A teacher and tutor with more than thirty years' experience working in both mainstream and independent schools. I have an Honours degree in English Literature and Linguistics from UEA and have written a dissertation about encouraging children to write. I am a mother of three and interested in all things green. I am in the process of setting up my TES shop and hope to launch my "Spagbag" resources which are suitable for both Primary and Secondary aged pupils.
A teacher and tutor with more than thirty years' experience working in both mainstream and independent schools. I have an Honours degree in English Literature and Linguistics from UEA and have written a dissertation about encouraging children to write. I am a mother of three and interested in all things green. I am in the process of setting up my TES shop and hope to launch my "Spagbag" resources which are suitable for both Primary and Secondary aged pupils.
This resource outlines the development of the broomstick as an instrument for racing. The information is taken from Kennilworthy Whisp's Quidditch Through The Ages. Pupils can see how the various models of racing broomstick have developed through the ages from the humble Oakshaft to the Twigger 90, each model has its qualities and flaws outlined for all to see. Pupils compare and contrast between the broomsticks in order to glean enough information to answer the questions relating to each text. Two texts and differentiated questions are supplied with answers provided for both. Pupils are invited to go on and invent their own racing broomstick and build on the qualities of the Nimbus or the Moontrimmer, thinking of a catchy name for their own creation.
This resource will appeal to Quidditch players of all ages.
This animated Powerpointresource portrays three of the pure bred dragon breeds taken from Newt Scamander's latest edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and asks pupils to compare and contrast between the three. Having read the informative texts, the students are required to retrieve relevant information to answer a series of questions. Finally they are required to launch a campaign to save the most endangered of the three dragons featured here: the Swedish Short-Snout. Pupils must put their persuasive writing techniques to the test and add weight to their arguments by designing an eye-catching poster. Reminders are given about how to make a persuasive speech. Answers are provided.
This activity will appeal to Potter fans of all ages and will promote wider reading and further investigation into mythological creatures.The resource is presented both as a Powerpoint and as an accompanying word document.
This resource is a newspaper article about police endeavours to control groups of teens gathering in public places. There are questions related to the article and students are asked to write their own response to a government policy to ban unsupervised youngsters from gathering together in groups in public spaces. This is intended as a means of revising features of an article in the tabloid press and analysing loaded language. Students are asked to highlight features within a short example of an article written for a magazine discussing what life is like for a teenage girl in the 21st century.
Ideal for revision purposes and will promote further discussion.
Suitable for ages 12+
This resource uses extracts from Harry Potter scenes and removes the punctuation. Pupils have to make sense of the scenes and reinsert the punctuation as necessary. Passages require knowledge of dialogue, speech marks,proper nouns, commas, colons and semi-colons and exclamations. The correct , fully punctuated passages will magically appear so that your pupils can see how J.K.Rowling does it.
This will prove a fun way to revise the full range of punctuation marks whilst also encouraging further reading of the Harry Potter books. This is one of many Potter themed resources you can find in my shop which focus on spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Suitable for ages 10+
This animated Power Point collates several pieces of writing about hurricanes. There are informative texts, diagrams, eye-witness reports as well as poems about hurricanes. There are before and after descriptions as well as a transcript of a public radio announcement broadcast before a hurricane strike.
Having absorbed and discussed the varied texts, students are then given the option of writing either a news report, an appeal leaflet or a poem inspired by this fascinating phenomenon.
I include a resource about wild wind which would be useful when discussing poetry and in particular personification.
Suitable for ages 10+
This animated PowerPoint consists of 25 slides and is intended to accompany the reading of Patrick Ness’ novel, A Monster Calls. Students are asked to consider what constitutes a nightmare and how our senses can feed into our subconscious mind. They are required to consider elements of a Gothic novel and how atmosphere is created both in terms of the words and the illustrations here. What is the significance of the ancient yew tree and how does this relate to modern day cancer treatments? Pupils are asked to list what they can glean about the major characters and to examine where their own sympathies lie. Finally they are required to write their own review of this memorable novel and are invited to do their own independent research about Herne the Hunter and the techniques the illustrator used to ensure this novel became a multi-award winning one.
