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 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 resource is ideal for Father's Day and includes a poem about a super hero Dad who loses his heroic powers after 6pm. The fast-talking, dog-walking, all-knowing Dad becomes more of the cocoa-drinking, sock-stinking kind of guy we all know and love. Pupils can think of how their own father resembles a super hero and they are asked to supply six adjectives to describe his best qualities.
Suitable for all ages and superhero fans.
This resource has three revision mixes of grammar and punctuation exercises as well as three worksheets on homophones. These could be used for general revision purposes or set as homework tasks. Pupils attempt to improve sentences and make them more interesting, substitute more powerful verbs, identify prepositions etc. They are required to write descriptive paragraphs such as describing a friend, an ideal bedroom or a favourite animal. Colour synonyms need to be sorted into groups. The intention here is to widen and improve vocabulary choices.
Suitable for ages 10+
This resource is a story about a King who does not listen to his adviser's words, whilst watching a spectacle involving a talented magician. The adviser proves in the end that through sheer hard work and consistent effort, he deserves his freedom from the dungeon. He uses his own words to prove a point.
Pupils answer questions involving retrieving information from the text, making inferences, explaining writer's choices and composing an extended answer advising a friend who is struggling with their schoolwork.
This is a resource which would be useful at this time of year when trying to encourage a good work ethic and improve performance.
Answers and mark scheme are included.
Suitable for ages 7+
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
This resource is displayed in landscape view and is a poem about a Dad whose smelly feet are legendary. Birds stop singing and drop cross-eyed from their perch and Alsatians cover their noses from the terrible stench of Dad's cheesy feet. Pupils can draw their favourite image from the poem and then create their own version specific to their own father. They are asked to think of six things they most admire about their father and also to recall a favourite memory, perhaps where their father inspired them with confidence to do something.
This resource is ideal for National Poetry week activities and is suitable for all ages.
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 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 animated Power Point takes extracts from J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and removes the punctuation from them. Passages are deliberately chosen to test students’ knowledge of newspaper articles, leaflets, dialogue and informal letters. They are required to write out the words and are given clues how to organise the information. The corrected versions will magically appear. Finally students, inspired by the passages, are required to choose between two options to write about: designing a leaflet about defending your household against the threat of Death Eaters or designing a poster advertising an invisibility cloak for sale. Trivia questions regarding Potter are included along with a quiz to see who can make the most Muggle words out of the letters contained within some of the characters’ names. A further resource about ancient broomstick games is included with comprehension questions and answers.
This resource is intended to be a fun way of revising necessary language skills whilst encouraging wider reading at the same time.
Suitable for ages 10+
This bundle of four Power Point presentations aims to build confidence in spelling, punctuation and grammar. It is one of a series of bundles to be found within my shop which focus on different aspects of English language learning. This bundle places emphasis on letter writing skills and gives opportunities for both informal and formal letter writing activities. The dragon breeds presentation and the address and letter writing resources take inspiration from J K Rowling and will appeal to Harry Potter fans in particular.
Suitable for ages 8+
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 .
This animated Power Point takes extracts from J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter and the half-blood Prince and asks students to spot deliberate spelling mistakes. The spellings are ordinary words hidden within extraordinary passages. The answers will magically appear. Students are asked to show-case their knowledge of homophones such as witch and which and include as many as they can in a paragraph of their own. They are required to make "Muggle" words out of the letters within some of the characters' names. Finally they have the chance to write their own creative piece involving a hex which glues your tongue to the roof of your mouth, a jinx which makes your toe-nails grow alarmingly quickly or a muffliato spell which causes mayhem by means of the victim experiencing an unidentifiable buzzing sound in their ears. I include another resource about dragon breeds with comprehension questions and answers.
This resource is intended to be used to reinforce spelling, punctuation and grammar in a fun way as well as encouraging wider reading . Suitable for ages 10+
This Power Point resource takes extracts from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and asks pupils to identify deliberate spelling errors in the text. The words are everyday words but the passages will inspire discussion, further reading and creative writing. The correct answers will magically appear. Pupils will need to use their comprehension skills to answer the questions at the end. There is an extended writing exercise where pupils need to decide what they would fix if they had their own roll of Spellotape . There is an exercise to do involving choosing the correct homophone from the brackets to make the sentences correct. There is also a task in which pupils are required to substitute more powerful verbs in order to make the passage more dramatic. Included is a comprehension about ancient broomstick games played around the world which will appeal to those interested in Quidditch.
This resource is one of many to be found in my shop and will appeal to Potter fans. Prior knowledge of the book is not necessary but the aim is to encourage pupils to explore further into this world of magic.
Suitable for ages 8+
This animated Power Point has three humorous poems about Dads. One describes a Dad for every day of the week; another describes a Dad who is a super hero (but only up until 6pm when he relaxes into his slippers); the third suggests Dad is less than fragrant and could make birds fall from trees cross-eyed from the stench of his cheesy feet. A foot-note is added by Joe who can’t decide what to buy for Dad and needs assistance writing out his shopping list. Answer is included. A chocolate themed crossword is included which will appael to fans of Roald Dahl.
This resource is ideal for Father’s Day and gives lots of suggestions for creative activities. Similar resources can be found in my shop https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/jlimb
Suitable for all ages.
This bundle of eight Power Point resources includes a host of comprehensions on various topics ranging from hamsters to hoodies and even outer space. You will find puzzles such as crosswords in many of them which will enhance learning and make the lesson more fun, or could be printed off as extension/homework tasks. The comprehensions will suit a wide range of abilities and ages: there is something for everyone here.
Suitable for ages 7+
I have bundled together three resources which I think will prove useful for general revision purposes concerning spelling, punctuation and grammar. These resources could be used to test knowledge and understanding and to highlight areas needing improvement.Used regularly these resources will help to highlight those topics in need of improvement.
This bundle contains six resources which are all related to Dads and would be especially useful on the days leading up to Father’s Day, but could be used at other times as well. There are funny poems, quizzes and creative activities included which should provide inspiration when thinking about fathers and father figures.
Suitable for ages 7 to 12 years.
This Bumper Bundle of Fantastic Beasts contains seven resources full of magical creatures and more besides. There are quizzes, campaigns and comprehensions to keep Potter fans reading , writing and exploring in the weeks ahead.
Ideal for revision of informative and persuasive writing skills. Answers are provided for each resource.
Suitable for ages 10+
I have bundled together four resources which focus on identifying sentence forms and structure and also strategies for improving students' knowledge of spelling , grammar and punctuation more widely.
You will find presentations,quizzes and comprehensions that will be useful for revision purposes.
This collection of Harry Potter inspired Power Point resources includes ten presentations which will support the learning of different aspects of spelling, punctuation and grammar whilst also encouraging further reading and investigation of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter books. Answers to quizzes will magically appear thanks to the animations within these resources. There is something here for a wide range of ages and abilities from 10 years +