them into a story on a cold winter’s evening, with the snow swirling down, and suddenly life and the story begin to merge in a peculiarly macabre - and unstoppable - way. Almost like clockwork … About the Resource: The pack includes templates to write summaries, opportunities to analyse text, make connections, creative writing, and study the setting, characters, theme, and literary devices. **A digital copy of the file is also available on Google Slides for students to complete online instead of printing.

**This resource is designed to be used during Reading Workshop with Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. ** About the Novel: Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I. So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree. But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves. With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable. About the Resource: This pack includes Chapter Summaries, Comprehension Questions, Digging Deeper Opportunities (includes character, setting and plot studies, point of view), Creative Writing Tasks, and Non-Fiction Tasks related to content of the novel (pandan, Chinese Labour Corps, Marlin Literary Archive, Highlander Syndrome, orientalism, Korean War, Wayback Machine, Kuomintang, KMT and move to Taiwan, One-Child Policy, missing Chinese survivors of Titanic, Jade Squad, Chinese Mafia, sycamore trees). A link to a digital file for editing and use in paperless classrooms is available with download.

Children will begin by playing different video games online to evaluate what makes them fun and engaging for their audience. They will then analyse the mechanics of the games and then plan a game of their own remixing a game on Scratch based on their criteria. Children will then use conditionals, operators, and variables on Scratch to make their own game. Lesson plans, editable rubrics, and classroom examples from Year 6 are provided, as well as links to additional support on the Scratch website. A digital copy of the file is available for editing and posting on Google Classroom and Seesaw provided with download.

Children will look at popular avatars from different video games, including Super Mario, Bowser, Link, and Donkey Kong. They will look at how their design has changed over time, and will compare how characters are similar and different. Children will then design their own video game characters; a hero and an enemy. In the past I have used this alongside a unit on designing a video game on Scratch, where the children can include their avatar in their game. To do this, we took photos of the drawn characters and then edited them online before uploading them to the program. A link to digital resources for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available with download.

*Updated with new graphics I have used this project with different classes and in different ways. With more able cohorts, the pitch can be adjusted with different parameters on the designs (eg: no adhesives, instead researching different ways to attach boards with latches and folds vs. using tape and glue guns; setting rules for the height of the walls of the maze to use measurement in a meaningful way; only allowing a certain length of board that needs to be cut, etc). Our Year groups used this as an alternative to making periscopes, as it reinforces the same Science objectives about light and the way it travels. In my experience, the children have enjoyed this project more because they’re more in control of the design. A digital copy of the file for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available by following the link provided with download.

**Aligned with the 2014 National Curriculum of England Included are the resources to follow a sequence of sessions where they develop their own ideas before applying them to the style of the model poem. Children are introduced to the poem and decide what they would include in their own magic box. After reviewing poetic devices, children return to their ideas and include poetic devices to make them stronger before drafting their own poems. As a maths and arts link, children can then design and make the nets of their magic boxes before building them into their boxes. Children can then add items and illustrations to their boxes representing the different ideas from their poems. Digital copy provided with download.

*Updated with new graphics This resource has been planned for a 6-week Half-Term. It connects the curriculums for Design Technology, Science, Art, English, and History. Children investigate light and how it travels while also studying the eye and the history of cinema, with a focus on special effects. A zip file with PDF units and links to digital files for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available with download.

This resource is meant to be used by children in Key Stage 2 (English objectives pitched to Years 5 and 6) to investigate the history and significance of the commemorative heads made to honour the Oba of Ancient Benin. Children will first read about the heads through differentiated articles, then investigate the symbolism of different commemorative heads. They will then design their own commemorative head before carving it out of a bar of soap and evaluating their design. Lastly, children will write an explanation text about their commemorative head. Sequence of Sessions: Research Ancient Benin Investigating different examples of art commissioned by Obas of Ancient Benin Investigating the significance of animals in commemorative heads of Ancient Benin Obas Design own Oba head Carve own Oba head Evaluate own Oba head Features of an Explanation Text Write an Explanation Text There is also a digital file included for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw.

This updated 112 page resource is designed to be used during Reading Workshop and is to be used with Pax by Sara Pennypacker. ABOUT THE NOVEL: From bestselling and award-winning author Sara Pennypacker comes a beautifully wrought, utterly compelling novel about the powerful relationship between a boy and his fox. Pax is destined to become a classic, beloved for generations to come. Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild. At his grandfather's house, three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn't where he should be—with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox. Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own. . . . ABOUT THE RESOURCE: Designed in alignment with the 2014 National Curriculum of England’s reading objectives for Year 6, the pack includes: Chapter Summaries, Comprehension Questions, Digging Deeper Opportunities (includes character studies and plot studies), Creative Writing Tasks, and Non-Fiction Tasks related to content of the novel (baseball, foxes, marionettes, coyotes). Resource is provided as a PDF but a digital copy of the pack is available for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw available with download.

