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 Power Point tests knowledge of plurals, contractions, commas, using prefixes to form opposites, verbs and adverbs and much more besides. There is a weirdly worded passage for pupils to decipher and put their spelling skills into action. This is one in a series of quizzes which can be found in my shop. These quizzes will test knowledge and understanding of all aspects of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Answers are provided for ease of marking and sections can be easily differentiated.
I include a resource to promote informal letter writing and another resource which will be useful for punctuation practice and descriptive writing.
Suitable for ages 10+
This Power Point uses persuasive writing techniques to inform us of the dangers of global warming. Pupils are asked to retrieve information and identify specific techniques from the text in a series of related questions. They are asked to design a poster outlining four simple things we could do to slow down global warming. Anagrams of key words from the text need to be solved. Useful links are given to promote further investigation.
This resource will support research about pollution, global warming and climate change. Ideal for promoting discussion and independent research.I include a word document about polar bears and how they are adapted to the Arctic environment. Pupils are asked to consider the dangers polar bears face and to question whether global warming is the only issue. Is there more we could do to help them?Moreover, I include a Planet Patrol puzzle which contains over twenty interlocked words concerning conservation issues which could be easily differentiated according to ability. All answers provided.
Suitable for ages 10+
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 animated Powerpoint resource bases its information on Newt Scamander's special edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and compares and contrasts three pure bred breeds of dragon namely the Antipodean Opaleye, the Ukrainian Ironbelly and the Hungarian Horntail. Pupils are given a series of questions to answer based on this information and asked to compile an eye-witness report for The Ukrainian Daily Herald of an Ironbelly swooping over the Black Sea with disastrous consequences for the occupants of an unsuspecting sailing ship.
All answers are provided together with orders of merit upon completion of the task.Students are given reminders about how to organise their information effectively.
Fun activity for Harry Potter fans revising comprehension skills , report writing and independent reading.Students also get to devise their own dragon names!
Suitable for ages 8+
This resource is presented as an animated Powerpoint and in word format and takes inspiration from Newt Scamander’s fifty-second edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It showcases the native British breeds of dragon , namely the Common Welsh Green and the Hebridean Black. Pupils scour the information comparing and contrasting the physical attributes of these magnificent creatures in order to answer a series of questions. The answers are provided. Finally, they put their letter writing skills to the test by applying for an apprenticeship as a dragon trainer based in the Outer Hebrides under the auspices of the MacFusty clan.Pupils are reminded of the conventions of formal letter writing.
This is an activity which will appeal to Harry Potter fans and is one of three similar resources which can be found in my shop, each with different extended writing options.
Suitable for ages 8+
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 Powerpoint explains how adverbs are used. Adverbs of time , manner and place are explored and there are plenty of exercises along the way. Animation is used to add humour to the subject.
This presentation could be used to introduce adverbs or for revision purposes.
Other presentations include adjectives and nouns and pronouns which are presented in a similar fashion. This resource is aimed at pupils aged between 10 and 14.
This animated powerpoint consists of twelve slides exploring different audiences and appropriate ways of addressing them. Different openings and closings of letters are considered and the pupils are asked to match the correct ones. Two opportunities are given to write for very different audiences. One is a letter of complaint to the council, the other is an advertisement for an upcoming musical event. This resource could be used to introduce the concept of audience or for revision purposes. It is aimed at pupils aged 12 to 16.
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 presentation demonstrates how to separate ideas into paragraphs. The pupils are given the opening line of each paragraph and a series of questions to get them thinking about what each paragraph might include. There are six paragraphs in total which will result in the student writing a mystery story. The completed story might be scary or funny depending on the choices they make along the way.
This is an ideal resource to use at this time of year as it entails a walk through a wood and would complement work done on the changing seasons and shortening day-light hours.
This resource is intended for those students who need to add structure and order to their writing and will help them organise their ideas into a given framework. Suitable for ages 7 to 10.
This Power Point resource looks at literary techniques and presentational devices. Pupils are asked to consider the tools a writer has at his or her disposal to create an effect. Pupils are asked to write definitions of various techniques and to provide their own examples. They will also need to sort terms into groups: linguistic feature or presentational device? Finally students are required to use their knowledge to create a leaflet or write a film review.
It would be useful to provide each group with an array of printed materials such as magazines, newspapers, promotional leaflets etc so that students can hunt for examples to match the terminology. Students need to be already familiar with an array of different terminology such as oxymoron, hyperbole, juxtaposition and more besides.
This resource is intended as a revision tool and is suitable for ages 12+
This animated Power Point presents pupils with five extracts taken from J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and asks them to provide the missing punctuation. The extracts selected will test knowledge of proper nouns, speech-marks, colloquialisms and colons in particular. The extracts will also require knowledge of how to write a formal letter and how to compose an advertisement. Pupils can be divided into Hogwarts' Houses and answer questions from each extract. Answers will magically appear. Finally, students are challenged to write their own advertisement for a super-charged broom of their own invention.
