This lesson was written for a creative writing day, but could be used over 2-3 days instead. You need to start by creating a magic door in your classroom. I decorated my stock room door with paper, made a letter box, key hole, window, hinges, had a vine running up it, and flowers. The idea is that it looks like a door from a traditional tale home. The children will firstly spend time thinking of questions about who/what is behind the magic door. Suddenly, a letter magically appears in the letter box. It asks the children to look for clues to help them imagine who/what is behind the magic door. The children find the clues and then use their senses to imagine they are entering the magic door - what do they smell, hear, feel, touch, taste? Who do they see? Is it a giant? a fairy? a witch? Written for Year 1, but easily adapted for other age groups.

This is an ideal activity for the first week back to school after the Christmas holidays. It includes a detailed lesson plan and resources. The lesson starts with that all important time for children to talk about their favourite Christmas presents. This is followed up by differentiated writing activities using templates. The activities include drawing favourite Christmas presents and labelling; drawing favourite Christmas presents and writing simple sentences to go with the pictures; and 3 differentiated thank you letter templates so children can send a special thank you for their special gift. This gives children a real purpose for writing and letters can be posted/given to friends, relatives or Santa himself!

This resource includes a detailed weekly plan focused on teaching the vowel digraph 'ow' through fun multisensory clown themed activities. Friday looks at teaching the alphabet. Each day has 4 clearly differentiated activities to support children working within phase 2 and 3 phonics. Some resources are included although most can be found in the classroom or online. Have fun!

Full week's English planning for Grade 1. Children start the week by describing their favourite superhero and then go on to discuss whether Emmet from The Lego Movie is a superhero. The children describe Emmet and then go on to create Bricksburg or Cloud Cuckoo Land out of lego/collage materials. They finish the week by describing one of these settings using their senses. AWESOME week of activites which particularly inspired the boys in my class. Please note - this was written based on English National Curriculum

My children loved these activities. Ideally, you will need access to a woodland area. We began by visiting the 'Wise Tree' in the wood. The children sat around the tree and waited for it to whisper their names. They approached the tree and chose a name from each bag. This became their woodland name, for example Creeping Blackberry or Misty Willow. The children loved these names and we ended up using them in our daily register! The children then used their senses to describe the woods. On Day 2, the children wrote a description of the woods using their senses and exciting adjectives. On Day 3 we began to question whether or not the wood is enchanted! The children looked for clues in the woods before making their decision. For example, is it just a flower or is it a fairy's umbrella? On Day 4 the children wrote a description of what they found. For example, Walking in the enchanted wood I see an icy, frozen troll's tear. This can then be made into a shape poem on Day 5. This was a wonderful week of activities, loved by boys and girls alike. Enjoy!! Please note this was written using the English National Curriculum objectives

Multi-sensory Differentiated Weekly planning for Phase 2 Phonics New Teaching - ck, e, u, r, and tricky word the Based on Letters and Sounds, with Jolly Phonic resources to support (action, song, stories)

Multi-sensory Differentiated Weekly planning for Phase 2 Phonics New Teaching - g o c k and tricky word I Based on Letters and Sounds, with Jolly Phonic resources to support (action, song, stories)

Weekly planning based on The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. On Day 1 children listen to and retell the story through story maps. On Day 2 children use adjectives to change the opening sentence of the story. On Day 3 they explore woodland creatures and introduce a new character into the story. On Day 4 children use adjectives to describe the Gruffalo. On Day 5 children create their own terrible creature and describe him/her. This planning could easily be adapted/extended, so that children write their own version of The Gruffalo. Please note this planning has been written using the English National Curriculum objectives.

Fun, colourful phonic activities with bright fireflies theme. Six activities for children to apply their phonic knowledge for ie, i-e and igh. Activities include a phoneme spotter firefly story; catch the firefly words and sort into the correct jar; roll the die, move and read the word; roll the die, read and colour the word; use the words in the jar to complete the sentences; roll the die and read the sentences. All fully editable if you want to change font or words.

Phase 4 first week's phonics planning for Year 1 or able EYFS children. Planning introduces reading and spelling of CVCC/CCVC words and key words. Also included is a variety of resources named in the planning, including:- Revisit/Review power point, CVCC Buried Treasure Game, CVCC Magic Squares Game, Kim's Game, Roll, Read and Colour the CCVC words game, Tricky Word Bingo.

