Haiku poems are easy and fun to write when you know how, and your class will love the syllable-counting fun, too. This 2-page, 10-step guide will see you through the process of introducing the format, practising it with the class and helping them produce their own haiku. There are also suggestions for topic, approach and follow-on poetry-writing. I use the process myself in my workshops, and am always amazed by the fascinating and powerful lines produced. Recommended for Year 5 upwards - ideally Year 6 and above.

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.

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.

Sea similes and free style creative writing are invited on this wavy-sea picture poem, entitled “Summer’s Day Sea”. Children in my workshops are keen to write on the waves, thinking up their own similes for the sea and sand, and details to follow ‘It goes…’ and ‘You may find…’ IDEAS: The sea might be as blue as the fresh, summer sky, as refreshing as a dripping, mouthwatering, mint ice lolly, and as lacy as a bride’s frilly wedding dress. Or it might be as curly as hair rollers, as fun as your dream birthday party, or as reflecting as a gleaming, polished mirror. Perhaps start children off with similes for sparkly, e.g. as a whirl of precious diamonds, as silver glitter on a Christmas card, or as the twinkling stars in the night sky. SEE ALSO Stormy Sea simile sheet:**** https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/stormy-sea-poetry-frame-guide-12043779**** and Treasure Map alliteration fun: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/treasure-map-alliteration-game-yr1-6-guide-for-use-11887395 - both very popular!

Bring fun and laughter into your space studies with this two-page, quick-fire roll of crazy, snappy rhymes about aliens, rockets, stars and more! Most are couplets, with a few 4-line verses too, and all are bonkers! They’ll inspire variations and brand new rhymes from your class, boosting their literacy skills. The rhymes are my own, and I’ve used some in my space poetry sessions. TIPS for class rhymes - I recommend starting with “space”, eliciting a list of single words that rhyme with it to write below. Then fill up the line leading up to “space”, e.g. I saw an alien up in space, and finally think up a line to end with your rhyming word, e.g. She was doing up her lace. Have fun! **SEE ALSO ** - PLANET poetry frame (Yrs 2-4) - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/planet-poetry-frame-ys-2-4-12018025 + Planet picture-poem frame (KS2) - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/planet-picture-poem-frame-ks2-guidance-sheet-11886984

Recipe for a Night Sky is a published poem by this author, offered here as a source of inspiration and example of a recipe poem. Supports Halloween celebrations as well as poetry appreciation, reading and writing. Published in ‘The School Magazine’, Australia. Copyright Kate Williams, author of this catalogue.

Exciting words-in-picture writing challenge for Fireworks or related topic, or Literacy starter sheet before extended writing. GUIDANCE SHEET included, with tips for helping students think up words and phrases of different kinds to fill the gaps, e.g. describing words, verbs, onomatopoeia, simile, kenning, with examples of each. Fires enthusiasm for writing, stretches active vocabulary, builds confidence in self-expression and literacy, and helps children focus minds on specific concepts. Use across year groups, from Yr2-Y6, adapting challenge levels as appropriate, e.g. describing words for youngest and kennings for oldest. Extra tip: similes can be reduced to metaphors (Yr 5+) by removing ‘as…as’ or ‘like a…’. Can also be inverted, e.g. ‘hot as lava’ = ‘laver-hot’. See my other Firework sheets, too; also, my other gap-filling activities.

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.

Healthy eating becomes meaningful for children when thinking up healthy foods beginning with particular letters, e.g. Green beans for the last letter in “Healthy eating”. Adjectives, like Gorgeous, and phrases, like Good for you (for the G letter), are also fun and meaningful to select. The Ideas Sheet provides plenty of suggestions for each letter of the acrostic, to prompt for as needed. Supports Literacy as well as healthy eating drives. Recommended for upper Juniors (9-11 approx.).

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.

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.

If your school has a pond, this picture-poem sheet will provide an excellent way of motivating your class to take an interest in it, while stretching their language and creative skills as well. Children will love writing describing words on the pond itself, and expressing their thoughts about it around the picture. The accompanying guide sheet offers ideas for each section to support discussion and prompting, as needed. This resource supports English, biology, animal and nature studies, outdoor learning opportunities, and celebrations of the school. Best for Years 2-4, able Yr 1 pupils and under-achieving older ones; also as a warm-up sheet for independent writing of poetry, stories or description at all junior levels.

Supports Literacy, PSHE, mental wellbeing and physical exercise, as well as poetry, drama and all-round creative expression. This is a fun writing challenge, involving similes and action words, with scope for enrichment. A monster (s/he) can be any sort you like, with three heads and two tails perhaps, and this one has moods - happy, cross, excited, ?.. How does a monster behave when cross? Do they charge around the monster school, stamping on books like an angry giant? When happy, does s/he glide like an angel, or perform back-flips like a gymnast? The warm-up actions sheet will spur extended ideas. Hand-sketched illustrations. SEE MY SEA-MONSTER FOOD sheet too!

Peeping, creeping; chattering, pattering; barging, charging; flapping, snapping - these are a few of the 24 rhyming action verbs suggested here for rainforest or jungle poems. Examples of completed couplets are also provided. Select, build and edit with your pupils, to create your own vibrant, action-packed class poem! It’ll bring your topic to life, enhancing literacy skills along the way.

Junior pupils will enjoy writing tree-focused poems inside this tree outline. The summery, countryside setting will inspire ideas, while the short lines encourage careful choice of words and a swinging rhythm. Perhaps encourage similes, alliteration and other poetic techniques, while leaving the general approach and content open. Questions to pose in your for warm-up discussion: is the tree a sunshade for a hot day, a statue, standing against the sky, or a reminder that we need to protect our precious natural world, perhaps? Or is the tree a den, hiding place, or climbing-frame in the writer’s mind? Is it as green as fresh lettuce leaves, glittering emeralds or the tall, silky grass?

Healthy eating poem, with fun, celebrating bananas. This fun, snappy little rhyme is presented attractively over a photo of bananas in a bowl. The writing is in a curve, just like the fruits! Poem and photo are both by this author, Kate Williams. See also my other healthy eating resources.

Autumn leaves to write in and colour, with similes invited - as red as, as yellow as, as gold as, etc. 5 leaf similes to complete + a line of description. Recommended for Yrs 2-5 approx. Inspiring, fun, calming, nature-themed poetry and art resource. See also my other Autumn Leaves sheets.

This simple, punchy poem clarifies and celebrates the main colours - blue, red, green, yellow, orange, silver and gold, black and white, grey and brown. Pink can be added as a class contribution, following the poem’s pattern. It can be clapped, chanted, and presented with a display of colours, to help young children learn them. Here’s a fun colour riddle for your class to watch and hear (also by me): ‘What Colour am I?’ https://youtu.be/JGKvOUDyXmk

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.