KS1 & 2 Fable planning template. A resource for pupils to use to plan their own fable. Includes a bullet point reminder of the rules for writing fables and spaces for pupils to develop character description, setting, the moral and the structure of their story.
Great to use following an assembly or moral writing lesson /drama. Can also be used with topics : Aesop’s fables, Morals and Dilemmas, Animals.
KS1 & 2 Adventure story planning template. A resource for pupils to use to plan their own adventure writing. Includes a bullet point reminder of the rules for writing adventure stories and spaces for pupils to develop character description, setting and plan the structure of their story.
Great to use following an adventure writing lesson or drama. Can also be used with topics : Adventure, Explorers, Travel, Halloween.
KS 2 Set of 20 Famous children’s author cards and 16 library task cards.
20 small children’s author information cards for pupils to read as part of research and information gathering in book areas and library. Authors are well known and include: Alan Ahlberg, Roald Dahl, Eric Carle, Beatrix Potter, C.S Lewis etc.
The 16 library/book corner task cards are graded/colour coded into three levels of difficulty and include tasks such as:
Easy: Find your favourite book and give two reasons why you like it.
Medium: Find a book about an adventure. How did you know it was an adventure story?
Hard: Read a non -fiction book about an animal. Explain your choice. How did the book improve your knowledge?
KS1 & 2 Library/book corner display signposts.
20 signposts ready for pupils to colour and decorate. Use as a general display or for pupils to choose and remove from the wall or signpost as a stimulus for a setting in story writing.
KS 1 & 2 Library Treasure hunt grid
A simple ‘treasure hunt’ to introduce or develop pupil understanding of a library or book area. Pupils find the treasure and write their answers in the box.
Myth story template
KS1 & 2 Myth story planning template. A resource for pupils to use to plan their own mythological writing. Includes a bullet point reminder of the rules for writing myths and spaces for pupils to develop character description, setting and plan the structure of their story.
Great to use following a myths writing lesson or drama. Can also be used with topics : Myths and Legends, Ancient Greece, Greece, Heroes and Heroines/Superheroes.**
The Beach. Narrative story planning templates (3) with learning objective and success criteria. Year2/3 and LA Y4,5 and 6.
Template 1: ‘Mystery on the beach’. Learning objective:To select appropriate and effective vocabulary.
Template 2: ‘Trapped on the beach’. Learning objective: To vary my sentences for clarity, purpose and effect.
Template 3: ‘The beach cave’. Learning objective: To be able to select appropriate and effective vocabulary.
Each plan includes a planning stimulus starting point (dilemma, point of interest, mystery) and key questions to generate ideas and description.
Can be used as part of cross curricular topics : The beach, Seaside, Sea, Adventures or as part of English narrative writing.
I used this with Year 2 and 3 pupils but could also be useful with LA Y4/5/6.
PSHE and Drama: Theme of The Starfish KS1/KS2 powerpoint lesson, story and activities. I have added teacher slides to explain activities and ideas which directly precede the pupil tasks.
Learning Objectives:
I must retell (narrate) the story of The Starfish in my own words.
I should create characters in the story and describe them using powerful vocabulary.
I could to express my thoughts and feelings clearly about the main meaning or message in the story.
I could be able explain what it means to ‘make a difference’ to at least one person, no matter how small.
48 slides which include:
Warm up: 20 questions to guess the theme of ‘starfish’.
Knowledge: Facts about starfish, a set of starfish information cards and a fact finding activity.
Lesson input: ‘The starfish’ story stimulus.
Initial thoughts written activity.
Narrative drama (1 x teacher explanation slide), 1x pupil activity slide)
Community of Inquiry (P4C) activities (2xteacher explanation slides, pupil activity slides – Think, Pair, Share; Blind Vote; Talk; Giving reasons)
Developing vocabulary (1x teacher slide, 2 pupil activity slides Starfish Wall and Word Trade).
Role on the Wall teacher slide and 3 pupil activity slides ending with writing a character description.
Tongue twister fun and a starfish quiz which can be used as a starter/plenary or extension for fast finishers.
Also included:
Slides 45 & 46 set of 12 starfish information cards for pupils to use to extract information.
Slide 47 Label the starfish worksheet (label the parts and match/write the description).
Slide 48 Sea Star Certificate to present to any child who has done something to ‘make a difference’.
**
How to write a biography. A series of five power-point lessons for pupils in Y5 and Y6. The lessons involve small group tasks to enable pupils to learn the definition of ‘biography’, identify people they know who have been the subject of a biography, analyse biographies (differentiated at three levels for HA, MA, LA), identify and highlight the features using a colour coded checklist and give feedback using subject specific vocabulary.
Each lesson includes a short ‘recap’ session with practical activities linked to the features checklist. Pupils will write their own biographies with the support of a structured planning template and research frame (included on slides) to aid content development and offer an opportunity for peer feedback to improve their work. Lesson five focuses on an assessment task for pupils to extract information from a Facebook page to write a biography about Florence Nightingale.
Three differentiated biographies on Roald Dahl and three differentiated biographies on Walt Disney support the lessons.
KS2 English/Drama 36 slide power-point lesson about the Willow Pattern story which includes pupil resources and a lesson plan (slides 29-36). This lesson can be used as a follow up to Lesson 1 (also for sale!) or as a discrete lesson. The lesson start focuses on the poem, vocabulary and meaning of the story linked to corresponding images. The main body of the lesson concentrates on developing key words to describe characters, learning and practising Chinese rituals and greetings for use in the small group drama activity and using drama freeze frames or frozen pictures to depict scenes from the story. There is opportunity for the groups to develop dialogue and use the rituals in their own role play scenarios. At the end of the lesson pupils are encouraged to perform their role play scenario and receive feedback against specific criteria.