I include a resource about mindfulness as a tool to help with anger issues and difficult emotions which Conor might have benefited from as he coped with losing his mother.
Also included are other word documents which display information about the mythology of the Green Man and a poem which is a call to the Green Man, which will be useful when discussing wider symbolism and environmental issues.There are worksheets on which pupils can record character sketches for both major and minor characters within the book, as well as explore Conor’s emotional struggle in graphic detail.
Suitable for ages 12+
This animated PowerPoint presents a short quiz based on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The audience is presented with three possible answers to each question. The correct answer will magically reveal itself. Pupils are required to make as many Muggle words as possible out of the letters contained within the Hogwarts' house names. Finally students are presented with information texts describing two different breeds of dragon. Their task is either to design a meal which will tantalise the taste-buds of a Peruvian Vipertooth or else design a matching shield and gauntlets set made from the skin of the Swedish short snout...
This resource will appeal to Potter fans of all ages. Prior knowledge of the text is not vital.
This animated Powerpoint asks pupils to improve sentences by adding adjectives. They are asked to identify adjectives within a paragraph and then to alter the tone of the paragraph by supplying different adjectives to the ones given in the original version. Colour synonyms need to be sorted into those associated with red, blue, yellow and green and pupils are then given objects and scenarios to describe using these more unusual words.Two poems are showcased one about the changing colours of the sea and one about the colour red. Lastly an extract taken from J.K.Rowling’s The Prisoner of Azkaban is displayed and pupils are asked to consider how she appeals to different senses through her descriptive techniques. A worksheet is included in word format to accompany the Powerpoint and to explore further creative writing activities as well as a further Power Point which takes extracts from The Prisoner of Azkaban and asks students to identify spelling errors. Answers will reveal themselves as if by magic.
Suitable for ages 8+
This animated Powerpoint presents pupils with information about the endangered leatherback sea turtle and highlights the problems faced by this creature as its numbers decline. One of the problems it faces is plastic pollution which is all too prevalent in our seas and oceans. Plastic bags are mistaken for the jelly-fish that the turtles love to eat. Worrying statistics are given about the growing problem of plastic in the ocean environment and a quote from Sir David Attenborough is displayed to highlight the need to act with some urgency before it is too late.
The resource will prove useful alongside clips from the Blue Planet series and should inspire further research, provocative posters and persuasive writing. I include information in a word document which could be easily used as a homework task or for further research on sea turtles. The planet patrol wordsearch contains over twenty interlocked words in a grid concerning conservation issues and could be easily differentiated to suit different abilities. All answers provided.
Included is a word document about the problem with plastic waste and includes some advice from Greenpeace. Students are invited to contribute ideas of their own and to design a poster conveying this problem in our marine environments.
Suitable for ages 8+
This animated Powerpoint presents pupils with information about the wandering albatross and the problems it faces with fishing boats and plastic waste. Pupils will learn about this endangered bird with its enormous wing span and how it glides across the Southern Ocean for huge distances in search of food. Pupils are asked to consider the challenges this creature faces in its quest for food and hear David Attenborough's warning about pollution in our seas and oceans as brought to our attention in the Blue Planet series. Students are asked to create their own eye catching poster and to use their persuasive writing skills in order to redress the problem of plastic waste.
I include a puzzle entitled Planet Patrol concerning conservation issues as an added extra. All answers are provided.A word document is also included concerning the problem of plastic waste and includes some advice from Greenpeace. Pupils are asked to contribute their own ideas by adding to the list.
These resources are intended to promote discussion and will encourage independent research and further investigation.
Suitable for ages 8+
A resource aimed to improve grammar skills. Adjectives, adverbs, common nouns, proper nouns and verbs can be revised and revisited whilst a story unfolds set in a Victorian Manor House.
These resources can be used as stand alone lessons or as homework to reinforce literacy skills. The story builds and unfolds to keep pupils engaged and interested, wanting to know what happens next.
