Children should come to school and love being there! Innovation, engagement and excitement should be the hallmarks of their learning. They should be given skills and tools which will allow them to become better prepared for life in an uncertain future. Having a purpose to their learning and knowing why they are learning something are also integral to their formative education. And remember, it isn't only the children who need to be engaged - so do you! I hope these plans help to achieve this.
Children should come to school and love being there! Innovation, engagement and excitement should be the hallmarks of their learning. They should be given skills and tools which will allow them to become better prepared for life in an uncertain future. Having a purpose to their learning and knowing why they are learning something are also integral to their formative education. And remember, it isn't only the children who need to be engaged - so do you! I hope these plans help to achieve this.
This is a very simple plan which contains three different ideas for delivering online zoom lessons. Each activity should last 45 -60 minutes. It could be used with Google Hangouts or another online service but the break out room feature really allows for fun, engaging and motivating activities. The activity is best pitched for Year 3 (Grade 2) to Year 6 (Grade 5) year groups.
This resource is designed to be used for any Key Stage 2 (possibly Key Stage 1) guided reading lessons/activities. It can be used for every guided reading activity and is designed to be used in the following way:
Print out a copy of the sheet.
The person planning the guided reading activity should follow the instructions on the guided reading activity sheet.
Make notes at the bottom of the sheet about the session based on the reading skills focus.
Keep the sheet for assessment purposes.
This guided reading resource is an easy way to plan, monitor and assess the reading strategies, fluency and skills of any child taking part in small guided reading sessions.
This resource is a single activity which acts as a learning experience for children to better understand the concept of technology. The resource includes the lesson plan and slides. There are two active resource-based challenges which are based around physical timelines consisting of different technological artefacts and their impact on people. This lesson makes the learning fun, engaging and purposeful when thinking about the concept of technology.
Warning - For one of the timelines, this activity does require the teacher to bring in some personal electronic devices or other appropriate technology.
This resource is a single activity which acts as a learning experience for children to better understand the concept of industrialisation. The resource includes the lesson plan and slides. This is a learning experience-based lesson where the children take either the roles of factory and workshop workers. This lesson makes the learning of the concept of industrialisation fun, engaging and purposeful when thinking about the concept.
This resource is a single activity which acts as a learning experience for children to better understand the concept of invention. The resource includes the lesson plan and slides. There are three active resource-based challenges which are based around historical inventions and their impact as inventions. This lesson makes it fun, engaging and purposeful when thinking about the concept of invention.
This resource is a single activity which acts as a learning experience for children to better understand the concept of communication. The resource includes the lesson plan and slides. This is communication/sketching resource-based challenge which is based around historical communication and the different forms and impact it had. This lesson makes the learning fun, engaging and purposeful when thinking about the concept of communication.
This slideshow is designed so that it can be shared with all members of a class (they would each receive a copy). The idea is that they can carry out their own project linked to helping their own society (family). It encourages them to keep a diary, produce art and reflect on their life. This is an extended project which can be run for a week, two weeks a month…It is aimed at children from year 4 (grade 3) to year 6 (grade 5). However it could be adapted for older / younger students.
This game is an incredibly fun, addictive and different way to reinforce Bidmas through the genre of tabletop war gaming.
The resource includes the rules for the games as well as a powerpoint for special weapons known as the god scrolls. You will need to find your own pieces to represent the different characters but I have used chess pieces, child-designed pieces and differently-coloured counters for this.
In previous classes, I have also included a premier league and a cup competition to boost interest in the game.
I would also encourage you start with groups of three when playing where one of the players acts as the games master.
I hope you and the children you teach enjoy the game as much as my classes have.
This is an easy-to-use Year 6 resource which includes a systematic lesson plan with some resources (no slideshow/fluency questions included). The plan is appropriately differentiated where necessary and it will help to review / introduce the following objectives:
*Simplifying fractions
*Converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers
*Comparing and ordering fractions by the denominator
*Compare and ordering fractions by the numerator
The plan follows the National Curriculum objectives for these objectives and has interesting, fun activities to engage students.
This English unit is designed for year 4. The unit requires at least one copy of the book ‘Thieves of Ostia’ by Caroline Lawrence. The aim is for the children to write a Roman mystery story based on the text. The unit allows the children the opportunity to become more familiar with crime/mystery stories and their composition. It also gives the children the chance to take solve an actual classroom mystery. This unit is very specific and detailed when it comes to the planning and writing stages (a modelled write is included in the plan). It also develops the following skills and knowledge from the National Curriculum:
Writing (composition):
(Vocabulary, grammar, punctuation):
○ using fronted adverbials (prepositional phrases)
○ using commas after fronted adverbials
○ using and punctuating direct speech
● Plan their writing by:
○ discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar
○ discussing and recording ideas
● Draft and write by:
○ composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures
○ organising paragraphs around a theme
○ creating settings, characters and plot
● Evaluate and edit by:
○ assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements
○ proposing changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, including the accurate use of pronouns in sentences
○ reading their own writing aloud, to a group or the whole class, using appropriate intonation and controlling the tone and volume so that the meaning is clear
● Proofread for spelling and punctuation errors
This is a 4 week unit which includes 14 separate lessons/activities. However, some of these lessons will often need more than a single lesson to complete (particularly the writing and planning sections).
