4 whole class reading lessons for KS2 based on the poem Happiness from ‘Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers’, by Daniel Thompson. A thought-provoking poem encouraging children to consider whether buying things can truly bring you happiness. Whole class reading, paired reading, additional opportunity for children to write their own poem about plastic pollution, Q&A with the author Reading Skills foci: summarising the main message of the poem, looking at the impact of rhythm, rhyme and word choices on delivering the message of the poem, word’splore (exploring word choices), performing the poem, imitating the poet’s style by recreating their own poem. 37-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 3 x printable PDFs, plus a PDF copy of the poem. Poem included. Recommended for age 8+ Lesson 1 Firstly, learn more about Daniel Thompson or skip to the Q and A’s at the end of the PowerPoint to learn more about what inspires him to write poetry. Then pre-teach some key vocabulary to increase pupil engagement with the text. Next, read the text together so children can discuss their responses to key questions and work together to summarise each verse. Lesson 2 This lesson focuses on the poet’s style. Using practical challenges, children work together to discuss how to use words and phrases effectively to reinforce key ideas. Lesson 3 As children have previously explored the poem on a deeper level, this lesson gives children the opportunity to perform the poem, focusing on intonation, tone, volume and actions. Lesson 4 Finally, children can use a similar structure to create their own poem about plastic pollution. For more poetry lessons explore our website, My Teaching Hive.

Get your class excited about their rivers topic using books about rivers. 4 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on the chapters about the Nile and the Yangtze from ‘River Stories’ by Timothy Knapman. Whole class reading, paired reading, collecting/presenting information in a table, opportunity for children to create their own retrieval questions about a different river. Reading Skills foci: retrieval, feature’splore (exploring the features/organisation of a text) 32-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 6 x PDF downloadable activities. Extract not included. Recommended for age 7+ For those teaching rivers as a topic, River Stories is a a must read with your class. Each glorious river-length page brings five rivers from around the world to life by telling all the stories, histories, geography, myths and legends associated with each. It’s the perfect opportunity for classes to look at how a text’s structure contributes to meaning and gives the children lots of opportunities to practise retrieval. They can even enjoy making up their own retrieval question cards based on a river of their choice.

Available with a £2 discount on our website. My Teaching Hive. Whole Class Guided Reading Comprehension resources based on The Explorer by Katherine Rundell An adventurous story to compliment KS2 rainforests topic work. Recommended for Year 5 Appropriate for age 9+ 3 x teaching PowerPoints - 194 pages 108 x PDF documents Vocabulary cards for all 31-chapters Mixed comprehension questions and activities to develop reading skills linked to the KS2 National Curriculum. The book will need to be purchased separately.