Featuring the beloved little fish and his mum from the story by Lucy Cousins, these activities explore the opposites: big and little, fat and thin and happy and grumpy. This pack contains sets of picture, silhouette and word cards and simple worksheets with three levels of challenge. There are greyscale versions of resources for those who want to save ink or include colouring as part of the activity. Themes: opposites, fish, under the sea Skills: shape recognition, cut and sticking, colouring, beginning reading and writing skills. A guide is enclosed with the pack which includes ideas for card games. This resource is part of a Teachers Telling Tales series inspired by the Hooray for Fish story and can also be purchased as part of a bundle.

Great for a space topic. A fun alien poem for shared reading, worksheets with a copy of the poem for more careful reading and a space to draw the scene. A checklist is provided for students to work with a buddy and see how many of the descriptions they included in their drawing. (This could be printed on the back of the sheet). While they are challenged to include all the specified details, students can be encouraged to use their imagination to complete the scene. The activity provides lots of opportunities for discussion and develops reading comprehension skills. Worksheets provided in PDF and Word (editable) formats. Dyslexia -friendly font versions are provided.

A pirate themed board game to learn the ‘ar’ sound and have fun talking like a pirate! Good for phonics, vocabulary, pirate topics. Contents: Game board (A4 size will work for 2 players, enlarge for more) 20 Clue cards with short riddles to answer, e.g. “the opposite of near”. Answer sheet Guide with instructions Colour or ink saving versions. As well as phonics this game is good for vocabulary with English learners. Talk like a Pirate ‘ar’ bingo is also available. This board game can be purchased as part of a bundle with ‘Yo ho ho’ pirate resources with a focus on the long ‘o’ sound.

These writing frames are designed to inspire young children to engage in purposeful recording through mark-making or emergent writing during their role play. Topics: Personal Social Health Education, People who help us, Keeping healthy, parts of the body, numbers 1-5. Skills development: speaking and listening, beginning writing. Depending on their developmental stage, children may enjoy mark-making as they see fit, or they may follow the invitation to write names, crosses, ticks and circles. The pictures are designed to prompt discussion and introduce and consolidate vocabulary. The frame introduces the concept of forms and tables and includes numbers 1-5. The writing frames can act as a guide for children role playing a visit to the doctor, prompting questions and responses such as “Where is the problem?” and “Take medicine three times a day.” The first time the frames are introduced, it would be good for an adult to model using them. Context and Linked Resources This resource pack was inspired by A Visit From the Nurse https://teacherstellingtales.com/a-visit-from-the-nurse/ an activity to help students overcome anxiety about visiting the school nurse (or other health care professionals). In that lesson students observe how a nurse cares for us by demonstrating with soft toys in a range of familiar scenarios, e.g. “I bumped my head, I feel sick, I feel itchy”. These are free to download here https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/a-visit-from-the-nurse-12174039. As a follow up, children then explore being a carer through role play. This could be with other children (as a patient or carer) or with toys and dolls. The role play area could be set up as a health centre, hospital, veterinary clinic etc. Includes Greyscale versions, as you may need to print lots if they are popular! These can be made into a notebook (perhaps a prescription pad) or attached to a clipboard. Colour versions could be laminated and used as examples displayed in the role play area, or used by the children with dry wipe pens.

In ‘Quack! said the Billy Goat’, the silly poem by Charles Causley, the animal sounds are all mixed up. The poem is fantastic for learning about farm animals, the sounds they make and using speech bubbles. Children enjoy making the sounds and exploring how to write them. This resource comes with a guide with suggestions for introducing the poem, shared reading ideas to involve children and follow up games. There are animal silhouette pictures, animal names and speech bubbles with sounds. These are in the form of a picture for retelling the poem and to make cards for games and activities.

This resource pack features a board game and a set of cards with ten minibeasts and corresponding movements. The cards are great for brain breaks and circle times. With the board game children perform the action when they land on the minibeast, for example, spin when they land on a spider. There are variation prompts on the game such as saying a fact about the animal, saying how many legs it has or saying where it lives. The board also features pictures of where minibeasts are commonly found, for example, logs, flowers, a pond. There are minibeast habitats resources (as well as a range of other minibeast activities) in the Teachers Telling Tales shop.

Originally created for the IPC topic Sand and Water, this presentation is designed to stimulate children’s interest in sand, answer basic questions and inspire further exploration. Aimed at young children it features large colourful pictures and simple text (generally one heading and a sentence on each slide, (with more detail and some links in the notes for presenters). Questions prompt children to say what they already know or think and there are a few questions for them to guess where the answer is revealed, keeping their attention. It covers how sand is made and why it is different colours, animals that live or hide in sand, sand in the desert, how we use sand and sand art. This presentation is great as an introduction to scientific or creative exploration of sand, for example whether dry or wet sand is best for sculpture, making patterns by sprinkling or creating texture with sand. It is also a good stimulus for researching sandy habitats and how plants and animals have adapted to living in them.