Within this unit plan there are hyperlinks to other resources associated with the plan.
This unit is designed for year 3 but could be adapted to fit into other year groups. The unit focuses on giving the student’s a better understanding of the Stone Age and what made the Stone Age so different to other time periods. Throughout this unit, children will spend time learning what it was like to be a person living in the Stone Age. They will also learn how to carry out different types of historical research; develop their understanding of the time based on historical evidence/lack of historical evidence and work collaboratively. It develops the following skills and knowledge from the National Curriculum:
Know and understand history as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped Britain has influenced.
To know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world.
Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.
Lesson 1: A Chronology lesson which uses photographic evidence to give the children a deeper understanding of how and why different periods/peoples in time were so different. Children make links between different time periods as they start to use the language of chronology.
Lesson 2: Children work in teams to compete in a Stone Age game which helps them better understand whether it was better to be a hunter gatherer or a farmer.
Lesson 3: A practical activity which helps them to understand why the Stone Age was so different to other times.
Lesson 4: A discussion based lesson on the beliefs of Stone Age people.
Lesson 5: A research activity where the children are given the opportunity to discover more about a major Stone Age site.
Lesson 6. Children use photographic evidence to better understand the Stone Age.
Within this unit plan there are hyperlinks to other resources associated with the plan.
This English unit is designed for year 4. The unit requires at least one copy of the book ‘The Lorax’ by Doctor Seuss. The aim is for the children to rewrite the book as a playscript which will then be acted out to a live audience. The unit allows the children the opportunity to become more familiar with playscripts and their composition. It also gives the children the chance to read in character as well as role-play the parts of the different characters involved in the book. It also develops the following skills and knowledge from the National Curriculum:
Develop positive attitudes to reading, and an understanding of what they read, by:
• Preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action
Writing (composition):
• discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar
• discussing and recording ideas
Draft and write by:
• composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures
• in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot
Evaluate and edit by:
• assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements
• proofread for spelling and punctuation errors
• read their own writing aloud, to a group or the whole class, using appropriate intonation and controlling the tone and volume so that the meaning is clear.
Indicate grammatical and other features by:
• using commas after fronted adverbials
This is a 2/3-week unit which includes 10 separate lessons/activities. However, some of these lessons will often need more than a single lesson to complete (particularly the writing and planning sections).
Within this unit plan there are hyperlinks to other resources associated with the plan.
This unit is designed for year 6. The unit focuses on WW1 – paying particular attention to the main participants, military innovation and key dates. Throughout this unit, children will spend time learning the geography of the different empires. They will also learn how to carry out different types of historical research; develop their understanding of the weapons used to fight WW1; better understand the Treaty of Versailles and the role it played in WW2. It develops the following skills and knowledge from the National Curriculum:
To know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; achievements and follies of mankind
To gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’ and ‘civilisation’
Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.
Lesson 1: A Chronology lesson which uses photographic evidence to give the children a deeper understanding of how and why different periods/peoples in time were so different. Children make links between different time periods as they start to use the language of chronology.
Lesson 2: Children use atlases and maps to gain a better understanding of the different countries and empires involved in WW1.
Lesson 3/4: Children work together to collaboratively research some of the major events of WW1. They also spend time researching some of the key technologies which were vital to the War.
Lesson 5: Children learn more about the key weapons used to fight WW1 whilst also making decisions about the effectiveness of these methods of warfare.
Lesson 6: Children create a multimedia presentation by researching the lives of different people living through that time.
Lesson 7. Children research different reasons why WW1 started so they can engage in a class debate.
Lesson 8: Children work in teams to compete in a game which helps them better understand the importance of the Treaty of Versailles.
Within this unit plan there are hyperlinks to other resources associated with the plan.
This English unit is designed for year 4. The unit requires at least one copy of the book ‘Ice Trap’ by Meredith Hooper. The aim is for the children to write a poem based on the book Ice Trap. The unit allows the children the opportunity to become more familiar with different forms of poetry and their composition. It also gives the children the chance to role-play the parts the journey of Ernest Shackleton and experiment with different poetic devices. It also develops the following skills and knowledge from the National Curriculum:
Develop positive attitudes to reading, and an understanding of what they read, by:
• Listening to and discussing a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks
• Recognising some different forms of poetry
• Identifying how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning
Writing (Composition):
Plan their writing by:
• discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar
• discussing and recording ideas
Draft and write by:
• composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures
Evaluate and edit by:
• assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements
• proofread for spelling and punctuation errors
• read their own writing aloud, to a group or the whole class, using appropriate intonation and controlling the tone and volume so that the meaning is clear.
This is a 3-week unit which includes 10 separate lessons/activities. However, some of these lessons will often need more than a single lesson to complete (particularly the writing and planning sections).
Within this unit plan there are hyperlinks to other resources associated with the plan.
