These three little poems feature a caterpillar, a spider and a swarm of ants, each rhyme being informative as well as punchy and fun. Read out, chant and clap them with class, then discuss, enact, draw and write about these fascinating little creatures, with the verses to inspire and inform. The rhymes will support outdoor classroom activities and all related studies. Ideal for Early Years, KS1 and lower juniors. Supports Literacy - poetry and language - too.

Three beautiful, fun, punchy rhymes about spring, for Early Years and KS1. Baby animals, hatching birds, green leaves, budding flowers, growing grass, fresh, blue skies and other wonders of springtime are addressed in these buoyant little verses. They can be read out for listening, chanted and clapped together, enacted, discussed, illustrated, put to music or percussion, and referred to for inspiration and guidance when going outside to enjoy a fine spring day. The poems are my own.

Children love colours, and are always keen to say which their favourite colour is, so they’ll love this writing and colouring sheet. There is one writing line, starting - I like the colour ___ , with a large space for them to write their favourite one. Let them sound it out and have a go at the writing, even if the spelling is wrong, to build confidence in writing. Later, they could repeat the task with a word card to guide their spelling. They can colour in the shapes with that colour, or with a mix for variety and design fun. This resource promotes shape and pattern awareness as well as literacy, colour sense and fine motor control.

As children colour in this star, in their own way, they’ll focus in on the concept of space, also absorbing and perhaps colouring in the other features in the picture. They’ll develop design technique, creativity, colour differentiation and fine motor control, and enjoy discussing the picture too, so this simple resource offers multiple learning and development potential. **SEE ALSO: ROCKET colouring sheet ** - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/rocket-colouring-sheet-11975239 + MY STAR IS - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/my-star-is-3-graded-versions-of-a-star-picture-poem-frame-early-yrs-yr-1-yr-2-11886766 .

Young children will enjoy thinking up a word to complete the given phrase - This ladybird is…, and having a go at writing it on the line. Encourage sounding out rather than accurate spelling, to build confidence in independent writing. Some words to prompt for, if ideas are needed - red, spotty, bright, tiny, shiny, shy, crawly, quiet. After writing, your pupils will be keen to colour in the picture. This resource promotes literacy, fine motor control, colour and pattern appreciation, and an appreciation of the mini-beast world and nature in general.

Young children will enjoy thinking up a word to complete the phrase - This butterfly is…, sounding out their word and having a go at writing it. Colouring the picture could be a reward for their writing effort. Perhaps prompt for words like - pretty, colourful, red, blue, gentle, peaceful, soft, floaty, little, dancing, flappy, happy, beautiful. Let them attempt long words as they wish, building confidence in independent, expressive writing.

Young children will enjoy thinking up a word for the hedgehog, to complete the phrase - This hedgehog…, sounding it out and having a go at the writing. Perhaps prompt for - spiky, shy, prickly, quiet, little, crawly, spiny, brown, hungry, sleepy, friendly, busy or cute. Present the colouring activity as a reward for the writing effort, to ensure children give it a try. This will build their confidence in writing, as well as helping them focus on this animal’s features and natural environment, nurturing an appreciation of the natural world.

Young emergent writers will be enthused to think up a word or more to complete the given phrase - My dragon is…, and to have a go at writing it on the line. More words can be added as wanted. Discuss first, drawing out a range of possibilities, e.g. - hot, red, spiky, scaly, fiery, funny, crazy, scary, friendly, magic, bold, brave, flying, zooming, flappy, and even fire-breathing. Colouring in the picture afterwards will provide an extra incentive for writing. Supports literacy, language development, fine motor control, colour differentiation, shape and pattern appreciation, creativity, and the concept of magical creatures (+ flight, fire, castles, travel and more).

Let imagination take off with this exciting rocket writing and colouring sheet. Young children will enjoy choosing one or more items to complete the given phrase - I can see, sounding out the word(s) and having a go at spelling them. If anyone needs idea prompts, perhaps suggest a rocket, stars, sun, moon, spaceman or dog. The colouring part of the activity could be presented as a reward for the writing. This resource promotes literacy, fine motor skills, colour and shape awareness and an understanding of the concept of space and its contents.

Young children will enjoy thinking up a word to complete the phrase - this robin is. Prompt for words such as - red, tiny, fluffy, happy, a baby, soft, hoppy, flappy, feathery, friendly. Encourage emergent writing and sounding out of letters, even if resulting in incorrect spelling. This will build confidence in writing. Present the colouring part of the activity as a reward for the writing, to ensure every child has a go at it.

