This richly illustrated creative writing sheet will engage your Reception and Year 1 emergent writers, triggering ideas about what could be under the sea, and encouraging adventurous descriptive language. See differentiated versions too - same price. See my inspiring videos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wkeZ8K6iCfcFQneZ9 reading of published poem - ‘Treasure Chest Mystery’ - https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMarEm9uVBDEGPTykSlkAfT6jdVArKlPen6X5lk1le7dqUc89gEztNjSO7V6qsxUQ?key=X0hIWmdaV1M0Q2lHYURKbDdIVFFPMTVBTWRUdkhn Warm your class to the subject first, building ideas of what could be under the sea, and words for describing those items, including fish - the only given item here. Fish might be various colours and patterns (stripy, spotty), fast or slow, darting, dashing or twitching, scaly, shiny, twinkly, shimmering, or even quiet, peaceful, friendly or gentle.

Children will be motivated to sharpen up their own spelling with these fun quizzes. They involve differentiating between words that sound the same but are spelt differently, and words the rhyme - or look as though they rhyme. The 2-page resource includes a checking/sorting challenge and an odd-one-out challenge, with opportunities for children to think up their own spelling quiz questions too. Ideal for spelling reinforcement, revision and enrichment, and handy for time-fillers and lesson enhancers.

3 rhymes on one PDF file - only first one visible here. These 3 little rhymes bring phonics to life with story and humour. Animals feature in each one, making them fun to act out and easy to recall. Each rhyme has a particular phonic focus - ‘oo’, ‘ee’ and ‘u’ respectively, and would enhance any lesson on these sounds. The three-page document is for the teacher’s use, though independent KS1 readers would also enjoy reading them. Black-and-white, PDF. PLUS Here’s a beautiful lullaby celebrating the ‘ee’ phonic, by Rhodri Williams-Wandoch: https://soundcloud.com/rhodri-williams-wandoch/try-to-sleep

This home-made creative writing frame is in the form of a snake, in a jungle setting. The starter phrase, ‘This snake is’, invites describing words on the line through the snake. The task could be presented as poetry-writing or just as a description. WARM-UP - Motivate and inform your group first through other snake- and jungle-themed activities, such as pretending to be making your way through a jungle, encountering creatures, fallen trees, swamps and other hazards, and discussing pictures of snakes. WORD IDEAS - Elicit words that could be used in this writing activity, such as ‘long’, ‘twisty’, ‘scaly’, ‘fast’, ‘dry’, ‘slimy’, ‘twirly’, ‘poisonous’, ‘shy’, ‘hungry’, ‘loopy’, ‘curly’ and ‘hissing’. SEE ALSO - Harder version **- https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/snake-picture-poem-frame-yr-2-11885186 JUNGLE writing + colouring sheet - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/jungle-writing-colouring-sheet-1-line-12045631 .

This resource comprises a picture-poem frame and a one-page guide for the teacher’s use. Both are in PDF format. The picture-poem frame features a huge ladybird (hand-drawn). Above it is an opening phrase: ‘This ladybird is’, inviting describing words on the short, thick lines in and around the insect. Below it, there is a line for a simile, with the starting phrase ‘He is as red as’. The sheet is designed for emergent writers and newly independent ones, also providing colouring opportunities. The guidance notes offer tips for preparing children for the activity, followed by lists of words and simile ideas to prompt for. Some thoughts about the colouring aspect are also included. Although principally a Literacy activity, this resource supports other areas of the EYFS curriculum too, such as Understanding the World and Expressive Art & Design. It has been been successfully tried and tested in classrooms.

This resource comprises a picture-poem frame and a one-page guide for the teacher’s use. The black-and-white picture-poem offers creative writing and colouring opportunities for young children, with a snail as the subject. The huge, hand-drawn snail allows plenty of room for describing words, to follow from the given phrase above, ‘This snail is’. They can be written inside the curls of the shell or anywhere else in or around the picture, except on the line below. Below, the starter word ‘He’ invites further description, statements or even a story. The activity helps children to process any recent learning about ‘creepy crawlies’ , ‘mini-beasts’ or their natural environment, while developing literacy skills, fine motor skills and artistic expression. The accompanying guidance notes (or ‘Guide’) lists suggested words and phrases to prompt for. There are also a few notes about the colouring aspect.

