Practical idea sheet for home phonics learning.

PowerPoint and worksheet based on the 2020 Kevin the Carrot Christmas advert. I used this as out big write at the end of Autumn Term 2. We watched the advert, went through the PowerPoint and then completed the worksheet based on Kevin’s feelings and the changes in mood within the advert.

A PowerPoint and worksheet based on the BBC Christmas advert ‘Sprout Boy’. Learning about/discussing the video clip, then moving on to recapping what a speech bubble is, where we would use one, why we would use one etc. Worksheet gives children the opportunity to write their own speech for Sprout Boy in different scenarios during the advert.

I discovered M.I.N.T.S last year after searching the web for ages trying to find strategies to help children remember when and where to use capital letters (as I find this the main component children forget in their writing). M.I.N.T.S has worked fantastically in both the Year 3 and Year 6 class at my school (I haven’t got round to giving one to the other teachers yet, woops!) as this poster is a constant reminder for children. When peer marking, I often hear children say, ‘XXX, you haven’t remembered your MINTS!’ etc. I was also thinking of sticking a mini copy of this poster in the front of children’s English books so that they can refer to it this way too. I have one poster stuck on my whiteboard and one by the English resources. Hope this helps :)

Here is a Novel Study/Guided Reading unit on ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’. I used this with my Year 3 class and we had 30 minute Novel Study sessions - I would read the chapter(s) and they each had a copy to follow along with and then we would discuss the chapter, look at the questions and then they would answer them in their books. I encouraged children to focus on quality over quantity as can be seen with some of the messages in the PPTs. This sequence worked really well with my class and they definitley got the most out of their writing. The way I organise the questions is by ‘good’, ‘amazing’ and ‘awesome’ - a bit like the chilly challenge where the questions get harder and move from retrieval to inference etc. Hope this helps :)

Here is a Novel Study/Guided Reading unit on ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’. I used this with my Year 3 class and we had 30 minute Novel Study sessions - I would read the chapter(s) and they each had a copy to follow along with and then we would discuss the chapter, look at the questions and then they would answer them in their books. I encouraged children to focus on quality over quantity as can be seen with some of the messages in the PPTs. This sequence worked really well with my class and they definitley got the most out of their writing. Most PPTs have an example answer as well as answers to discuss at the end of the sessions. The way I organise the questions is by ‘good’, ‘amazing’ and ‘awesome’ - a bit like the chilly challenge where the questions get harder and move from retrieval to inference etc. Hope this helps :)

A home learning grid for the story ‘The Day the Crayons Quit’. Can be adapted and activities can be used within the classroom or for a homework grid. Hope this helps :)

PowerPoint full of a range of activities to use alongside the book ’ The Day the Crayons Quit’. Designed to suit both KS1 and KS2 and can be adapted to suit the needs of all learners. Hope this helps :)

Word of the Day template. This is a nice activity to do either in the mornings before/during the register or at the start of an English lesson. I have used this with Years 2-4 but it can be adapted to suit any year group. Hope this helps :)