These 3 punchy rhymes bring the past alive. Their titles are: Who Lived in the Castle?, Bowing and Curtseying, and My Castle is Old. Each contain rhyme and rhythm, while offering scope for alternative words to be slotted in (notes below provide ideas for these). There is also scope for acting-out, adding sound effects and enhancing with percussion. Suggestions for all of these are provided. They serve to prepare children for writing about castles, also enriching their vocabulary, developing their sense of rhyme and rhythm, and providing a window on the past. In addition, they promote physical development: the actions involved are fun and imagination-triggering, encouraging creative expression and physical exertion. The rhymes and illustrations are my own. 3 sheets in total -PDF.

This 48-word story is fun and simple to read, with large, clear text and supportive illustrations. Ideal for newly independent readers and those on the brink, with one-to-one support. See my other stories in the series - all about Jack, his life and friends, e.g. https://www.tes.com/resources/search/?authorId=23864398&q=at the zoo&shop=katewilliams_poetry Note - there are no pictures of hero Jack. Readers are free to imagine him as they like - like them perhaps.

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.

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.

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 simple, two-verse rhyme celebrates the colour red, listing some attractive and exciting red items. The tips below include ideas for more red things to prompt for, besides other developments. The rhyme introduces children to rhythm, rhyme and the concept of poetry, also stretching vocabulary and developing colour awareness. It can be chanted, clapped to a tambourine or drum beat, and even set to music with a simple tune. The items mentioned can also be shaped with hands or, in some cases, enacted. There is also a cheerful, lively tone to the rhyme, supporting mental wellbeing. Rhythm and rhyme themselves offer a pleasing, reassuring sense of security and order, so this resource also supports PSHE.

This simple, two-verse rhyme about traffic and pedestrians in a busy street provides wide scope for variation and action, stretching vocabulary, dramatic expression, sound awareness, and creativity. The tips below the verses offer handy prompts and ideas for embellishment and development. Children will develop language skills, including vocabulary-building and dramatic expression. The rhyme also teaches rhythm and rhyme, introducing the concept of poetry. It has a cheerful, upbeat tone, and also encourages physical movement, supporting mental and physical wellbeing. Its theme supports awareness of the outside world, social behaviour and even touches on carbon footprint issues - so there’s plenty to discuss here! If you have a percussion or musical instrument to hand, you could take the rhyme even further by setting it to music.

Letters and their sounds, c, d, e and f, are presented in pale letters for writing over, alongside pictures of items starting with those letters: c - car, d - dinosaur, e - elephant, f - fish and frog. There are no words to read, just letters and their associated pictures, helping children make meaningful links between phonics and their uses. The dinosaur can be coloured in, adding to the fun of this attractive sheet. For more, see my many other phonics sheets, including one for a, b, c and d. This one revisits the c and d, moving on to e and f too.

Traffic light pictures with “stop” and “go” to copy below on red and green lines. Traffic light pictures to colour in. A fun and meaningful activity to bring phonics alive and encourage reading and writing. Colour differentiation also promoted, besides handwriting, fine motor skills, road safety awareness and transport-related topic studies.

Letters a-d and their phonics are linked to familiar pictures for sounding out and over-writing activities. The letters and words also offer rhythm and pattern for clapping and chanting: a a apple, b b ball, c c cat, d d dog. Fun and meaningful way to learn sounds and practise writing.

This attractive seaside sheet links letters and their sounds to pictures of familiar items starting with those letters: s - sea, f - fish, b - boat. Children will naturally sound out the words, without the bother of working their way through all the letters in them. This will bring meaning and interest to the sounds. The letters are pale, for writing over, with an extra set below the seaside colouring picture. VIDEO inspiration, with poem about shells: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wkeZ8K6iCfcFQneZ9 For similar sheets, see my other phonics sheets (most are recent uploads) at my shop.

This activity sheet links letter C with four familiar items - cup, crayons, car and cat. The pictures will enable young readers to link the shape and phonic with the relevant words. The pale-coloured Cs can be written over. Two of the pictures are in black and white for colouring opportunities. Lots of similar phonics sheets at my shop, especially recent uploads.

This phonics activity enables learners to link letters or sounds with familiar words, via picture representations. Instead of the off-putting challenge of words to read, the sheet simply provides the initial letter/sound; the accompanying picture will spur them to say the rest of the word. e - egg, m - moon and o - orange are given here, in pale letters for writing over. For more, see my other phonics activities too. (Search under my ‘latest’ or ‘most recent’ items.

Robin writing sheets in 4 grades (4 sheets, 1 file), with teacher’s guide, for young, emergent writers - Reception to Yr 2. Descriptive language and imagery are invited, plus words for flying (gliding, flapping, darting?), and for the sky. Pictures to colour, hand-drawn by author. Topics addressed: garden birds, flight, movement, spring, animals, colour and more. The Guide gives word suggestions for each line, for quick reference when providing examples to the children.

This sparkly star picture includes two yellow ‘S’ letters to write over and, below, the ‘sp’ of ‘sparkly’ + the ‘st’ of ‘star’ to write, completing the words. Children will associate the letters with the words and pictures, helping them to learn their phonics. The star can be coloured in, with little stars around for shading too. Attractive, fun activity for fast, meaningful learning and writing practice. See my other phonics sheets at my shop. Latest entries.

Beautiful pictures linking with ‘b’ and ‘s’ letters to write over: bee, butterfly, spider, snail, bat, bird and snake. Early years and KS1 children will enjoy identifying the creatures, saying the words and writing over the softely coloured letters that they start with - b and s. An attractive, engaging way to help children connect letters to words and real things. Brings meaning to phonics.

‘My leaf’ is the title of this colouring sheet, but there are several extra leaves, of different shapes, floating and falling around the main one, reflecting the variety of leaf types to be found in our woods and parks. Some of the leaves are curling, perhaps representing autumn or just their natural tendency to curl and twist. **SEE ALSO - ** **Mini-beasts colouring sheet - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/minibeasts-colouring-sheet-12049563 + ** Butterfly colouring sheet - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/butterfly-colouring-sheet-12043732 + 3 colouring sheets with tints + hints (nature-themed) - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/colouring-sheets-with-tints-hints-3-11929704

Sh words to read and write, illustrated: fish, ship, shark, shell . Text in soft colours for over-writing. Lines below for re-writing, independently. ‘sh’ can also be over-written, at top and bottom of this full, A4 page. Simple, attractive, motivating activity. See my other Phonics sheets for more sound-writing.