Hi, I've been teaching throughout KS2 since 1997 and have always received outstanding feedback from Heads and SLTs, inspectors, colleagues and parents. Please have a look at my varied resources, and if you like them, please take a moment to leave me a good review. Thank you!
Hi, I've been teaching throughout KS2 since 1997 and have always received outstanding feedback from Heads and SLTs, inspectors, colleagues and parents. Please have a look at my varied resources, and if you like them, please take a moment to leave me a good review. Thank you!
A complete resource for a full reading session based around the excellent book by Philip Pullman: The Firework Maker's Daughter. Contains the full text of Chapter One, as well as a shortened version for SEN, and a range of questions differentiated on three different levels (2 based on the full text and 1 set relating to the shortened version). Could be used throughout KS2.
I spend a lot of time and effort making these resources, so if you are pleased with it, please give it a 5-star review. Thank you!
This resource contains the full text of Chapter 2 of the Firework Makers Daughter by Philip Pullman as well as three sets of differentiated comprehension questions for HAPs, MAPs and LAPs (LAPs version based only on one page of the text.
Suitable for children throughout KS2, can be used as an activity for guided reading groups or as a whole class comprehension lesson. Depending on time and thoroughness, it may well take children two sessions to fully answer all of the questions.
If you find this resource useful, please take a moment to leave a review - thanks!
This is a short unit of work on performance poetry including two weeks' plans (this includes a cold and hot performance and Friday sessions have a reading focus linked to the unit, i.e. poetry comprehension). This massive bundle includes a large number of poems that are brilliant for children of different abilities to perform. Both modern and classic poets are included and are credited. Worth buying the bundle just for this collection alone!
This unit represents a lot of time and effort on my part. If you think they are of high quality then please leave me a 5-star rating. Thank you!
This is intended for a lower KS2 reading session but could also be used with upper KS2. It includes a jpg starter activity about Prof Stephen Hawking as a stimulus, and three differentiated texts about Stephen Hawking to read, including differentiated questions and a lesson plan.
This is a powerpoint version of our school calculation policy for Maths. It goes through addition, subtraction, multiplication and division giving an overview of the development of recording methods from Y1 upto Y6 for each one, with examples shown. Includes mark making, number lines, multiplication grids and formal methods. This was used for a presentation to parents in a calculations workshop and was very well received. Obviously it would need tweaking to reflect your specific calculations policy but it might save a lot of time compared to starting from scratch.
If you like this resource, please take a moment to give it a 5-star review. Thank you!
This short warning story by Pie Corbett called Elf Road is brilliant as a box-it-up activity for identifying the themes within the story. As well as including the short story text (which is freely available on the internet) I have included a worksheet I made for children to 'box up' the story. One side is for writing the underlying generic patterns within the story (e.g. Main Character finds a magic portal and enters) while on the other side children have to identify the actual examples of this specific to the Elf Road story (e.g. Billy finds a wooden door in Elf Road and goes through.) These are differentiated on three levels so that HAPs have to fill in the entire grid on both sides (I suggest after modelling a few examples first), the MAPs have to identify some of the underlying patterns and some of the specific details, and LAPs only have to find the specific examples with all of the underlying patterns being provided. Also included is a blank grid and (scroll this down) the 'answers' to the whole grid for teacher reference. It also provides a super clear framework from which to progress to adding a third column on the right for 'new ideas' - i.e. children collectively or individually vary the story details to include their own ideas following the underlying theme (e.g. my lovely class decided that main character Daisy would fall into a sewage pipe and end up in a new world...). I taught this with Y3/4 but I think could also be useful with upper KS2.
This resource contains the text of the first chapter of the fantastic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, along with a set of comprehension questions differentiated three ways. Suitable for KS2 children. Can be used as an activity for guided reading groups or for whole class reading sessions.
In the build-up to writing stories it's useful to give children practise in writing character descriptions. These handy planning sheets (one with more structured prompts on and one more basic for HAPs) can help children to create their own image of a character to describe. The Teacher example and cheat sheet help to demonstrate how notes can be made and turned into a fuller description of a character.
A worksheet for a French lesson KS2 intended to use/revise vocabulary for body parts and colours by combining them in independent sentences. Three levels of differentiation, including spelling bank of body parts/colours for MAPs and LAPs, who also get the sentence starter. Space for a picture of the monster at the end to check descriptions match.
This is a bundle of four documents to provide a lesson with a reading focus. L.O. To predict what will happen next in a text. Children are given a text containing the story of The Half-Chick (deliberately a lesser known tale to enable prediction). Differentiated level of challenge; HAPs' version ends earlier and they are asked to predict and justify the ending. MAPs' version gives them a little more of the next section to enable prediction with more of a hint. LAPs' version contains a simplified version of the text to read as well well as more of the ending so that the pattern of the moral in the story is clearer to support prediction. The Teacher version of course contains the entire story which can be read in the plenary (groups' stopping places are marked on it). Although not well-known, this is a nice traditional tale/fairy tale with a clear moral message and lots of the familiar features (e.g. 3s, talking elements e.g. wind, river etc.) so could also be used to support other lessons.
