Raising standards in KS1 and Special Needs: helping every child to succeed.
I have taught systematic phonics to all ages and abilities for over 30 years. My teaching degree was in Environmental Studies and I hate to see science reduced to box-ticking when there is so much to discover about the wonderful world we live in.
So, I produce Phonic resources that meet the real needs of children and teachers, along with science resources to engage children in learning about the natural world.
Raising standards in KS1 and Special Needs: helping every child to succeed.
I have taught systematic phonics to all ages and abilities for over 30 years. My teaching degree was in Environmental Studies and I hate to see science reduced to box-ticking when there is so much to discover about the wonderful world we live in.
So, I produce Phonic resources that meet the real needs of children and teachers, along with science resources to engage children in learning about the natural world.
A bumper pack of 160+ pages of resources - to help you to teach all of the new graphemes for Phase 5 of Letters and sounds to all abilities. This pack follows on from our popular Phonic Worksheets for Phases 3 and 4.
This pack will help you to Introduce the new phase 5 graphemes:
ay, ou, ie, ea, oy, ir, u-e, aw, wh, ph, ew, oe, au, ey, a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e, e-e, and ‘y’ saying ‘eye’ and ‘o’ saying ‘u’.
Please note: this pack uses Phase 5 tricky words as part of the comprehension passages, but does not aim to teach them.
Please not: Alternative pronunciations are not covered in this pack.
For each digraph there are:
Flashcards
Sentences to read - these build on the preceding digraphs, giving plenty of revision
Differentiated worksheets: find the missing word, complete the sentences, write the word, etc…
A reading passage including words from the newly introduced digraph
These passages also introduce tricky words, as well as being truly systematic, never introducing words that have not yet been taught. This instills confidence in pupils. These passages make great ‘reading books’.
Questions to answer about the passages
Great for classwork, revision, assessment or homework!
Fully differentiated, they meet the real needs of the average class and are fully systematic: no words are introduced for which the student has not yet learned the necessary skills to decode. They provide ample practice for students in both reading and spelling.
Suitable for use with other schemes as long as you make sure that your children know the sounds necessary to complete the sheet.
Copy, reduce, enlarge as much as you like.
For spelling dictations to accompany this book of resources please see my Phase 5 Spelling Programme.
Please see the book of Initial sounds Worksheets, the CVC/CVCC words Worksheets for Phases 2, early 3 and simple cvcc words in Phase 4 and the Phonic Worksheets for Phases 3 and 4.
3 differentiated worksheets to teach KS1 children to label the parts of a tree when they are visible in winter.
4 parts taught: branches, trunk, crown and twigs.
See our blogpost for more help to teach children to identify trees by their structure in winter. Become a Nature explorer yourself too!
https://ks1nature.weebly.com/free-science-lessons/trees-in-winter-for-kids
A simple 23-slide PowerPoint to introduce Y1 children to the world of mushrooms.
Where and when they grow
What they do - decomposers
The parts of a mushroom
Compare them to plants with green parts:
How do they feed?
Do they have seeds?
An activity to see the spores
Learn the names of different kinds:
Bracket mushrooms
Puffballs
This PowerPoint is silent for teacher narration. this allow greater interaction withe the pupils according to their level of understanding. Full narration notes are provided in both PDF form and in Presenter View, the text under each slide can easily be read by the teacher with time for discussion of each point made.
Help your class engage meaningfully in the study of science today!
See lesson notes to help you plan a lesson at:
https://ks1nature.weebly.com/free-science-lessons/mushrooms-for-ks1
Our 20-slide Hedgehog PowerPoint for KS1 Science can help children to learn:
How seasons (in this case autumn) affect different animals, in this case, Hedgehogs.
Y1:
To identify and name Hedgehogs
To know that Hedgehogs are omnivores
Y2:
To identify and name Hedgehogs
About the hedgehogs’ diet and how they obtain food from other animals and plants
Why Hedgehogs hibernate (food and the need for survival)
That Hedgehogs are nocturnal
Full narration notes are provided in either PDF form, or under each slide that you can use in presenter mode.
Once your pupils have learnt about Hedgehogs, why not use our other PowerPoints to help them to compare them with other creatures - all in the local environment - and teach more of the UK National Science Curriculum?
Blackbirds: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12757848
Squirrels: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12742513
Frogs: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12410937
An easy reader about mushrooms for those beginning to read longer simple texts - with words that can be sounded out using phonic knowledge and only a few most common sight words.
Learn about mushrooms through a simple story.