This resource is meant to be used by children in Key Stage 2 (English objectives pitched to Years 5 and 6) to investigate the warriors of Ancient Benin and write a story with a theme of bravery. Children will first read to learn about warriors and hunting in Ancient Benin before planning, writing and revising their own story using shifts in formality. A digital copy of the resource is included for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw by following a link provided with download.

This resource is meant to be used by children in Key Stage 2 (English objectives pitched to Years 5 and 6) to investigate elephants, the significance of hunting elephants in Ancient Benin, as well as the changes made to this practice with the introduction of European trade to the kingdom. Children will then look at modern poaching and write an information text about the subject. Children will first read to learn about warriors and hunting in Ancient Benin before planning, writing and revising their own story using shifts in formality. Digital files for editing and sharing on Google Classroom or Seesaw available with link provided at download.

Including curriculum from Key Stage 2, this pack has children participate in different Design and Technology activities with working scientifically related to designing, making, and evaluating their own crayons and packaging. This pack includes lesson plans, rubrics, and editable rubrics to support with the learning process. A link to a digital file for editing and sharing on Google Classroom or Seesaw is available with purchase. --------------- You might also like: Working Scientifically I can Statements for Years 3 & 4 Working Scientifically with Energy Bites for Years 3 & 4 Working Scientifically with Cookies for Years 3 & 4 Working Scientifically with MakeyMakey in Years 3 & 4 Working Scientifically with littleBits for Years 3 and 4

Children will learn about Viking raids on monasteries in Northern England before writing a persuasive text. The text can be written from the perspective of a monk or a Viking, and is meant to persuade (or dissuade) their audience - either monks or Vikings - from trading with or plundering a monastery. This pack includes lesson plans, rubrics, and editable rubrics to support with the learning process. Lessons and objectives are aligned with objectives from the 2014 National Curriculum of England. A digital copy for editing and sharing on digital platforms is available with download.

Children will learn about Viking raids on monasteries in Northern England before writing a narrative text. The text can be written from the perspective of a monk or a Viking during the raid of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in North-East England in 793 CE. This pack includes lesson plans, rubrics, and editable rubrics to support with the learning process. Lessons and objectives are aligned with objectives from the 2014 National Curriculum of England. A digital copy for editing and sharing on digital platforms is available with download.

This resource is designed to be used during Reading Workshop and is to be used with The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. **ABOUT THE NOVEL: **Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life. **ABOUT THE RESOURCE: **This pack includes: Background information on the novel (about police shootings), Chapter Summaries, Comprehension Questions, Digging Deeper Opportunities (includes character studies and plot studies), Creative Writing Tasks, and Non-Fiction Tasks related to content of the novel (Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Tupac Shakur, Basketball, Jordans, Malcolm X, Black Panthers, Huey Newton, Dr Martin Luther King, Emmett Till, Black Lives Matter, Nat Turner). Resource is provided as a PDF but a digital copy of the pack is available for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw available with download.

This resource has been made using the measurement objectives for Year 4 from the 2014 National Curriculum of England: Convert between different units of measure (kilometre to metre; hour to minute) Measure and calculate the perimeter of a rectilinear figure (including squares) in centimetres and metres Find the area of rectilinear shapes by counting squares Estimate, compare and calculate different measures, including money in pounds and pence Read, write and convert time between analogue and digital 12- and 24-hour clocks Solve problems involving converting from hours to minutes; minutes to seconds; years to months; weeks to days ADDITIONALLY there is HANDS-ON MEASURES PRACTICE WITH PAPER AIRPLANES for children to apply their understanding in context. The pack can be used for reinforcement, in Maths centres for review, Morning Maths work, as well as for home learning tasks.

Included is a mini writing assignment that I have used for an extra credit opportunity in Middle School ELA. Students will a novel being studied to re-write the climax of the story. In the past, I’ve used this extra credit assignment with: Flush by Carl Hiaasen, The Weirdo by Theodore Taylor, The Explorer by Katherine Rundell, and The Last Wild by Peter Torday – all in a unit about the environment and conservation. *A link to the digital file is provided for completion online using Google Slides.

Included is a mini writing assignment that I have used for an extra credit opportunity in Middle School ELA. Students will have a background in Norse Mythology before being given the assignment. When I have assigned it, I have also reviewed features of narratives and storylines and compared them to different styles of writing. *A link to the digital file is provided for completion online using Google Slides.

This resource is designed to be used during Reading Workshop and is to be used with El Deafo  by Cece Bell. The pack has been designed in alignment with Common Core Reading Standards for Grade 7. I am trying out a new format and would appreciate feedback! The pack has been designed to cover five weeks, with assigned pages for reading, comprehension tasks and quotation and structure analysis. A digital copy of the file is available with download.