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 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 celebrates Halloween with a collection of spooky activities surrounding adjectives, adverbs and rhyming words. The children are asked to provide suitable adverbs to create a spooky atmosphere and to think of a revolting recipe for a witch's spell. A black cat has an encounter with a hat in a poem inspired by Dr Seuss. This resource is intended to be used with younger children on the run up to Halloween and could be used to inspire creative writing and poetry on a spooky theme.
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 is an animated Powerpoint presentation about homophones. It shows over fifty sets of homophones and gives examples of funny stories using words that sound the same but have different meanings in context. There are plenty of challenges for pupils to solve along the way.
This resource is intended for use with 7 to 11 year olds but could also be used with older pupils for revision purposes.
I include a more general grammar quiz where homophones is one of the sections questioned. Answers are included for ease of marking.
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 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 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 Powerpoint discusses how adding detail to descriptions with adjectives and adverbs can make a scene more vivid. Students are asked to make boring sentences more exciting and to bring a description of a staff canteen to life by using appropriate adjectives and adverbs.
I include a word document that could be used for homework purposes where students are asked to use adverbs in different places within sentences and to examine extracts of descriptive writing to see how adjectives and adverbs are used to appeal to our senses.
This resource is intended for use with pupils aged between 10 and 14, the exercises can be easily differentiated according to ability.
This animated resource comprises nine slides and explains what prepositions are and how they are used. There are exercises along the way asking pupils to identify prepositions and encourages them to use prepositions in sentences of their own.
This resource could be used as a starting point or for revision purposes. It is intended for use with pupils aged between 7 and 11.
This Powerpoint could be used as a starting point for introducing verbs or as a revision aid. Students are asked to identify verbs, to substitute more powerful verbs and consider how selecting alternatives can alter the meaning of a given scene. A poem about the wind is included along with suggestions for creative writing using all five senses.
I include a resource which which could be used for homework or revision purposes and encourages students to strengthen their writing skills and provides an opportunity to describe a favourite animal or pet.
This resource might be used with pupils aged between 10 and 14 years.
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 Powerpoint explains how adjectives are used to modify nouns. There is a cloze procedure exercise about "my favourite season" and also some anagram puzzles to solve.
This resource is suitable for pupils aged 10 to 14 years. It could be used for revision purposes or as a stimulus for creative writing.
This is an animated Power Point presentation which introduces the characters of Sarah, Mr Grizzle and Mrs Plumworthy- Brown. The story is set in Victorian Britain and has been brought to life with animated text and imagery. The story has been written to aid revision of aspects of grammar specifically adjectives, adverbs, proper nouns and modal verbs. This presentation is purely a telling of a mystery story and can be used as such or could be dissected slide by slide to identify grammatical devices. There are accompanying worksheets which could be used to focus on the grammar in more detail or to inspire descriptive writing. The story would appeal to students aged 8+
This is a mystery story set in Victorian times and is told in a series of episodes. Each episode focusses on revising aspects of grammar such as adjectives, adverbs, verbs (including modal verbs) and nouns (including proper, common and abstract).
Opportunities are given for creative writing and further historical investigations.
This is intended for use with pupils aged between 10 and 14 years and could be spread over a half term period in hourly chunks depending on ability.
The characters of Sarah, Mr Grizzle and Mrs Plumworthy-Brown are introduced who will feature in my forthcoming resources.
This is a powerpoint presentation of six slides containing resources on different types of nouns such as common, proper, concrete, abstract and collective and also pronouns.
The activity asks students to identify different kinds of nouns and how some words can have a different meaning in different contexts. This resource would be useful for revision purposes and is intended for pupils aged between 10 and 14.
Activities involving cloze procedure useful for the revision of adjectives and adverbs in descriptive writing.
Students are invited to describe typical playground and classroom scenes. These resources could be used for revision purposes or as a stimulus for creative writing. I include a resource which requires pupils to supply a range of punctuation to make sense of lengthier paragraphs, decide which sentences are questions or statements and also offers them an opportunity to demonstrate their own descriptive writing skills when describing someone they admire.
These resources are aimed at pupils aged 11 to 14.
Suitable for ages 10 to 14 . These resources are intended to put pupils' knowledge of grammar and punctuation to the test and identify gaps in their understanding. Pupils are required to demonstrate their knowledge of questions and statements as well as make sense of lengthier paragraphs which have had all punctuation removed. They are provided with an opportunity to demonstrate their descriptive writing techniques by describing someone they admire.
I include a quiz which is one of many similar quizzes to be found in my shop which test knowledge of various aspects of spelling and grammar.
These resources can be easily tweaked to suit differing abilities. Answers are provided to the quiz to assist ease of marking.
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+