This unit is designed for year 5 but could be adapted to fit into other year groups. The unit focuses on the Vikings as raiders – paying particular attention to their methods of travel and way of life. Throughout this unit, children will spend time learning about raiding and settlement. They will also learn how to carry out different types of historical research; develop their understanding of bias/historical interpretation. It develops the following skills and knowledge from the National Curriculum:
To know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; achievements and follies of mankind
Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.
Lesson 1: A Chronology lesson which uses photographic evidence to give the children a deeper understanding of how and why different periods/peoples in time were so different. Children make links between different time periods as they start to use the language of chronology.
Lesson 2: A practical activity which gives the children a deeper understanding of the ‘Viking Raids’ on Britain.
Lesson 3: Children look more closely at the Viking Raid on Lindisfarne and the different Historical interpretations of the raid.
Lesson 4/5: A research activity where the children are given the opportunity to discover more about the Vikings – and whether they were just bloodthirsty raiders.
Lesson 6/7: Children present their findings (to their own questions) on the Vikings through multimedia presentations.
Within this unit plan there are hyperlinks to other resources associated with the plan.
This unit is designed for year 2 but could be adapted to fit into other year groups. Ultimately the unit is focused on the life of Neil Armstrong but it brings in the idea of exploration, the space race and animal rights. It develops the following skills and knowledge from the National Curriculum:
Pupils develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time.
They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.
They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events.
They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.
Changes within living memory. The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods
Different significant historical events.
Lesson 1: A Chronology lesson which uses photographic evidence to give the children a deeper understanding of how and why different periods/peoples in time were so different. Children make links between different time periods as they start to use the language of chronology.
Lesson 2: A Practical and engaging lesson which introduces the concept of exploration. Children solve puzzles, challenges and other activities which will allow them to reach a place which is difficult to get to.
Lesson 3: A practical and fun lesson which explores the Space Race and what it would be like to be part of the Space Race.
Lesson 4: This lesson involves animal in space and whether it was right or wrong to send them into space.
Lesson 5: A research activity where the children are given the opportunity to discover more about the importance of Space Exploration and the life of Neil Armstrong. They are also given the opportunity to present their findings to the whole class!
Within this unit plan there are hyperlinks to other resources associated with the plan.
This English unit is designed for year 4. The unit requires at least one copy of the book ‘Thieves of Ostia’ by Caroline Lawrence. The aim is for the children to write two newspaper articles based on the text. The unit allows the children the opportunity to become more familiar with newspaper reports and their composition. It also gives the children the chance to role-play newspaper reporters and eye-witnesses. It also develops the following skills and knowledge from the National Curriculum:
Writing (composition):
Plan their writing by:
i.Discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar
ii. Discussing and recording ideas
Draft and write by:
i. Organising paragraphs around a theme
ii. In non-narrative material, using simple organisational devices
Evaluate and edit writing by:
i. Assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements
ii. Proposing changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, including the accurate use of pronouns in sentences
Writing (Vocabulary, grammar, punctuation)
i. Extending the range of sentences with more than one clause by using a wider range of conjunctions, including when, if, because, although
ii. Using and punctuating direct speech
This is a 2/3 week unit which includes 9 separate lessons/activities. However, some of these lessons will often need more than a single lesson to complete (particularly the writing and planning sections).
Within this unit plan there are hyperlinks to other resources associated with the plan.
This English unit is designed for year 4. The unit requires at least one copy of the book ‘How to live forever plan’ by Colin Thompson’. The aim is for the children to write a setting description based on the book. The unit allows the children the opportunity to become more familiar with setting descriptions and develop their understanding of how to use powerful vocabulary. It also gives the children the chance to create setting descriptions using the ‘journey of the eye’ method. It also develops the following skills and knowledge from the National Curriculum:
Writing (Vocabulary, grammar, punctuation):
• choosing nouns or pronouns appropriately for clarity and cohesion and to avoid repetition
• use and understand the grammatical terminology accurately and appropriately in discussing their writing and reading.
Writing (composition):
Plan their writing by:
• discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar
• discussing and recording ideas
Draft and write by:
• composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures
• in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot
Evaluate and edit by:
• assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements
• proposing changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, including the accurate use of pronouns in sentences
• proofread for spelling and punctuation errors
This is a 2-week unit which includes 8 separate lessons/activities.
Within this unit plan there are hyperlinks to other resources associated with the plan.
This Year 5/6 unit is based on the first chapter of the Peter Bunzl book ‘Cogheart’. It is designed to get the children to write a series of stories. The unit starts with independent writing and builds towards the guided writing of Chase Story. The unit uses music, play-based activities, video and sound to give the children a clearer understanding of building tension and suspense. The children will use subordination, short sentences and dialogue to create a chase story based on the Victorian ‘Penny Dreadfuls’. This unit works really well alongside Victorian history and guided reading units.
This is an English Plan which helps children to write an informal letter. It is based on the book Wonder by R.J.Palacio. The unit offers the children a chance to better understand the purpose of informal letter writing. It uses the characters Via and Grans as a stimulus for this writing. This unit is focused on HPL (Higher Performance Learning) and the UK National Curriculum.