Autumn leaves words, similes and colouring fun offered on this beautiful picture poem frame for newly independent writers. Leaves go - sailing, flowing, dancing, spinning, gliding, skipping, drifting… They are as colourful as - jewels, flowers, butterflies, rainbows… Wavy lines to write on, reflecting the wavy leaves. Let children gather and inspect leaves first, spinning and flying them. Discuss their movements and colours, and invite simile ideas. See also my other autumn leaves resources and woodland writing sheets.

Seasonal fun activity to stretch language and creativity! Beautiful autumn leaf picture to write on, with prompts and writing lines. Colouring potential too. Great for wall display. Let children gather, inspect and play with leaves, then write these sheets freely. Prompt for colour words, textures, movements - gliding, spinning, twirling through the sky. (What sort of sky?) Similes invited. Lots of poetic and expressive scope. Promotes calm and joy.

This haiku-writing support on the theme of the Coronavirus offers a complete lesson plan for poetry development. It includes 6 haiku frames with gaps to fill, 2 example poems written by this writer (published poet), tips for preparation, guidance and development, and (at the start) key information about haiku and how they work. This thorough and clearly presented teacher resource will support poetry, literacy, PSHE, pandemic and lockdown discussion, current affairs discussions, and even maths (syllable counting)! Haiku are fun for older children, being short and offering the syllable number challenge. See my other haiku frames here for more.

Windy Day poetry-writing sheet. Creative writing frame on wild, blustery day theme, illustrated, with** teacher’s guide sheet.** Format: poem in 4 verses, with gaps for action words, onomatopoeia and similes. Rhymes incorporated. Guide sheet provides completed example poem, with word and simile bank below, handy for quick reference when guiding and prompting students. Able writers can develop the poem with follow-on verses, introducing their own approaches if wished, while those needing support will enjoy the simplicity of inserting their word and simile ideas into the gaps to make a flowing, rhyming poem. More weather poem frames available in my catalogue too.

A colourful phonics writing sheet, with wording: “lots of lego”, in large, clear, pale blue letters for over-writing, and a line below for copying again. 3 Lego pieces to colour in below, and a photo of Lego above. Attractive, engaging activity for EYFS + Y1, bringing meaning to letters and their sounds and developing handwriting skills. Many other fun phonics sheets in my catalogue too.

Simple, cheerful writing sheet. Pale coloured letters to write over, and some to copy below too. Two short sentences: the sun is hot it is happy Smiley sun and smiley face pictures add to the merriment. Children can also add a face and/or sun in the spaces. I have many other phonics sheets in this catalogue.

This attractive dragon sheet has three describing words - red, hot, spiky, to be written over and copied below, as well as the title word - dragon to over-write. It’s fun to write words around a picture, especially dragon words! Yet the words are simple to sound out and clear to write over and copy, for children with a basic or partial grasp of phonics. The dragon - who’s flying over a castle - can then be coloured in. What other words could be used to describe a dragon? Able writers could add an idea or two of their own. Perhaps prompt for fiery, magic, mad, big, fast or kind.

This phonics writing sheet offers the words ‘tap, pot, lid’ in pale colours for writing over, with extra initial letters for practice. The homely, hand-drawn pictures of these familiar objects will engage children and give meaning to the phonics and letters they’re learning. The pictures can be coloured in. Help children sound out the words before and after writing over them, to ensure they understand and recognise them. If interested, have many other phonics writing sheets to browse in this catalogue.

Attractively illustrated phonics writing sheet, with pale colours (assorted) for writing over. Text - 3 lines: hello hens hello bat hello big dog There is also a ‘hello’ heading to colour in. These simple words make meaningful sentences - cheerful greetings, engaging children and helping them to start reading. I have many other phonics sheets in this catalogue.

Sea-themed haiku poetry - lesson plan, including 3 frames with gaps to fill, 3 starter lines, information about haiku and how they work, warm-up tips, and a whirl of ocean thoughts to spur discussion and writing ideas. The sea has wonderful potential as a poetic theme, possessing such a wealth of features and variables, including many contradictory ones: it can be both deep and shallow, warm and freezing, colourful or grey as iron, gentle or savage. It’s fresh, yet ancient, fun, yet formidable. It offers up a kaleidoscope of colours, sounds and moods. A haiku looks so small and simple, yet it can convey any concept you like, with impact. For more themes, see my Trees, Birds, Butterfly, and Dragon Haiku sheets too.

Butterfly-themed haiku poems: frames and guidance. A teacher’s resource sheet, containing: haiku frames (3), starter lines (3), haiku guidelines, syllable clarification, using names to demonstrate, warm-up tips, and a list of butterfly marvels to discuss and write about. For more haiku themes, see my other sheets. Trees, birds, dragons - and more to come! Haiku look simple, but are surprisingly challenging to create, with syllables to count and concepts to convey within three short lines. Children enjoy the mix of theme, words and counting, and the brevity of the poem, visually. A series of these pocket-sized poems can be stunning to listen to in quick succession. Enjoy!

Birds in flight is a fascinating, exhilarating theme, ideal for the evocative mini-poem, the haiku. This sheet provides 3 haiku frames, three haiku starter-lines, information about haiku and how they work, inspirational commentary on the theme, and tips for preparing your children to compose them. Birds may sweep and swoop, tip and tilt, glide and cruise through skies of all sorts, perhaps catching the sun on their wings. What do they look like, up there against that crystal blue, peachy sunset or leaden cloud? Are they like darts, bullets, a swarm of bees, dancing butterflies or some other image? Where are they heading, how long is their journey and how do they know the route? Young, fluffy chicks are fun to write about, too, hop-skip-flapping off on their first, bumpy flight. More haiku sheets here, on other topics.

Poetry in haiku form, with trees as the theme, is taught here with an introduction to haiku and six examples to complete. Tips for preparation are also given. Trees are familiar to all children, but each child will bring their own experiences, observations, thoughts and feelings to their writing. Trees are fascinating things, providing us with a wealth of glories, services and vital resources. They offer ever-varying colours, shapes, sounds, expressions, silhouettes, textures, fruits, flowers, leaf patterns, and more. They mark the seasons for us, offering summer shade and winter shelter; they inspire us with their noble, statuesque figures against the ever-changing sky; they house wildlife, secure and enrich the soil, and feed the atmosphere with vital elements. Yet around the world, they are being chopped down and uprooted. What will your children decide to say about them, and how, in their 17 syllables? Recommended for upper juniors and higher. 1 A4 page, black and white. Includes 3 haiku frames with gaps to fill, and 3 starter lines/phrases.

Seaside writing + colouring sheet for young children. Starter phrase - "The sea is " with wavy line for writing on, and a spare line below for writing or drawing. Lots of seaside items to colour in - fish, boat, bucket and spade, sandcastle, waves, shells, sand, seaweed, etc. Teaches about seaside flora and fauna, oceans and boats, while developing expressive writing, creativity, active vocabulary use, and fine motor skills. See my Seaside Writing, simple, mid and harder levels, for differentiation.