This lively action-rhyme consists of four couplets. Each tells of a spider’s movements, dangling, landing (on your head), running round your hair… running everywhere. The notes below it provide tips for acting out these different stages. The rhyme supports all-round literacy, including vocabulary, speaking and listening, expressive and creative presentation, and rhythm and rhyme development. It also teaches children about spiders and helps them to appreciate these delicate mini creatures, reducing any fears they may have of them. Tapping or shaking the beat will add to the punch and fun of this rhyme, while acting out provides an alternative approach. Perhaps do both by turn.

This two-verse ladybird rhyme has rhythm, rhyme and word fun. There’s ample scope for acting out, too, and the notes below the text provide a few tips for this. The rhyme supports all-round literacy, including vocabulary, rhyme and imagery (red as a poppy). It also develops awareness of insects and appreciation of their tiny, delicate features. Enacting the verses will encourage creative, expressive movement, and the cheerful tone will support mental wellbeing, too. You may also like my spider rhyme: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/rhyme-spider-12304548

A royal crown, in black and white, to colour in. For young children to celebrate royal birthdays, such as that of the British Queen on June 13th, and also to support learning about kings and queens through history, and associated topics. Children will enjoy choosing bright, beautiful colours to shade in the various shapes presented on this crown. They will also develop skills, such as fine motor control, colour differentiation and designing.

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!

The climate change crisis, global warming, the greenhouse effect - these are key phrases in today’s heated global debate about the future of our planet. This word bank supports climate emergency discussion in the classroom with words for all aspects: causes - fossil fuels, carbon emissions, deforestation… , cattle-breeding, to effects - melting ice, rising sea levels, extreme weather, damaged ecosystem, broken food chain…, and goals - cleaner air, renewable energy sources, alternative lifestyles. The double column of words will help teachers and students alike, in group chats, debates, writing tasks and research projects. Rather than offer a vast maze of terms, it offers a broad selection, each potentially spurring further concepts and word choices.

Simple writing and colouring autumn leaf sheet for emergent and newly independent writers. Children can either write on the lines (leaf veins), turning the paper round as need be, which is fun to do, or they can write their words in the gaps or round the outside of the picture. Suggested words to prompt for: yellow, brown, red, golden, curly, floaty, light, colourful, soft, thin, old, torn, spotty, pretty, flappy, delicate, crispy.

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.

Sea life and a scattering of treasure fill this lively picture, with patterned fish, a graceful seahorse, a playful dolphin, various types of shell, seaweed and other details, plus sailing boat, kite, gulls and summer sky. Ideal for bright, varied, detailed colouring, teaching children about the world as they draw. See also my simpler colouring sheet: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/boat-on-sea-colouring-sheet-12096606 Supporting video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wkeZ8K6iCfcFQneZ9

Get your reluctant writers dashing down ideas on this crazy-fun writing sheet! Supporting video (2nd half): https://youtu.be/sITQrMuDrfg What would a Martian, or alien, like to eat? Star dust salad? Rocket roast? Soup served on a flying saucer? The starter words spur ideas to fill up the lines, with desserts and drinks included! Accompanying Ideas Sheet offers teacher-support for prompting and guiding. Supports space study, literacy and food science, all in one! **SEE ALSO: Funny Space Rhymes: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/funny-space-rhymes-12051967. ** Also many space poetry resources to read, write and build together, at my TES shop, .e.g. on page 2: ces/shop/katewilliams_poetry?p=2 .

Bring Literacy, Space studies and Healthy Living to life with this hilarious writing sheet. How do Martians keep fit? By swinging from the moon? By running round black holes? By competing in floating races? The line-starters and prompts will fire up ideas and set pens rolling. See the accompanying guide sheet for examples and ideas to prompt with. Recommended for Yr 2 upwards. Pool ideas first - both for space features and keep-fit methods, and share ideas for filling the gaps before independent writing. SEE ALSO: Meals for Martians - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/meals-for-martians-fun-sheet-guide-12115040, and Funny Space Rhymes - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/funny-space-rhymes-12051967 . More space writing resources at my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/katewilliams_poetry?sortBy=newest&p=2 .