This planning is based on the story The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz. The planning is for one day and includes sharing the beginning of the story, talking about the setting and characters. The children then become the authors as you stop reading just as the wolf arrives at the first little pig's house. What will happen next? Children encouraged to share their ideas before planning their own middle and ending to the story. The extension activity would be to use the story plan to write their own fractured fairy tale middle and ending. This planning is adaptable for Year 2 and can easily be extended to last longer than one session. Fantastic story for all children - boys love the ninja theme, and girls love the fact that the girl pig is the hero of the story!

Full week's English planning for Year 1. Children start the week by describing their favourite superhero and then go on to discuss whether Emmet from The Lego Movie is a superhero. The children describe Emmet and then go on to create Bricksburg or Cloud Cuckoo Land out of lego/collage materials. They finish the week by describing one of these settings using their senses. AWESOME week of activites which particularly inspired the boys in my class.

This resource includes a detailed weekly phonics plan to teach vowel digraphs er and ur; and also a day on the alphabet. It also provides opportunities to revisit prior learning. Each day has 4 clearly differentiated activities aimed at children in the early years. I have also included all the resources I made to go with the planning. Any other resources can be found in the classroom or online.

These lessons were planned for a series of 4 EYFS English lessons, but could easily be adapted for Year 1 children. The first lesson focuses on introducing the story and the children talking and writing about their own bedtime routines. The second lesson encourages children to retell the story using words and actions before sequencing the story using pictures and sentences. The third lesson takes the children outdoors as they change the setting of the story to Mr Bear trying to get to sleep in his tent in the woods. Children go on a sound walk to identify sounds which might keep Mr Bear awake. The final lesson encourages children to write their own simple story of Peace at Last with the new setting of the 'the woods'. If you do not have access to woodland, other outdoor areas could be used. All activities are differentiated and engaging. Hope your children enjoy them as much as mine. The sequencing pictures have been taken from the story Peace at Last by Jill Murphy.

Multi-sensory Differentiated Weekly planning for Phase 2 Phonics New Teaching - i n m d Based on Letters and Sounds, with Jolly Phonic resources to support (action, song, stories)

A detailed weekly phonics plan with 4 clearly differentiated activities each day. The weekly objective is to teach vowel digraph oa and tricky word are. There are also plenty of opportunities to revisit prior learning. Activities are multisensory to engage young children and include tricky word splat, mirror mirror tricky words and goat in a boat phoneme spotter story. Some resources are included, others I already have or are available online/in the classroom. Resources are provided in black and white, and can be printed on coloured paper to save ink. Have fun!

This is a detailed English lesson plan based on the story Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. It is aimed at Year 1 children. It is a creative lesson with some cross curricular links. You will need additional props as it is based on retelling/exploring the story through for example, role play.

Two fun reading challenges to encourage children to read at home. Give each child a reading challenge sheet (these are editable so you can adapt as desired). Children complete the challenges on their bingo boards, for example, read a book whilst wearing a hat. When all the challenges are complete, they return to their teacher. I give my children a golden ticket to post in a box (piece of gold card with golden ticket written on). At the end of each half term we have a prize draw and children receive a small prize if their ticket is picked out. Parents and children love them!

This is a 5 day detailed English plan with differentiated activities written for Year 1, but easily adaptable for Year 2. The children start the week by comparing the traditional tale of Little Red Riding Hood with Honestly, Little Red Riding Hood was Rotten! using a Venn diagram and story statements. They then move on to thinking about writing their own version of Little Red Riding Hood where Little Red is actually a superhero and has all kinds of superhero gadgets in her basket. She is the hero of the story and needs to save Grandma from the wolf. Can the children think of any superhero gadgets she may have and how they could be used to save Grandma? They will decide on the best gadget, draw it in their basket and describe it. They will then use this idea to make a picture story plan before writing their own story of Little Red Riding Hood’s Superhero Basket. Perfect plan for Traditional Tales or Superhero topic.

This resource includes 12 days worth of English/Literacy planning based on the wonderful story Naughty Bus by Jan Oke. The activities are engaging and fun whilst promoting a love of writing and storytelling. Each day has a whole class input and 4 clearly differentiated activities. This plan was written for Early Years but could easily be adapted for Year 1. I have included a few resources, but mostly you'll just need a toy London bus and plenty of imagination! Have fun!