’Watch for the Moon’ is a published poem for children by this author, Kate Williams. The 12-line rhyming poem is presented on a moon photo background. It is fascinating, yet easily accessible for junior-aged readers. The poem highlights the ever-changing appearance of the moon, likening it to different things - a coin, a slice, melting ice… The rhymes are fun to spot - slice/twice/ice/trice, bright/white/sight, swerve/curve, and more.

**This dragon poetry-writing frame will fire the creative zest of independent writers. See video! The dramatic and humorous illustrations will spur ideas, as will the title - Watch out! - and open-scoped line starters: Watch out for the … dragon! He’s …, … and … . His spikes are …, his … (wings/eyes/scales?) are … and he’s as … as a … . He goes … (galloping and roaring through our town at night?) His favourite food is … (always a favourite line!). Tried and tested with great success, especially after plenty of warm-up chat and acting out. Dragons can be any type a young writer likes, from wild and scary to kind and brave, or just downright bonkers. See also my simpler versions, plus Dragon’s Menu, and dragon writing and colouring sheet.

SPRING LITERACY! Inspiring, illustrated poetry writing sheet, differentiated with harder/easier versions, for creative writing about the wonders of spring. Line starters invite ideas for lambs and other baby animals, the sky, meadows and more, with open-ended prompts and plenty of space for free expression and extra input. Supports topics related to spring, seasons, animals, colour, where we live, outdoors, birth and rebirth, and more, while developing literacy skills. A handy discussion-starter, too. Recommended for Yrs 2-4.

Bring your dinosaurs topic alive with this fun, punchy, crazy, rhyming poem about a school child sighting a dinosaur. As a published children’s poet, I wrote this specially for TES users, for this purpose. It can also be used as reading material, an example of rhyme or rhythm, or just a great way to start the day and put a smile on everyone’s face. But DID the dinosaur cheat in the spelling test, as the narrator suspects? What’s the verdict in your classroom.

Being kind is - this opening phrase invites examples, which children can think up individually, following class discussion. The writing sheet rounds off with a simile: Kindness is like … - the more the better. An example of a completed version of the sheet is provided for teacher and pupil guidance. Recommended for Yrs 4-6 (ages 8-11).

Young children love colouring, and these ready-started sheets inspire critical and creative thinking as they work. The light dabs of colour provide spurs and guidance, drawing attention to detail, shape, pattern and colour-scope, as well as the interesting picture itself. The 3 sheets represent natural summer themes: a blooming, buzzing meadow, a beautiful butterfly, and a sailing boat on a wavy, fishy sea. Recommended for ages 4-7.

Watch out for the dragon - but what sort? Scary? Crazy? Hot and spiky? Red, green, wild, funny? Your Reception and KS1 children will be eager to express their ideas, both out loud and in writing. Never mind if their word is hard to spell - they can sound it out and give it a go, building confidence in their writing skills as they go. Not that dragons have to be scary, of course - ‘Watch out for the kind or friendly dragon!’ would be equally valid - as in: don’t miss him/her. The gender can also be changed. There are 3 versions here, of graded difficulty, the last inviting describing words for spikes and scales too, and ideas for the dragon’s favourite food. NB (1) Please note that my hand-drawn illustrations are sketchy. However, in my experience, children don’t mind or notice this. NB (2) Older/abler Yr 2s will welcome further lines, perhaps inviting similes, e.g. He’s as hot as a… or [colour] … as a. These could be squeezed in or written on the back, or the sheet could be manually adapted. More advanced versions coming here in due course.

These inspiring and attractive writing sheets of birds in flight (3 graded versions) will enthuse your independent and emergent writers. After a stimulating input - watching birds, flying like birds yourselves and building a word-bank of action and describing words for them, they’ll love choosing their favourites to write on the flowing, wavy lines. There’s plenty of colouring to do, too. The Guide sheet offers handy ideas to bring in. Supports bird migration, autumn and journeys themes.

This ghost, in its spooky castle poetry frame, will get your young writers hooked, and the 2 graded versions cater for different ability levels. The clear and spacious gaps for description, and the atmospheric illustrations, will inspire expressive language, as they describe the ghost’s movements through a castle’s passages, dungeon and stairs - and further perhaps. The accompanying Guide Sheet provides an example version of the poem to read out or refer to for prompts. Preparation suggestions for the activity are also given. Tried and tested with success in many schools. NB: 2 differentiated frames; guidance notes.

Rhyming couplets to celebrate the end of the school year with your class. Pick and build together, perhaps adding in your own contributions too. Set to music? Perform in assembly? Lots of fun and food for thought as well in these two pages of specially crafted rhymes. I’m a well-published children’s poet, and use my rhymes with children in my school workshops. They bring lessons and learning alive for children, also building self-confidence and PSHE skills. Please note: rhymes presented in random order. Here’s a summery video-poem, with music & pictures: https://youtu.be/wdQJtlPJpeQ

Inspiring spring writing frames, illustrated, in 5 grades. Opportunities to describe different young animals, as well as daffodils and more, with similes invited and space for individual input. Prepare by taking children outside on a fine spring day and sharing experiences and observations. Talk about the soft, fresh, fragrant air, the bright, cheerful daffodils, the busy, nesting birds, the budding leaves and crisp, green grass. Look out for buds, insects, squirrels, birds of all kinds, and any other flora or fauna around. Be the different young animals yourselves, and the budding trees, swaying gently in the breeze. Be birds, butterflies, squirrels and frogs. Have fun! Invite similes when helping children describe spring features. Lambs are as white as what? Wedding lace? Fluffy clouds? Snowdrops? Daffodils are as yellow as the sun, sunspots, corn, buttercups, lemons. SEE MY OTHER SPRING SHEETS TOO.

Seaside Creative Writing Sheets - easier/harder: Seaside writing on wavy lines is fun! Children love using these sheets in my poetry workshops. The sea is __ and __. It is as sparkly as __. You might find , My sandcastle is as big as a - and more on the harder sheet. These line-starters open up exciting possibilities for young writers. See my very simple version too. Many other sea-themed writing sheets here too.