Lesson Objectives: Speaking & Listening: Increase contextual subject vocabulary. Ask relevant questions to extend subject knowledge. Explore ideas and participate in collaborative conversations. Reading: Recognising poetry (narrative, cultural), discuss words & phrases which capture imagination, develop prediction from images and inference. Summarise main ideas. Writing: Compose and rehearse sentences orally, build vocabulary and noun phrases through drama and role play.Key Question: Why is it important to know how to pick out (identify) and explain simply (summarise) the main parts of a story?
A KS2 power-point of 19 slides which can be used as one lesson or extended over a longer period. Included are examples of 2 short horror stories (not too scary!) for pupils to use in the lesson to analyse against a Horror story features checklist. There are key questions to promote discussion and paired work. Also included is a simple planning and drafting grid. Pupils can use the grids to give paired feedback to improve their work prior to writing the final story. The lesson culminates in a spooky story reading presentation.
A KS1 power-point of 40 slides about the life of Florence Nightingale and her impact on nursing, hospitals and hygiene today. The slides are supported ith key questions for pupils based upon simple data and information gathering and prior knowledge about hospitals, germs and infection control.
There is a link to a Youtube clip about the life of Florence Nightingale and a range of cross curricular activities to develop knowledge of the Crimea War and the impact of Florence’s work. The final slides focus on the features of a leaflet and include a template of a leaflet scaffolded for the pupils to write about ‘Hand washing’ and share with their families.
This power-point can be used as a discrete lesson or to dip into to support teaching about the different aspects of Florence Nightingale’s life and work. The slides are structured to maximise paired and small group talk and activities.
KS1 Years 1, 2 and 3 - A series of 5 consecutive power-point lessons about the sights of London (66 slides). Lesson 1 introduces London using the Union Flag as a starting point with learning focusing on the countries of Britain and the location of London. The pupils are encouraged to use a Project Book to record their journey through each lesson. Lesson 2 introduces some simple facts about London and focuses on Buckingham Palace. Pupils will create a simple comparative table which enables them to compare the Palace with their own homes, pose questions and draw conclusions. The lesson can be developed into Art/DT to design a flag. Lesson 3 focuses on the Changing of the Guard with a link to a short YouTube clip followed by a physical group activity. Lesson 4 recognition of London landmarks and a Maths measurement activity with trundle wheels linked to Big Ben. There is also a short activity to develop understanding of Roman Numerals. Lesson 5 London Transport and a Maths activity to devise the quickest routes on the Tube. This lesson includes an end of unit assessment to assess pupil knowledge through a task set by the Prime Minister.
Each lesson offers clear steps for pupils to work in partners, small groups and individually. Each slide can be printed separately to enable pupils to have access to information tables and data. At the beginning of each lesson there is a short recap activity to assess learning from the previous lesson.
Three A4 sheets with information about six Australian animals - Koala, kangaroo, shark, snake, Tasmanian Devil, crocodile. Useful for enabling pupils to research and access non fiction information in a simple format.
Biography of Roald Dahl simplified into three differentiated pieces for HA, MA, LA in Y5/6. Each simplified biography is up to one page long. Can be used to identify features of biographies, to aid understanding of how to structure a biography and support content understanding.
Three differentiated biographies about Walt Disney, simplified into three levels for HA, MA, LA Y5/Y6 pupils. Use for identifying the content and features of biographies or for use in non-fiction text study.
KS1 & 2 RE : A Christening Mystery. A powerpoint lesson beginning with twelve clues of images, a sound bite and questions which build up into a Christening celebration. Pupils work in small groups of three and four and are guided through the problem solving slides via key questions and discussion/written tasks to try to help Lewis solve which celebration has taken place using the clues from the mystery box found in his attic. Pupils are encouraged to learn key vocabulary (font, Holy water, pew, aisle etc) and discuss the celebration possibilities giving reasons for their thoughts as the clues emerge.
Slides 20-23 offer simple factual information about Christenings and include a painting of ‘The Baptism of Christ’ (Da Vinci) and images of stained glass windows. The final slide offers a simple photocopiable activity for pupils to complete on what three wishes they would give to a baby and an opportunity to write about/find out about how they were named – a class or homework follow up task.
Handbook of codes for pupils to crack either individually or with a partner. Each page has messages for pupils to decode from one of six codes including Reverse Alphabet, Letter/Number substitution, Secret Symbol Code, Morse, Cipher Wheel and Pigpen Cipher. There is a practise page for pupils to devise their own secret messages and a template and instructions for making a Cipher Wheel. There is a page where pupils can use three methods to create their own secret agent code name.
The Reverse Alphabet, Letter/Number and Secret Symbol codes are suitable for LA/MA pupils whilst the others are more challenging. Great fun as part of a lesson (English Grammar, comprehension etc) or as a filler activity for a specific group.
KS2 powerpoint of 27 slides which can be used as a complete lesson or divided into a series of lessons. The slides include group and paired questions to explore and define the life of a highwayman, their target victims and the reasons for particular types of robbery. There is a focus on the life of Dick Turpin who has written a Facebook page and a historical account of his crimes leading to his arrest. Includes an opportunity to learn the game ‘Hangman’ and look at historical documents eg Christening record, Trial poster . Final task is the design of a ‘Wanted ’poster for the King.
English and Drama. Three consecutive lessons culminating in script writing in Lesson 3.
Structured drama and role play with opportunity for pupils to work collaboratively in small groups to develop vocabulary, learn Chinese rituals and practise talk fro writing.