These two poetry frame sheets have lively, idea-triggering illustrations, and are designed to be fun and accessible to use. Both invite creative input, in terms of ideas and choice of words. ‘Watch Out for the Giant’ is easier, being shorter and simpler, with the chief focus on description and some giant meal possibilities at the end - suitable for Yr2-3, or as a starter-sheet for older writers to build ideas. ‘The Giant Went…’ sheet is more challenging, though clearly structured, requiring action-words and accompanying similes, as well as description and settings. Onomatopoeias, alliteration, rhymes within lines, and other poetic techniques can also be employed, and there is scope for all sorts of crazy, giant-themed possibilities in each frame. The Examples for Use (one sheet per poetry frame) provide whole-poem examples for teachers’ and pupils’ guidance. Suggestions for extending the activities are provided at the end of each.

These larger-than-life spider pictures are fun to write on, and the Guide offers word prompt ideas for each section. Both writing sheets invite describing words and action words for spiders, though the pictures are different. On the ‘Spider’ sheet, words can be written on the eight legs; on the ‘Speeding Spider’ sheet, they can be written along the zigzag line of its route over the… floor/grass/path/step? That’s for the child to decide. The first offers colouring opportunities; the second, space for imaginative drawing or shading. Both sheets are hand-drawn and home-produced, and have been successfully tried out in my workshops.

Older children and teens can explore feelings - their own and those of others - by completing this thought-provoking poetry frame, ‘Fragile Feelings’. The sheet, which comes with an example completed version, is designed to help youngsters understand that other people have feelings like theirs, and that they are vulnerable and easily hurt, likewise. It will help develop awareness and empathy, while also providing reassurance that they are not alone in feeling down or upset sometimes. The sheet invites description and similes for feelings, starter lines for suggestions of when care is needed, and a free line and space for further writing. Will support anti-bullying drives and other social problems, individually and for the whole class.

This dramatically illustrated writing sheet invites onomatopoeias (or ‘sound words’) and nose-linked verbs. Suggestions for these are listed on the Guide sheet, along with suggestions for embellishments and developments. It is best suited to Yrs 3-6, as a starter sheet for a poem or story on the theme. The humour and drama depicted in the illustrations, and the chaotically scattered writing lines, will motivate children to have a go. Thinking up sound words and how to spell them can be tricky, so for best results, build a word bank together first, and prompt as necessary as they write. The Guide will provide plenty of ideas. This is a home-produced sheet with hand-drawn illustrations, and has been successfully tried and tested in my poetry workshops. Both sheets are black-and-white, in PDFs format.

This serene scene will appeal to your children’s imagination, as they put themselves in the place of the happily gliding children. With the ocean, palm trees and setting sun below, and the soft, clear sky around them, this fantastical image will inspire your class to write, draw, discuss or enact the concepts conveyed. It could be used in combination with my magic mat poetry-writing sheet, for instance, available in my shop here. It will also brighten up a dark corner, of course!

An imaginary castle can be any sort you like - fairy-tale pink or iron grey, for instance, so your children can have fun with this sheet, thinking what their castle could be like as well as thinking up effective similes for them. The two blank lines at the end are for totally free expression. Some children might like to add further similes, others might like to add a warning, or a comment about the castle’s inhabitants, or a rounding-off rhyme, or even a metaphor (the castle is a …). The example sheet can be read out to demonstrate the simile concept and trigger ideas. Recommended for lower juniors, and older writers as a starting point for individual poem-crafting.

These four funny, punchy rhymes are about animals (elephants, monkeys and slugs) + a witch. Easy and fun to read, building confidence and nurturing the invaluable habit of reading for pleasure. Great for reading alone or out loud, for listening to, sharing and discussing. Develops rhyme and rhythm sense and encourages writing of rhymes too. For more, see my others with similar covers.