This fruit rhyme lists some of the many ways that fruit can help you - by giving you energy, making you feel and look good, etc., with references to hair, skin, weight, figure, mood and more. For girls and boys of all ages. Rhythmic, rhyming, punchy and fun. SEE ALSO - Healthy Eating Acrostic https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/healthy-eating-acrostic-writing-frame-ideas-sheet-12075496 and Oranges rhyme - **https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/oranges-rhyme-healthy-eating-support-12076883 **

Children of all ages will love this inspiring, yet simple creative writing frame. The flowing lines between the gliding, twirling dragonflies offer infinite scope for poetic expression. IDEAS: Some children may like to fill the lines with adjectives (glittery, bright, fast, delicate…), others with verbs (darting, gliding, shooting, dancing…); others again might write phrases (like - dazzling dragonflies hovering in the silky blue), similes (fast as jets, bright as bows…), or rhymes (delicate dragonfly/in the azure sky/lightly, brightly zig-zagging by). PREPARE your class by building ideas and language, perhaps with the help of watching real ones, live or on a video, miming their movements and sharing language ideas. Supports Literacy, including poetry, vocabulary and creativity. Also supports topics: seasons & weather, mini-beasts, flight, animals, forces, travel, symmetry, colour, movement, environment, and more. **SEE ALSO: BUTTERFLY - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/butterfly-picture-poem-frame-eyfs-y1-guidance-notes-11885225 , LADYBIRD - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/ladybird-picture-poem-frame-early-yrs-yr1-guidance-notes-11885212, SPIDER - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/2-spider-picture-poem-frames-guide-11887282 .

Emergent writers will enjoy thinking up describing words for the sea and writing them on the waves of this lively seaside scene. The sheet is very popular with children in my poetry workshops, offering exciting colouring opportunities as well as writing fun. See the harder (free) and easier versions, too.

Writing about baby animals and springtime is fun and inspiring for young children. These three graded writing frames provide stimulating pictures and easy starting points for verbs and adjectives for baby bunnies, young robins and the fresh spring grass, with spare lines for more on the hardest version, and space for more on all three. There’s plenty to colour too. Preparation: before starting, lead children in imitating young animals, birds and insects that you see in the spring, focusing particularly on rabbits and robins. Elicit appropriate action words, e.g. bouncing, skipping, hopping, bobbing, dancing and playing, for the bunnies, and hopping, flapping, tweeting, singing, pecking, flying and fluttering for the robin. The grass might be tall, fresh, green, wavy, soft, bright, dewy or damp. Discuss how flowers and leaves open out too, as the days grow warmer.

Space studies and writing practice are both brought to life with these fun acrostic poem frames. Give the easier, shorter-line version to younger/less able writers, and the long-line version for confident writers. With the first, ask for a single describing word to tie in with each letter down the page; for the second, ask for a phrase or sentence on each line, again tying in with the letters down the page. See Examples sheet for ideas to prompt for - supplied for each version. There’s space for an extra letter below each. Perhaps suggest making PLANET into PLANETS, for a line starting with S, or suggest they give their planet a letter name, e.g. Planet G or Planet H. Then they can think of a word/phrase starting with that letter too. Space is provided on each version for student’s own illustration. Supports Literacy (vocabulary, phonics, creative writing, poetry, hand-writing and presentation), and Space studies.

Healthy eating (PSHE) support, helping to nurture a love of fresh fruit. The 3-verse rhyme celebrates oranges, encouraging listeners to eat and appreciate them. The lines are rhythmic, rhyming, punchy, accessible and fun. Read it out loud, chant with class, add in actions or clapping, set to music or percussion, and discuss. Ideally, bring in some real oranges or tangerines for children to handle, peel and taste first.

A fun literacy activity, supporting transport, journey and design studies. Recommended for Juniors (7-11 yrs). The illustrated writing sheet invites ideas for colour, name and vehicle features, with wide scope and plenty of writing space for imaginative ideas. Two similes are also invited: as shiny as, and as fast as. Will appeal to boys and girls alike, and to writers of all working levels.

Dinosaurs are exciting to write about, especially when you invent your own! This accessible, illustrated creative writing frame comes in easy and harder versions, for approx. Yrs 2 - 4. Supports Dinosaurs and related topics, and Literacy too. Get your whole class writing with enthusiasm and expression, while thinking and learning about the prehistoric world too!