A 6-page assessment document for use with KS2 to assess knowledge of times tables x6, x7, x8, x9, x11 and x12 as well as the related division facts. Pages include: 1) a grid of times tables questions (in columns per x table but in random order down the column) for children to complete; 2) answers to that; 3) a grid of division questions for each of the above x tables (also in columns for each times table but in random order down the column); 4) answers to that; 5) a blank grid with question numbers and column headings in case you want to call out the x tables questions orally for children to write the answer; 6) a blank division facts grid for the same purpose.
This powerpoint goes through the various common features of fairy tales including good/bad characters, magical items, helpers, royalty, numbers 3/7 and shows familiar illustrations for each as examples to discuss.
If you like this resource, please take a moment to give it a 5-star review. Thank you!
This contains an actual football match report (Man City v. Huddersfield 26/11/17) adapted from the BBC website and differentiated into 3 ability levels. Although the match report can be used for a variety of purposes, I had a reading focus and the activity is connected to direct speech (which we have been studying along with our recounts, hence the reports). So the children need to find and separate all of the direct quotes from the two managers Wagner and Guardiola to rewrite them in the form of a speech bubble for each.
This is a set of questions with a reading LO emphasis. It is based around the poem Warning by Jenny Joseph (When I am old, I shall wear purple, etc.), a Word copy of which is included. Three differentiated levels of questions, intended for Y3/4 but could be used with Y5/6.
This resource was designed for a reading session with the LO being To take part in discussions, taking turns and asking questions to improve understanding. (Band 4) The stimulus is a short video clip called Lighthouse (link on plan), after which the children are facilitated in focused discussion using prompts (including differentiated prompts for LAPs/SEN) with a RIC-style emphasis. Lesson plan included as well as an assessment checklist to record children's achievements in the session. Intended for Y3/4.
This was intended for a reading session with Y3/4 but could be used with Y5/6 too. The reading focus was on identifying how inverted commas contribute to meaning. Children were given a copy of a football match report (differentiated three ways). This was from a genuine Man City vs. Huddersfield game in early Dec 2017. Children had to use the inverted commas to identify direct speech, identify the speaker (Guardiola or Wagner) and write what they had each said into a giant speech bubble. Great for engaging interest, esp among the boys.
This is a complete unit of work for Books by the Same Author, focusing on Philip Pullman, including Clockwork, Scarecrow and his Servant and the Northern Lights Trilogy but an emphasis on Firework Maker's Daughter as our class text. Chapters 1 and 2 are included as transcripts for comprehension sessions. The unit lasted three weeks although this includes a cold write at the start and a hot write at the end and each Friday we have a reading focus, linked to the unit. The bundle includes three weekly plans with a good level of detail and links to online resources as well as a large number of activities and practical resources, worksheets etc that are clearly linked to each lesson throughout the unit. Having a copy of the FMD or other Pullman books is obviously desirable but not essential with these comprehensive resources, which are detailed and differentiated. Many of the resources are my own, extracts are obviously credited to the author Philip Pullman, other resources have been collected or adapted from others and refined to match the criteria in the plans. Pie Corbett's Talk for Writing input has also been incorporated.
This unit represents an awful lot of time and effort on my part. If you think it is of a good standard compared to other resources on TES then please give me a 5-star review. Thank you!
Includes a Word copy of the poem From A Railway Carriage by Robert Louis Stevenson (i.e. Faster than fairies, faster than witches, etc.) and three sets of differentiated questions based on it. Intended for KS2.
If you like this resource, please take a moment to leave a 5-star review. Thank you!
This is a really fun activity that can be used as a PE lesson to tick the box for outdoor and adventurous unit or as a Maths session or just as a fun one-off activity at the end of term etc.
6 cards are placed in various positions around the school building/playground/whatever space you have. (It's fun if some of them are really hard to find, e.g. stuck to underside of benches, etc.!)
Children work in groups of around 4 (mixed mathematical ability is best). All they need is a pencil and paper. Each group is given the name of a starter item (e.g. socks) from the list provided. They need to search for this item on one of the 6 cards that have been hidden around the playground/building etc. When they find the item, they need to write down the price of the item, then look for the next item (written alongside the price). When the children have written down the prices of 8 items, they add them up and take the total to the teacher. If the total matches the amount listed next to their first item below, the group has successfully completed the challenge. This will take them quite a long while to complete but is fun and very engaging - children usually want to play this again and again!
If you like this resource, please take a moment to give it a 5-star review. Thank you!
This is a set of 5 stimuli and questions to be used for whole class reading sessions. We use RIC - ie retrieve, interpret and choice, so the questions include a range of these different styles. Different stimuli include an information poster, the complete adventure story of Jumanji on PPT, two short animated stories on YouTube and a poem by Pie Corbett. Can be used throughout KS2; sessions would last approx 30 mins.
If you like this resource, please take a moment to give it a 5-star rating. Thank you!