Read the poem and colour the pictures. Good for reading comprehension, EAL, extending colours and animals vocabulary. This poem is fantastic for introducing new colour words like ‘lavender’, ‘turquoise’, ‘lilac’. It gives students the opportunity to explore blending colours and creating lighter and darker shades using different pressure. The worksheets with the poem allow teachers to assess students’ understanding. The blank sheet (with just the pictures) allows students to use their imagination and be encouraged to record their ideas by writing their own descriptions. A resource guide gives suggestions for use and differentiation. The worksheets are provided in PDF and Word (editable) formats. Dyslexia-friendly versions are included.

Sudoku is a fun way to develop concentration and reasoning skills. The challenge is to enter numbers (or in this case pictures) into grids so none are repeated in each row or column. These games feature pirate themed pictures, students cut and paste to complete the grids. This gives them the option of moving the pictures around before sticking them down. There are 3 by 3 and 4 by 4 grids and three levels of challenge: easy, tricky and deadly. As well as improving thinking skills, the games are good for consolidating pirate topic vocabulary.

A game featuring words with the long ‘o’ sound. Includes ‘o’, ‘oe’, ‘o_e’, ‘ow’, ‘oa’. Can be adapted according to ability, students can say, spell, write or draw the answer. Also useful for vocabulary work with English language learners. Contents: Game board (A4 size will work for 2 players, enlarge for more) Word and picture cards, (24 of each). Yo ho ho cards for reverse, colour or ink saving. Guide with instructions and ideas for further games with the cards in the pack. For further consolidation of this sound, Yo ho ho Bingo is can also be purchased and there are similar ‘Talk like a Pirate’ games featuring the ‘ar’ sound in the Teachers Telling Tales shop. For pirate topics, check out the Teachers telling Tales packs with sudoku, mazes, position and anagrams. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/pirates-pack-12183976

Logic and reasoning skills with a minibeasts theme. Featuring cute cartoon creepy crawlies, these activities are a fun way to develop thinking skills. Students cut and paste pictures to complete the sequences and sudoku squares. Easy, medium and hard versions for different levels of challenge. Ink saving variations included (different puzzles to the colour ones). Perfect for a minibeasts topic, a challenge for early finishers or a discrete lesson in problem solving. For related minibeasts resources, check out the Teachers Telling Tales shop, there are bundle and save options.

Turtles in Danger is an active chase and tag game suitable for primary / middle school children. The game teaches children about sea turtle life cycles, natural and human threats, endangered animals and survival strategies. The game can be played outdoors or indoors in a large space, a netball or basketball court is ideal. There are two rounds, one where some children are hatchlings making their way to the sea while avoiding the other children who are threats. For the second round the remaining children are turtles trying to survive in the sea and return to the beach to lay eggs while avoiding threats. The game can be played again removing the human threats to see how this affects the survival rate. This pack contains a guide to the game, a printable instruction sheet with pictures, labels and headbands to identify the children who are threats. There are 14 threats in total and they are colour-coded for dangers on the beach (sand colour) and for in the sea (blue). The labels and headbands have silhouette pictures for quick identification alongside the word and a short explanation of the threat. Through playing the game students gain an understanding of why many reptiles and fish lay so many eggs in order to survive as a species. Through discussion they learn how the impact of extra pressure such as threats from humans can lead to a threat of extinction. Related Resources: An interactive story about turtle life cycles, turtles in Trouble, https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/turtles-in-trouble-an-interactive-story-12240371 A Sea Turtle quiz can be downloaded for free from https://teacherstellingtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Sea-Turtle-Quiz.pdf Turtle book recommendations (fiction and non fiction) https://teacherstellingtales.com/turtle-tales-and-truths/

Guess the minibeasts in a quiz (PowerPoint presentation), make up your own quiz then create a mini book. Through describing and guessing, children develop their knowledge about minibeasts and vocabulary related to colours, patterns, parts of the body, ways of moving, prepositions, habitats. For more of a challenge students can engage in research to find out more (links to suggested websites included). Instructions and templates for differing abilities are included for making origami books, a ‘mini mystery minibeast’ book! The teacher’s guide has all the information, the quiz questions and screenshots for easy reference. Check out the other minibeasts themed resources in the Teachers Telling Tales shop with bundle and save options.