This resource is suitable for ages 10+ and is intended to test knowledge of punctuation as well as comprehension . Moreover, it will encourage further reading and develop writing skills.
This animated Power Point gives a brief history of the newspaper and its evolution to the present day. Students are alerted to the tricks that publishers resort to in order to maintain their readership. The freedom of the press is something we need to preserve in this day and age and pupils are asked to compare tabloids and broadsheets to note their differences in style and content. User generated content is referenced as modern technology enables us all to act as journalists and report news as it happens. Students are asked to match ten definitions to key terms such as byline and exclusive. Finally, students are given the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice and write their own newspaper article, either about the stabbing of a teenager in a local fast food outlet, or an international affairs event which sees Trump and Putin arm wrestle for ownership of the Arctic Circle.
This resource is suitable for ages 12+ and it would be useful for students to have copies of tabloid/broadsheet newspapers to investigate along with highlighter pens to identify features.
Another in the series of quizzes to aid revision of spelling and grammar. This one looks at proper nouns and apostrophes, matching verbs with appropriate adverbs, adding prefixes to form opposites and paraphrasing well known similes. Another weirdly worded passage concerning the hapless Joe is included for good measure for pupils to decipher.
I include resources to encourage the use of a wider range of punctuation and opportunities for descriptive writing concerning people and animals.
All answers are provided for ease of marking.
Suitable for ages 10+
This animated Power Point asks pupils to identify adjectives and nouns, adverbs and abstract nouns. Pupils are given colour synonyms to sort into groups according to blue, green , yellow or red. They are given a poem about the sea to consider and also a poem about a lawn mower. Pupils are required to write their own descriptive passages or poems using techniques such as personification and alliteration.
Pupils are given a variety of scenes to describe such as an erupting volcano, a misty graveyard or a bat-infested cave. Finally, students are required to use literary devices to describe inanimate objects such as a kettle, washing machine, sewing machine, printer or phone.
I also include a resource which allows pupils to demonstrate their knowledge of punctuation by inserting a wide variety into lengthier paragraphs.This leads to an opportunity to write descriptively about a person they admire.
These resources will be useful when revising descriptive techniques and offer students plenty of ideas and opportunities to hone their writing skills.
Suitable for ages 10+
This Power Point will test knowledge of plurals, capitals, prefixes, alphabetical ordering, apostrophes, verbs and adverbs, common spelling errors and much more. There are deliberate spelling mistakes to identify and correct as well as a weirdly worded passage to decipher featuring Joe who is busy revising for his egzams! This resource is intended for revision on the run up to SATS and assessment weeks and can be dropped into lessons intended for exam preparation in general.
All answers are provided allowing pupils to quickly identify where extra revision is needed.
I include a resource to promote informal letter writing.
Suitable for ages 10+
This animated powerpoint comprises eight slides celebrating the spooky spectacle of Halloween.
There are plenty of exercises involving adjectives, adverbs, fronted adverbials and apostrophes as well as poetry which could be used as a starting point for creative writing.
This resource would be ideal to use on the run up to half term as a means of revision or as inspiration for writing when trying to conjure up a spooky atmosphere.
This resource is intended to be used with pupils from 7 to 14 years.
This animated Power Point tests knowledge of adjectives, adverbs and verbs. Students are asked to supply suitable adjectives to describe Spring and are required to describe their own favourite season. They have anagrams to solve and adjectives to identify. In a playground scene, students are asked to supply relevant adjectives, adverbs and verbs to complete the description. Students are required to sort colour synonyms for green and yellow. I include a word document on the use of adjectives and adverbs which could be used as an extension task.
This resource is ideal for revising adjectives, adverbs and verbs as well as descriptive writing about settings.
This resource would be ideal to be used for revision purposes during the Spring term.
Suitable for ages 10+
This Powerpoint resource is intended to be used to improve spelling throughout years 9 to 11. It includes 60 words most commonly misspelt by students and various tips on how to learn them such as look, say, cover, write and check. Students are encouraged to look for smaller words within the longest spellings and to break them down into parts as well as other tips for specific words. Exercises are given where students have to complete sentences, solve anagrams and invent their own sentences using three given words from the set.
A word document containing the words split into five sets of twelve words can be used to enable ease of learning and repeated practice.
I include one of my popular spelling, punctuation and grammar quizzes which includes answers for ease of marking.
This resource is intended for use by students aged 12+
This animated Power Point has ten questions based on Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone. The pupils choose between two possible answers. If they select the wrong answer they have to perform a task such as solving an anagram or putting items into alphabetical order; solving a puzzle of some sort. If , of course, they manage to get all the questions correct, then that leaves them more time to read from their favourite book...
This resource is suitable for all Potter fans , but the forfeits are aimed at those aged 10+
This resource would be ideal to use when promoting wider reading and particularly around Halloween. Other Potter themed activities can be found in my shop which focus more on spelling and punctuation .