For the complete animated story see The Waverley Manor Mystery.
Suitable for ages 8+
This animated powerpoint consists of nine slides and is a collection of different examples of writing about Autumn. There are slides containing informative writing such as signs to look out for that the season is changing and also an instructional text on how to make vegetable stew. There are three poems on an Autumnal theme, one about adjusting the clocks, one in the form of a Haiku and one about spider webs.
This resource is suitable for pupils aged 7 to 11 and could be utilised in any Autumn themed activity.
This animated Powerpoint resource comprises ten slides explaining the techniques of persuasive writing. It uses the mnemonic A FOREST to help students remember the features of persuasive writing and tests their knowledge with multiple choice questions. The students are asked to write either a speech to help the elderly people in their community or organise an event to raise money for a new skate park.
I include "In the Basement of the Goodwill Store" a poem by Ted Kooser and questions which will make students reflect upon their attitudes and behaviour towards the older generation.
This resource is aimed at pupils between 12 and 16 years.
This Powerpoint presentation details the life of Martin Luther King and focuses particularly on extracts from his I have a dream speech.
This resource will be particularly useful during Black History month when focusing on persuasive writing and speeches that had the power to change the world. The resource includes a brief biography, a timeline of major events in MLK's life as well as a transcript of Obama's Yes We Can speech.
The resource is intended to inspire pupils and make them think about how they can become better citizens by learning about Martin Luther King as a positive role model. Included is an extract from Barack Obama's Yes We Can speech so that pupils can see how King became a role model for future Presidents who utilised their powers of speech in a public arena. Echoes of Martin Luther King can be heard in Obama's words.
Suitable for all ages.
This powerpoint tells the story of six blind men and an elephant. Each man believes he knows best about what an elephant is like, however they end up in an argument. A wise woman explains to them that they each encountered a small part of the creature in the cave and that they need to learn to see the bigger picture and listen better to one another.
A useful resource to use in assembly . Suitable for audiences of 5 to 10 years of age.
This animated powerpoint examines extracts taken from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and asks pupils to provide the missing punctuation. The correct answers will magically appear! This resource tests knowledge of commas, apostrophes, question marks , colons, brackets , inverted commas, ellipsis and using capitals to add emphasis. One of the extracts requires pupils to set out an address correctly. Another extract is a heated dialogue and could be used as an example of using other words for said.
At the end there is a quiz to test comprehension and other grammatical knowledge such as similes and alliteration. Pupils are asked to set out their own formal letter addressing it to Harry Potter himself.
I include another resource which gives information about different breeds of dragon and affords pupils the opportunity to write a letter applying for a job as a dragon trainer.
This resource will appeal to Potter fans of all ages.
This animated Powerpoint showcases three topical news items which contain deliberate spelling errors . The pupils have to identify these errors and then are faced with a report about school gym facilities which is riddled with mistakes. The pupils are requested to re-write the report correctly. The homophone errors in the final report are ones such as there/their, too/two, your/you’re which are commonly made and require a grammatical understanding of the text.
I include a resource about the problems of policing groups of teens who gather in public spaces and become labelled as hoodies or chavs. Pupils are required to answer questions related to the newspaper article and to respond with an article of their own. Also included are two articles, one about da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, an oil painting which achieved the highest auction price for any work of art and the other about space exploration and how this has become the playground of rich men.
These articles are intended to inspire debate and further discussion.
This resource is suitable for use with pupils aged 10 to 14 years.
This animated power point is an informative profile about bats with related questions. It includes a short poem which highlights why some people find bats scary creatures.
This resource would suit a younger audience and would be ideal to use around Halloween. Hopefully the audience will realise there is nothing to be scared of at all.
Suitable for ages 5-7
Three Power Point presentations bundled together on how to write a persuasive speech, Martin Luther King's " I have a dream" speech and biography and how to write for different audiences.
This bundle of resources will prove a useful revision tool and will suit pupils aged 11 to 16