For lesson notes and more help see:
https://ks1nature.weebly.com/free-science-lessons/mushrooms-for-ks1
See also our mushroom lesson resources and Power Point.
A simple introduction to autumn for EYFS/Y1 children.
Covers:
What is autumn? A season and a time of change
The four seasons
Change in temperature
Change in daylight
Plants get ready for autumn: leaves fall and change colour/make seeds/nuts/berries
Harvest time: fruit/vegetable harvest/ploughing fields and sowing seed
Mushrooms growing
Animals prepare for winter including hibernation
Birds migrate
The presentation ends with the words of the hymn ‘We plough the fields and scatter’, over 2 slides. These can be omitted if the hymn is not considered appropriate.
29 slides
PowerPoint format
Beautiful photos
Animated, but no sound - teacher to read the text
A good way to start a project on autumn, or to consolidate work covered at the end of a project about autumn.
See also:
Seasons: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12761222
Light and Dark: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12761117
[Why Leaves fall PowerPoint ]https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/why-do-leaves-fall-powerpoint-eyfs-ks1-12398686()for EYFS/Y1
[Conkers PowerPoint]https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/conkers-powerpoint-for-eyfs-ks1-12401942() and Conkers Mini Project
See how a frog grows with our 18-slide, Frog Life-cycle PowerPoint.
Beautiful, original photos/drawings.
See the frog develop from the eggs, through tadpole, froglet to the adult frog.
Full suggested narration notes provided both in PDF form and under each slide for use in presentation mode.
For Year 1 pupils, why not use our Frog Life-cycle activity pack to follow up?
See our other life-cycle Lesson resources and Powerpoints:
Life-cycle of a Horse Chestnut Tree
Apples
Daffodils
Apples
Butterflies
Our Autumn Leaves and Horse Chestnut Life Cycle PowerPoints will help you take EYFS/KS1 children on an exciting journey to discover why leaves fall and change colour and where conkers come from and why.
Full colour and some animation in the Autumn Leaves PowerPoint.
A simple but effective spelling programme for Phase 5 of Letters and Sounds teaching the new graphemes.
Help children become good spellers, and help struggling readers and spellers make progress.
Take one sound a week, study the word list and practice the new sound and the following week do a dictation for that sound. It is that SIMPLE!
Just a few minutes a day for 16 weeks!
This programme works because:
Each sound is studied for a whole week. This gives time for the new knowledge to be assimilated - time that the middle to lower ability groups desperately need to succeed and for whom most programmes go way too fast.
The child is NEVER asked to spell a word that has not yet been systematically taught. This develops confidence and works for ALL children regardless of ability. The programme is** truly systematic**.
Each dictation builds on the one before and is carefully worked out to revise the sounds.
There is no SPELLING TEST that the child can fail - the dictation is the test, while also teaching children to apply their new knowledge. The child finds his/her own errors and corrects them by using phonics. It WORKS!
Can be used with a whole class (where appropriate) or groups, or even individually by special needs teachers or TA’s.
Note: Progress is dependent on the quality of teaching.
Please ensure children can spell confidently words with the Phase 4 sounds before starting this programme.
Worksheets to go with this programme can be found here:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/phonic-worksheets-for-phase-5-of-letters-and-sounds-12456406
Follow the life cycle of the Horse Chestnut tree through the seasons with this bright, engaging PowerPoint, starting with conkers.
Suitable for use all year, but especially in autumn when conkers are so appealing to children.
45 full-colour slides with easy-read text.
Teacher can control the speed of the slides to allow time for the reading of the text and discussion
Use as a stimulus for further study (see our Lesson Resource Pack for lesson ideas, worksheets and display pictures:
Stimulate the asking and answering of questions:
Where do conkers come from. What are conkers?
Take your learning to a new dimension by exploring the natural world out of doors with your pupils this autumn.
Bring learning to life!
Covers much of the National Curriculum for Science for Years 1 and 2.
Read about Autumn Leaves. Learn why leaves change colour and fall in autumn. An easy reader for those beginning to read longer simple texts - with words that can be sounded out using phonic knowledge and only a few most common sight words.
Learn Science at the same time as learning to read!
This book can be used for guided reading alongside our 'Autumn Leaves’ PowerPoint presentation.
See also mini conker project
Conkers reading book
Conkers PowerPoint presentation
See more at [KS1 Nature]https://ks1nature.weebly.com/)
Take EYFS/KS1 children on a journey through autumn, finding out why leaves change colour and fall
Teaches:
Why trees have leaves: to make food so that trees can do their work
How the leaves capture light and air and roots take in water What work trees do - making seeds
Kinds of seeds: nuts and berries
The difference between deciduous and evergreen trees
Why the leaves change colour - changing season and shortening hours of daylight
Are the trees now dead? What happens next?