This rhyme bank and examples page will provide all the back-up you need to concoct verses about castle characters with your class. There are rhyme lists for King, Queen, Knight, Prince, Princess and Ghost, with an example verse for each on the next page. Tips for presenting and guiding are also provided. Bring history alive by inventing funny, crazy, spooky or beautiful rhyming couplets (or more) about the people who lived in our ancient castles, or bring your literacy or poetry lesson alive this way. I introduce rhymes like these in my poetry workshops, adapting the presentation to suit the different literacy levels. It’s an activity that gets everyone hooked.

Young children will enjoy thinking up a word or more to complete the phrase - ‘This rabbit has’, and having a go at writing it on the line provided. Colouring in the picture could be presented as a reward for the writing. If word ideas are needed, perhaps prompt for - a tail, ears (or big ears), whiskers, fur, fluff, a smile, grass, flowers (to eat), or 4 paws. Supports literacy, fine motor skills, colour differentiation, creativity and an appreciation of animals and nature. I also have a frog writing + colouring sheet: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/frog-writing-colouring-sheet-1-line-12045415

Young children will enjoy thinking up a word or more to complete the phrase - I can see…, after studying this multi-featured picture. They might choose ducks, a frog, a pond, a bird, flowers, a bee or a ladybird, for instance. They can then sound out the phonics and have a go at writing out the word(s), before colouring in the picture. This resource promotes literacy, creativity, fine motor control, a love of nature and animals, an understanding of the natural environment, and more. See my two higher-graded versions too.

Is this a Land of Lollopops, Love, or something else beginning with L? Your class will love thinking up words to complete this and all the other alliterative place names, such as Forest of F, Iceberg of I and School of S. A fun learning activity and handy filler, developing literacy skills and creativity with ease and laughter. Tip for use: start with a whole-class warm-up, eliciting ideas for the title and one other name, before leaving children to write their ideas on the sheet, individually or in pairs. Young classes will benefit from doing the whole activity together, teacher-led.

“Castle treasure can be -” is the lead-in phrase on this attractive picture-poem - or writing sheet, and the accompanying word bank supplies the teacher with easy and harder words to prompt for. Draw out the words from children’s passive vocabulary, rather than handing out this list. There are plenty of other words to contribute too - these are just suggestions. The sheet can serve as a creative writing sheet for younger children, or a launch pad for extended writing, for older or more independent writers. Supports literacy and history.

On this cheerfully illustrated sheet, young children can fill in the gaps to create their own poem, or descriptive writing sheet. Titled, In the Woods, the first line invites a describing word for a robin, and the second line invites a choice of woodland animal (the picture offers ideas) and a describing word to go with it. They can then think up a verb, or ‘doing word’ for the squirrels, and describe the trees too. There’s a spare line for any extra ideas the writer may wish to add. See my other woodland writing sheets too, for harder and easier work. This sheet is fun to colour, interesting to write, and insightful about forests and their wildlife.

The Planet … is as bright as…, as hot as… and as spooky as… Each simile has a line for completion. There’s also a spare line for extras, and a follow-on verse about the aliens who live there - whatever features they may have. Children love this creative writing frame. Confident writers also enjoy the harder version, here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/planet-picture-poem-frame-ks2-guidance-sheet-11886984 See my other space writing resources too.

This simple illustrated poetry frame celebrates the beauty of birds in flight and the wonders of bird migration. The theme will inspire your children’s imagination and ignite their poetic powers, spurred on by the sketches and line-starters. They’ll love thinking up similes to describe how the birds look and other aspects of them, and also thinking up their own developments and rounding-off line. The accompanying Guide Sheet offers suggestions for each line, in case handy for reading out as examples or prompting for, while encouraging independent thinking and word choices. Recommended for KS2.

At our school we ___ and ___ , this sheet says, inviting action words for the line slots. These could be: play and learn, read and write, have lunch and play ball, eat and drink, dance and sing, talk and laugh, run and jump, draw and colour, make and build, cut and stick, make friends and have fun, or other possibilities. The extra line is for any further thoughts. This sheet offers support to newcomers to the school or class, as well as literacy support. They can express their feelings and reflect their experiences, while also trying out their writing skills.

This attractive writing and colouring sheet will motivate your 6-8 year-olds (approx.) to think up items of different colours and describe them, on the lines given. This will develop literacy skills, also promoting colour sense and appreciation. See my read-aloud ‘Colours’ poem and other colour rhymes (uploaded previously), for further support and embellishment of the activity.