Hi! I am a teacher with over 20 years' experience at Primary level. I try to make my resources as challenging as possible with a slice of fun, while cramming in as much detail as possible into the guided reading / writing activities, plays, worksheets and comprehension exercises that I produce. I also create and publish a range of free worksheets and resources, which now account for over 40% of my published resources. Any feedback and suggestions welcome!
Hi! I am a teacher with over 20 years' experience at Primary level. I try to make my resources as challenging as possible with a slice of fun, while cramming in as much detail as possible into the guided reading / writing activities, plays, worksheets and comprehension exercises that I produce. I also create and publish a range of free worksheets and resources, which now account for over 40% of my published resources. Any feedback and suggestions welcome!
Five worksheets about Victorian inventions and inventors for Key Stage Two.
The first worksheet has two activities: firstly, pupils will discuss and link Victorian inventors with their inventions; secondly, there are four questions to discuss and answer. The questions focus on the significance and impact of several inventions.
The worksheet will work best when it follows on from discussion and looking at artifacts or photographs, where pupils will have thought about the relative merits of the inventions and asked whether they are relevant today.
2nd worksheet: Images of Victorian inventions
3rd and 4th worksheets: Comparing Victorian objects with modern
5th worksheet: Welcome to the Victorian Museum activity. For this activity you need to place obscure and interesting Victorian artefacts (or photos of them) on each table of classroom. Pupils go round to each table and try to figure out what each artefact is!
Can be used as part of a display for your Brazil topic and also for comprehension / reading activities. Each poster is factual, with key geographical words highlighted, and uses illustrations. The three posters are:
Brazilian History People and Culture Wildlife
There are 17 questions, based on chapter one of Matilda, on two sides of A4.
The questions are written in SATs format and offer 1, 2 or 3 marks.
Altogether, 25 marks are available, meaning pupils can work out their percentage score at the end.
Answer sheet included.
Could be used as an independent task, homework or for SATs revision.
There is also an A4 spelling worksheet with 3 tasks for independent work.
8 SPAG worksheets based on the Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler, for independent work or whole class revision.
I have created 8 SPAG worksheets based on the Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler
Chapter 1 Present and Past Tense
Chapter 2 Proofreading
Chapter 3 Mixed Grammar and Vocabulary Practice
Chapter 4 Mixed Grammar and Vocabulary Practice
Chapter 5 Mixed Grammar and Vocabulary Practice
Chapter 6 Spelling and Dictionary Practice
Chapter 8 Spelling and Dictionary Practice
Chapters 9 and 10 Antonyms and Synonyms**
I have created the first 3 parts to an original myth based on traditional Greek myths, which can be used to teach pupils how to develop their own myth.
Lesson 1 - Creating the setting.
Lesson 2 - Introducing the villain and setting out the problem.
Lesson 3 - Introducing the hero and creating tension in the story.
I have used this exemplar to teach children to write their own ‘myth’ over the course of a week, in stages, with time allowed for editing and improving. I have included the main features of a Greek myth, such as the use of magic, fantastic, hybrid creatures, and the Good vs Bad scenario.
In the course of a lesson, these features will be emphasised as the teacher writes alongside the pupils, discussing the language and why it has been chosen. Characters will be developed with detailed descriptions and the plot will be discussed and used as a model for pupils’ own myths.
I have not written the last parts of the story as this is where I would put the children fully in charge of the story - it is amazing the ideas they will devise for the hero to vanquish the evil villain Voltar and his terrifying creature, the Scorpidon!
As the story is in Word, it can be adapted an lots of ways and also used to develop spelling, punctuation, cloze procedure and grammar activies. I have also included some Greek island images for use in pupils’ books, and an A4 feature list for myths. Enjoy!
Over resources altogether.
They are suitable for Years 4 to 6 and can be tweaked to suit your class. The following topics are included: Electricity, Sound, Tudors, Rainforests, Brazil, Great Britain, Victorian Toys and Games, Street Child by Berlie Doherty, Victorian Inventions and Penguins.
There are also plenty of other activities included to work alongside the comprehension activities, such as adjectives worksheets, vocabulary challenges, powerpoints, various sorting activities and research challenges.
This is a literacy pack based on the first 5 chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
For each chapter, there is a comprehension worksheet containing a range of around 20 questions, based on the text, producing 25 marks in total. The questions are written on one size of A4 and include an extension activity. The worksheets could be used as independent reading tasks, homework activities or as a tool for guided reading groups. Also included with each comprehension task is an A4 answer sheet. Just for for chapter one, there are two comprehension activities, one based on pages 7 - 13 and the next on pages 13 - 18.
