Fiona, of Teachers Telling Tales, has taught in the UK and international schools, trained teachers, worked as environmental educator, in a range of learning support roles and she is currently a tutor.
Through Teachers Telling Tales she aspires to share this experience through creating high quality and affordable resources. While most are targeted at the primary age range, the aim is to provide versatile and adaptable resources to suit a range of ages and abilities.
Fiona, of Teachers Telling Tales, has taught in the UK and international schools, trained teachers, worked as environmental educator, in a range of learning support roles and she is currently a tutor.
Through Teachers Telling Tales she aspires to share this experience through creating high quality and affordable resources. While most are targeted at the primary age range, the aim is to provide versatile and adaptable resources to suit a range of ages and abilities.
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.
These worksheets feature a selection of poems from Commotion in the Ocean and Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae. Students are given the rhyming words to choose from to fill the gaps. There is space for drawing when the work is complete. There are greyscale (black and white) versions for saving on ink.
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.
This pack features fifteen adorable monsters to describe, compare and sort. They come in four colours with carefully selected similarities and differences, perfect for Guess Who games to develop observation, concentration and vocabulary skills. Use the quiz as a model for describing, for example, I am pink, I have three sharp teeth, I have horns.
The presentation can be used on screen / interactive whiteboard and there are PDF files for poster / cards. Ideas and instructions for games along with photograph illustrations are included.
For more monster-themed literacy and numeracy resources, check out the Teacher Telling Tales shop.
An interactive story to learn about the sea turtle life cycle, natural and human threats. Children sit in a circle around a turtle nest (a hoop or mat) with 100 eggs.
As they listen to a story they take turns (going round the circle) to remove eggs as a predator or problem arises.
As the story continues, the remaining eggs are turned over to reveal hatchlings which in turn face more problems as they try to reach the sea. As juveniles in the sea there are yet more problems. How many will survive and return to the beach where they hatched to lay their own eggs? What will the beach be like when they have become an adult
Printables included in the pack:
Turtle eggs templates. Students can cut out the circles and draw their own hatchling on one side, (optional, if you prefer use the pre-made cards below).
Turtle egg and hatchling cards. Print and cut out. (Place face down for eggs and turn over for hatchlings.)
Story Scripts, 2 versions, ‘Take 5’ and ‘Against the Odds’.
Turtle problem picture cards.
Turtle problem word and picture cards.
Story Script Excerpt:
One moonlit night a green turtle heaved herself along the beach and dug a hole in the sand with her flippers.
She laid 100 eggs and took care to cover them again with sand to disguise the nest. Slowly, she made her way back to the sea where, exhausted, she slipped with relief back into the water as the sun began to rise.
Early the next morning, a dog roamed the beach and could smell where the turtle had been. She dug up part of the nest, ate five eggs and cracked five more which were eaten by ants.
Also included:
Ideas for activities using turtle problems cards. Maths (subtraction) story idea.
Related Resources:
For an active game on the threats to turtles, see the Teachers Telling Tales resource https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/turtles-in-danger-game-12237706
A great pirates topic activity to keep early finishers busy.
Good for problem solving skills.
This resource goes well with the Teachers Telling Tales Pirates in Position resources. It can also be purchased as part of a bundle along with other pirate themed puzzles such as sudoku and anagrams.
Everything you need for a fun, engaging topic on fairy tales / crime! A presentation with a learning unit consisting of twelve activities with a focus on critical thinking skills and creativity. High quality visual aids to stimulate speaking and listening and drama activities. Templates for writing, drawing and role play tasks.
Students will love creating their own special agent ID card and working as part of a team to create an investigation board with crime scene photos, bagged evidence and mug shots.
Draw the biggest villain in the magic mirror and write a criminal case file for the Big Bad Wolf including his personal details and crimes. Debate whether the Giant is a victim or a villain and many more ideas.
These games are great for consolidating the four operations, calculation skills such as doubling, times tables, power of 10. Encourages accuracy as each step leads to the next and can be a paired or individual activity. Print, display or complete the game digitally. Includes blank sheets featuring the attractive designs to adapt to students’ needs or for them to complete as an extension activity.
The bundle contains 10 completed game sheets and 4 blanks in colour and ink saving versions. Instructions and answers also included.
Using all four operations, these multi step maths games are excellent for consolidating calculation skills.
This pack contains three variations with different times tables, doubling and halving and multiples of 100. There are two games with 2 digit numbers and one with 4 digit numbers.
The cute caterpillars and branch design also features on blank sheets to add your own numbers and questions, or for students to create their own as an extension activity. There is a colour and ink saving version, (that students can colour themselves). If working with a partner students can pick a caterpillar each, see who gets the highest answer and check each other’s answers. It also works well as an individual activity. Answers and guide included.
The game can be printed, projected on a screen or completed digitally. as students record their answers on paper or a whiteboard, the game can be used over and over.
There are similar packs available from Teachers Telling Tales with different designs and skills and the option to bundle and save.
Have fun learning the ‘ar’ and long ‘o’ sounds with these games. Includes, board games, Bingo and card games.
Perfect for ‘Talk like a Pirate Day’, phonics lessons, Pirates topics and vocabulary work with English language learners.
Games keep students engaged and help them to develop social skills.
Develop phonics and reading skills with this Bingo game. Featuring 28 ‘ar’ words, there is a clue for each, for example, “The opposite of blunt”. There are 6 colour coded game boards, each with 16 words. Players must try to get 4 in a row.
Good for listening skills and consolidating vocabulary with English learners.
For more fun with the ‘ar’ sound, check out the board game:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/ar-talk-like-a-pirate-phonics-board-game-12403169
Teachers Telling Tales also have Pirate phonics packs with the long ‘o’ sound. Pirate fans, check out the pack with position activities, mazes, anagrams and sudoku.