This cute and colourful presentation is designed to engage even the most reluctant mathematicians! With 4 different scenarios involving ice lollies and ice creams, there are word problems involving mixed operations and multi-steps. In Powerpoint presentation so easy to adapt, however with a UK and US version and three levels for each problem, you should not need to spend time on preparation. Includes a guide and answers in the notes for each slide. Suitable for classroom and distance / home learning. Works well as a whole class starter when projected or small group activity when printed. For more ice cream / ice lolly themed resources check out https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/ice-ice-bundle-12355950 or ‘Delicious Description’, a complete lesson with a creative challenge.

A complete lesson in a Powerpoint presentation, easily adaptable. Includes a starter activity to engage students and draw out vocabulary, group activities to describe ice lollies using adjectives, comparatives and superlatives and analysing features of advertising. Students then apply what they have learned in creating their own advertisement for a ice lolly of their choice. A suggested lesson plan provides guidance to educators and two printable word mats support students with inspiration and spelling. This lesson is suitable for classroom or distance / home learning. I have a range of creative resources on the ice lolly / ice cream theme you can check out here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/ice-ice-bundle-12355950 and will be uploading some word problems on the same themes shortly.

Skills: These activities are good for counting with 1-1 correspondence, beginning to count in twos, beginning to notice patterns (doubles and halves). Pointing to each foot or sock will help with accuracy and children can also circle or cross off objects when they count to help keep track. Contents: Worksheets worksheets ‘Animals Love Socks’ and ‘If Minibeasts Wore Socks’ (colour and ink saving versions included) Colouring pages, sock-topus and incey wincey spider for designing socks. Teacher’s Guide These resources are great for awareness days: #oddsocksday November 16th (part of Anti-bullying Week) #LotsOfSocksDay 21st March (World Down Syndrome Day) Related resources are available from Teachers Telling Tales, including an Odd Socks pack, sock-themed repeat patterns and Fantastic Footwear which includes templates for socks and a variety of shoes and themed design challenge task cards. You can purchase a bundle at a discounted price.

Contents: Spots and Stripes worksheets and printable socks for games, templates for colouring. Cute patterned socks matching pairs card game. Teacher’s guide with instructions for games and ideas for activities. These resources are great for awareness days: #oddsocksday November 16th (part of Anti-bullying Week) #LotsOfSocksDay 21st March (World Down Syndrome Day) Read more ideas for sock topics here https://teacherstellingtales.com/socks-rock/ Related resources are available from Teachers Telling Tales, including sock-topus counting activities, repeat patterns and Fantastic Footwear which includes templates for socks and a variety of shoes and themed design challenge task cards. Get them all in a bundle at a discounted price.

Featuring the beloved little fish and his mum from the story by Lucy Cousins, these activities explore the rhyming words: tiny and spiny, hairy and scary, carrot and parrot, lime and time, heart and dart. This pack contains sets of picture, silhouette and word cards, Bingo cards and simple worksheets with three levels of challenge. There are greyscale versions of resources for those who want to save ink or include colouring as part of the activity. Themes: rhyming words, fish, under the sea Skills: shape recognition, cut and sticking, colouring, beginning reading and writing skills. A guide is enclosed with the pack which includes ideas for card games. These activities are a great springboard for creative work, inventing new rhyming fish. This resource is part of a Teachers Telling Tales series inspired by the Hooray for Fish story and can also be purchased as part of a bundle.

Fun pirate-themed activities to consolidate positional language / introduce pirate topic vocabulary. Great for English language learners. Starter - Spot the difference posters to get students talking and using positional language. The same poster but in outline so students can add the objects in the correct place and colour their completed picture. Instructions are provided in picture and text form. making the activity accessible to a range of ages and abilities. A guide to using the resource with vocabulary lists is included. Updated March 2021 to correct a typo on the written instruction sheet and add resources for remote teaching: PNG images to click and drag to complete the picture instead of drawing with updated instructions. Related Resources A free pirate vocabulary anagrams sheet can be downloaded here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/pirate-anagrams-12322262 There are pirate-themed mazes, sudoku and phonics games in the Teachers telling Tales shop with options to bundle and save. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/talk-like-a-pirate-phonics-bundle-12403177

Activities to accompany ‘Flyaway Katie’ by Polly Dunbar Good for: Getting to know each other. Talking about feelings. Students learning English as an additional language. Topics: feelings, colours, clothes, shapes, patterns. Contents Lesson plan with ideas for children to talk about what makes them happy. Read and Record Sharing Sheet Blank to enlarge for teacher to record children’s responses. Editable version for students to record with words or pictures. Flyaway Self Portraits Templates, blanks and with simple outline drawings to choose from. Display ideas.