The extension activities attached to each comprehension task are listed below:
Chapter one, pages 7 - 13: Dictionary Challenge
Chapter One, pages 13 - 18: Astounding Alliteration
Chapter Two: Compound Words
Chapter Three: Dictionary Challenge
Chapter Four: Spelling Challenge
Chapter Five: Vibrant Verbs
The literacy pack also includes nine writing resources as follows:
Chapter Two - Dear Diary ( Harry’s point of view)
Chapter Two - Writing activity based on Harry and Dudley’s differing viewpoints
Chapter Four - Mysterious character descriptive writing task
Chapter Four - Letter writing task: Hagrid writing to Dumbledore
Chapter Five - Recount based on the visit to the Leaky Cauldron (Harry’s POV)
Chapters 1 to 5 - Book review
Spooky Picture for use in creative writing
Spelling task - ‘soft c’
Awesome Adjectives Wordsearch
This is a humorous, child - friendly 30 - 40 minute musical play with 10 separate scenes. It tells the story of Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to find a westward rout to the ‘Indies’.There are 6 main parts, 21 speaking parts altogether and other singing and dancing roles that will easily accommodate a class of 30. It can be practised and performed as a whole class or, as part of drama activities, in groups. Pupils will learn all about the conditions for sailors in the 15th century, the reasons why the voyage was so important and the story of why Columbus became known for discovering ‘The New World’.
However, the accent in this play is most definitely FUN!!! There are jokes, an S-Factor scene (giving opportunities for pupils talents to be showcased), magicians, singing, dancing and slots where you can insert your own class’s ideas!!!
If performed as a whole class play, it would take two or more weeks of rehearsals and learning the parts before delivering a performance. Alternatively, it can be used as a group reader for a group of 6 children, with the pupils switching roles and playing the roles of more than one character.
KS2 Years 4 and 5
This includes over 10 resources:
Two cloze procedure comprehensions on sailors’ conditions
Text and comprehension worksheet on Francis Drake
Brief biographies of 6 major explorers
Two PP presentations
Galleon drawing with lines for written work
Maths problems worksheet problem solving
Wordsearch
Original Christopher Columbus play - could be for the whole class or done as a guided read.
Schooldays in the Past questionnaire - homework activity.
A chapter - by - chapter (12 chapters in all) set of comprehension exercises with linked Spelling and Grammar activities. Each comprehension activity has at least 10 questions, which I have designed to allow success for less able children but with challenging, higher order questions for above average pupils. Harder questions are signified by being awarded extra marks (up to 3 marks for a tricky question). Each reading task has a learning objective in and requires the reading of one full chapter of the Sheep-Pig. The worksheets are all A4 size and there are various ways to use the activity sheets, including:
As part of a shared reading session, with the pupils completing the written tasks after discussion and analysis of the text as a class or group.
As independent written tasks for the rest of the class, while the teacher is reading with a smaller group.
As an additional, ready-made resource to support the study of The Sheep - Pig as a Unit of Work / class book.
As a stand-alone, independent reading activity / assessment.
As a useful teacher prompt/ discussion leader when doing a guided read.
Alongside the comprehension task, each worksheet has a Spelling or Grammar challenge - for example: fronted adverbials, dictionary activities, word classes, etc. These could be the focus of the lesson, serve as an extension task or be used as a stand alone / separate activity. All worksheets are created on Microsoft Word so can be easily adapted to suit your needs. For example, in the past I have shrank the 10 set questions to half-page size and photocopied them to stick in pupils’ books, ready for independent work. You could also add your own questions, objectives etc.
A useful Curriculum Plan and lots of activities / worksheets / PPs / Pics / Posters on the geography of Brazil and the Amazon Rainforest.
List of Resources:
A factfile containing some basic facts about the country
A cloze procedure activity on Brazilian landscapes and the Amazon,
A mindmap task.
A research activity to help learn the basic facts about Brazil - where it is located in the world, population figures etc. This could be used alongside Activity 1 or as a research lesson to use when beginning the topic.
An investigating Brazil worksheet for pupils to use when researching using books and internet sources.
PP on the landscapes of Brazil.
Three posters which can be used as part of a display for your Brazil topic and also for comprehension / reading activities. Each poster is factual, with key geographical words highlighted, and uses illustrations. The three posters are:
Brazilian History People and Culture Wildlife
Two comprehension exercises based on the Amazon rainforest:
These resources focus on exploring rainforests through literacy and give lots of scope for follow up writing activities! They’re also useful in the study of conservation issues.
Comprehension 1 - consists of a detailed A4 sized text on the Amazon rainforest, including conservation issues. The question sheet is designed to stick in the pupils’ books and includes lesson objectives and 2 differentiated dictionary challenges.
Comprehension 2 - an A4 - sized cloze procedure exercise called ‘What is a Rainforest?’
Map of world rainforests with space for written tasks.
Seven pages of rainforest images which are useful for initiating and inspiring a rainforest art project.