A compilation of thirty dice games, presented in an easy to follow document with suggestions for adaptations to meet learners’ needs. The document can be trimmed to produce cards featuring simple instructions, perfect for support staff working with small groups.
Mathematics skills covered include: calculation using all four operations, comparing numbers, place value, doubling, odd and even numbers, times tables, square numbers, number bonds, probability, rounding, power of 10, negative numbers, fractions, sequences, area and perimeter.
An animated presentation, perfect for starter activities. Students pick which treasure chest they think will have the most money, then, as each is revealed they count the coins to see if they were correct.
As it’s a game of luck, everyone has an equal chance of winning. All get to practise the calculation, which could be addition or counting in multiples of 2, 5 or 10. The more challenging quests have mixed coins. This is a good way to demonstrate how different values of coins can make the same amount, e.g. 10 ones and 1 ten.
There are 5 sections, each with 3 games; however, variations can easily be created by duplicating slides and rearranging the coins.
Sections:
Count in 5s
Count in 10s
10s and 1s
1s and 2s
10, 5, 2 and 1
The coins are inspired by UK money, however, as they are a simple design with a large number, no familiarity with UK money is required for the games so they are suitable for use in any location.
Answers and extension ideas are included in the notes.
The pack includes 2 versions: use ppsx to avoid changes in layout/formatting or pptx if you want to change or adapt the presentations. My students loved this and I ended up creating many variations by simply changing the coins.
You may also like the pirate-themed resources in the Teachers Telling Tales shop, including positional language, sudoku and phonics, for example, https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/pirates-pack-12183976.
More maths packs will be added shortly.
Complete Literacy Lesson
PowerPoint / PDF with 14 pages. Guidance, answers and ideas in notes.
Spot the Difference (three activities)
Descriptive language: draw out vocabulary for body parts, colours etc.
Monster Names (Three levels of difficulty.)
Phonics: Roll a die to select beginning, middle and end sounds, combine to make a monster name. Can be completed as class / individual activity.
Record sheets are provided with 8 monsters.
The ink-saving version can be coloured by students.
Make a Monster
Roll a die to select colour, pattern/texture, body parts, home and food for a monster.
Annotate on screen or print, place in plastic envelope and use a dry wipe pen.
Say sentences about the monster created – the second version has sentence starters to support.
My Monster Writing Frame
Write sentences about the monster created using the ‘make a monster’ activity or your imagination. Draw the monster.
Follow up ideas: Create a class book of all the monsters. Create large paintings, collages or models of monsters for a class display.
You may also like the Teachers Telling Tales Little Monster Balloon Party numeracy games. Buy both together as a bundle with a discount.
These badge and photo ID card templates will help students get in role as a police officer of the Fairy Tale Police Department (FTPD), or a special agent of Fairytale Investigation Bureau (FBI)! Great for role play and drama activities.
The ID cards have frames for drawing a self portrait (photo) and writing names / job titles. Colour and greyscale versions included.
This resource is part of the ‘Once upon a Crime’ series by Teachers Telling Tales. It is designed for Collecting Evidence and Special Agent Investigation Board activities, two of twelve lessons featured in a Fairy Tale Forensics unit of study. You can bundle and save on these resources.
This engaging presentation features interesting facts about chameleons with colourful photographs and links to short videos as illustration. (All photos are free to use and share, links provided in the notes).
It aims to answer common questions and stimulate new ones. A link at the end to a children’s website enables further research.
Aimed at younger children, text is simple and minimal.
Great as a follow-up to reading The Mixed-up Chameleon by Eric Carle or as part of topics on animals, patterns and colours.
(This resource is included free with other chameleon resources from Teachers Telling Tales.)
This multi step maths game is excellent for consolidating square numbers knowledge. It features square numbers and square roots and familiarises students with the mathematical symbols.
The cute bees, flowers and hive design also features on blank sheets to add your own numbers and questions, or for students to create their own as an extension activity. There are colour and ink saving versions, (that students can colour themselves). If working with a partner students can pick a bee each, see who gets the highest answer and check each other’s answers. It also works well as an individual activity. Answers and guide included.
The game can be printed, projected on a screen or completed digitally. as students record their answers on paper or a whiteboard, the game can be used over and over.
There are similar packs available from Teachers Telling Tales with different designs and skills and the option to bundle and save.
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/climb-the-trees-multistep-maths-games-12521644
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/cross-the-pond-multistep-maths-games-12521614
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/climb-the-branch-multistep-maths-games-12521653
Inspired by the magic mirror from Snow White that tells the truth about characters, these templates can be used as frames for portraits.
Heroes and villains are key feature of fairy tales. Characters tend to be represented in black and white terms, purely good or evil. This makes fairy tales a great vehicle for exploring character traits and discussing good and bad deeds. Children can decide who they think is the meanest (or kindest) fairy tale character and draw them. Depending on their age/developmental stage they can ‘show and tell’ their thoughts, perhaps scribed by an adult or write a few sentences to explain their choice. Some children may prefer to write in the frame instead of drawing.
The pack contains two colour images (useful for discussion/display/modelling) and six black and white versions for drawings of the ‘kindest’ and ‘meanest’ of them all. There are variations on the wording, for example, the ‘biggest villain’ and ‘most heroic’.
Did you know in the Disney film the evil queen says “Magic mirror” not “Mirror, mirror”? There is a magic mirror version too, in case you prefer this!
This resource is part of a ‘Once upon a crime’ series by Teachers Telling Tales. The activity is one of 12 in a Fairy Tale Forensics unit of study presentation which includes a police line-up of characters that could be used as a stimulus for mirror portraits. The Mug Shots resource would also complement this activity. You can ‘bundle and save’ on this series.