30 full-colour slides
Animated
No sound - teacher/pupils to read the simple text on each slide
Ideal as a springboard to outdoor learning - get out of the classroom this autumn!
No cartoons, no music, no dumbing down - for we must present learning as serious if it is to be credible and to nurture life-long, thinking, learners.
See our popular Free Leaf Sorting activity
See also our Horse Chestnut Tree Life Cycle Lesson Resources Pack
Find out more at KS1 Nature.
An easy reader for those beginning to read longer simple texts - with words that can be sounded out using phonic knowledge and only a few most common sight words.
Learn about the Song Thrush through a simple story. Learn Science at the same time!
Use with any phonic programme after a child has learned the basic digraphs and trigraphs, for example, after Phase 5 Letters and sounds, or after RWI Speed Set 3 have been completed.
See more at https://ks1nature.weebly.com/tipsideasfreebies/song-thrush-for-kids.
Help children read and spell a wider range of ‘oo’ words (comprehension passage and questions included)
Help teach to/two/too
Learn more about past tense verbs: adding ‘ed’ to words that do not change and run/ran, sit/sat etc…
To be used with level 2 of Reading Made Simple, but can be used with any programme. Level 2 ‘oo’ builds upon the work done in Level 1 ‘ck’. These books build upon each progressively, so providing a robust scheme of work for spelling and for the less able reader. Suitable for children who have covered all of the Phase 5 sounds for reading at least.
The words are all phonetic with no nasty surprises, but as all schemes differ, please ensure that your children have all the necessary phonics skill to read the text before starting the exercises.
Reading Made Simple: systematic, progressive and truly phonetic - for all abilities and ages.
A ck phonics workbook to build upon skills learnt in Reception. Introducing ‘ck’ words in the past tense adding ‘ed’ and words such as ‘pocket’ and ‘rocket’.
Activities include:
passage to read and questions to answer
study of verbs as action words
past tense verbs made by adding ‘ed’.
rhyming words
The complete lesson can be viewed here and is compatible with most other phonics programmes including Read, Write, inc. and Letters and Sounds used in most Primary schools.
This book is the second level of our 'ck’ Level 1 book.
Learn to name common wildflowers and learn about their habitats.
Plenty of advice for teachers/parents as to how and why to teach children to recognise wild flowers as well as suggested activities.
Includes:
diagram of a flower so teachers/parents can learn the parts of a flower for themselves.
6 flowers to colour
Wildflower ID sheet
Parts of a flower explanation
A ‘My flower’ sheet on which finds can be recorded
A colour chart/mat to aid learning the names of some common wildflowers.
Photos for discussion/display
Newly updated with more photos and pictures to colour
This pack is meant to be used alongside the lesson aide which can be found at KS1 Nature where you can find a simple text that can be read to children alongside beautiful photos and drawings of six common late spring/summer wildflowers to be seen. This can be used as a stimulus to find flowers of your own and to examine them carefully.
Teach the sound ‘ck’ with our little phonics workbook - the next in a popular series. Suitable for Reception and special needs children.
For use with any scheme, but find dictations at Reading Made Simple.
See also:
Initial sounds
CVC words
or in one file for ease of use.
Please leave a review if you find this resource helpful. If not, let me know how I can improve it! Thank you!
Help your child/ren learn to count and write the numbers 6 to 10 - suitable for home or school use. 32 worksheets.
Each number is introduced and then practiced to build confidence and ensure success.
Includes:
Learning to write numbers
Matching 1 to 1
Ordering
Biggest/smallest
Number patterns
The easy, clear format is suitable for all ages and abilities - including those with learning difficulties.
Reinforces classwork - schools can print individual pages for home or school use.
Parents can download and print themselves as an early maths workbook.
Teachers can print out individual sheets as required.
See also
Count 0 to 5
Beginning addition and subtraction
Help your child/ren learn to count and write the numbers 0 to 5 - suitable for home or school use. 28 worksheets.
Each number is introduced and then practiced to build confidence and ensure success.
Includes:
Learning to write numbers
Matching 1 to 1
Ordering
Biggest/smallest
Number patterns
The easy, clear format is suitable for all ages and abilities - including those with learning difficulties.
Reinforces classwork - schools can print individual pages for home or school use.
Parents can download and print themselves as a first maths workbook.
See also:
Count 6 - 10
Beginning addition and subtraction