Also included are three posters which can be used as part of a display for your Brazil topic and also for comprehension / reading activities. Each poster is factual, with key geographical words highlighted, and uses illustrations. The three posters are:
Brazilian History / People and Culture / Wildlife
This is a literacy pack containing chapter- by - chapter activities based on the first seven chapters of the book The Witches by Roald Dahl, plus associated grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and spelling activities. There are ten worksheets in all, comprising:
6 x reading comprehension worksheets (including extension activities)
2 x vocabulary / grammar / punctuation worksheets
2 x spelling worksheets
For each of the seven chapters there is a comprehension / guided reading worksheet which also contains a reading / spelling / writing challenge. (Chapters 6 and 7 are combined as chapter 6 is very short.) There are 25 marks available in each comprehension, allowing pupils to work out their percentage score. The worksheets could be used as part of SATs practice as the questions are set in a similar vein. Similarly, pupils could do the reading comprehension worksheets as independent tasks or as part of whole class revision.
Alternatively, each worksheet could be used as part of a guided reading session, reading assessment or whole class teaching.
Each Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation worksheet is double A4 - sized, with space for pupils’ answers. Pupils could do the worksheet as an independent task or as part of whole class revision for the SATs. There are 25 marks available - which again allows pupils to find their percentage score!
All activities are created in Word so can be edited to your own taste.
The pack consists of 4 comprehension worksheets with additional SPAG activities, plus two combined 20 question comprehensions, all written in Word on A4 worksheets.
Each of the 4 main worksheets contains 10 questions on the book. The comprehension questions cover the whole book in 4 worksheets.
On each worksheet there is a comprehension and writing activity as follows:
Worksheet 1 - Comprehension based on pages 8 to 18
- Dictionary Challenge
Worksheet 2 - Comprehension based on pages 19 to 36
- Spelling Challenge
Worksheet 3 - Comprehension based on pages 37 to 49
- Vibrant Verbs activity
Worksheet 4 - Comprehension based on pages 50 to 60
-Sensational Similes activity
Additionally, I have made two 20 question comprehension worksheets, scoring 24 and 26 respectively, giving a whole book score of 50. These could be used as an assessment resource or for pupils to work on independently.
Lastly, I have combined the 4 writing activities on two A4 worksheets.
I have created a set of 10 comprehension exercises which cover all 14 chapters (and postscript) of this classic book about life in a primary school. Also included are answer sheets which can be photocopied for pupils’ use or used on the whiteboard for all class marking.
Each comprehension activity has 20 questions, designed to allow success for less able children but with challenging, higher order questions for above average pupils. Being ‘out of 20’ also allows to find a quick percentage score for each pupil!
The worksheets are all A4 size and there are various ways to use the activity sheets, including:
As part of a shared reading session, with the pupils completing the written tasks after discussion and analysis of the text as a class or group.
As independent written tasks for the rest of the class, while the teacher is reading with a smaller group.
As an additional, ready-made resource to support the study of The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler as a Unit of Work / class book.
As a stand-alone, independent reading activity / assessment.
All worksheets are created on Microsoft Word so can be easily adapted to suit your needs. For example, in the past I have shrank the 20 set questions to half-page size and photocopied them to stick in pupils’ books, ready for independent work. You could also add your own questions, objectives etc.
This is a literacy pack containing chapter- by - chapter activities for the first five chapters of the book Matilda by Roald Dahl. For each of the five chapters there is a comprehension / guided reading activity and a SPaG activity, plus several additional vocabulary and writing tasks.
Each A4 comprehension worksheet has a variety of questions worth 20 marks and could be used as an independent task, as part of a guided reading session, reading assessment or whole class teaching.
Each SPaG worksheet is double A4 - sized, with space for pupils’ answers. It could be used as part of SATs practice as I have styled the questions in a similar vein. Similarly, pupils could do the worksheet as an independent task or as part of whole class revision for the SATs. There are 25 marks available - which again allows pupils to find their percentage score! At the end of the formal questions there is an extension spelling task on each sheet.
There are two extra Vocabulary and spelling activities included for chapter one, plus a writing task. I have also included a landscape - version of the comprehension task with space on the worksheet for the pupils’ answers.
All activities are created in Word so can be edited to your own designs.
Answer sheets are included!
The pack contains a set of comprehension exercises covering all 10 chapters of the book. The activities are presented on A4 worksheets which the pupils work on. Each A4 worksheet includes a reading challenge extension task.
Each comprehension worksheet has a range of different questions, with 20 marks available (allowing for a % score to be made too!). I have tried to design questions which allow success for less able children but with challenging, higher order questions for above average pupils. Harder questions are signified by being awarded extra marks (up to 3 marks as in the SATs and key stage tests). Each reading comprehension requires the reading of one chapter of the book (except for chapters 9 and 10, which I have combined into one comprehension sheet as the chapters are small).
The worksheets are are all written in Microsoft Word, so can be easily adapted - for instance you could also add your own questions, objectives etc.
There are various ways to use this resource, including:
As part of a shared reading session, with the pupils completing the written tasks after discussion and analysis of the text as a class or group.
As independent written tasks for the rest of the class, while the teacher is reading with a smaller group.
As an additional, ready-made resource to support the study of The Angel of Nitshill Road as a Unit of Work / class book.
As a stand-alone, independent reading activity / assessment.
As a useful teacher prompt/ discussion leader when doing a guided read.
The pack contains a set of comprehension exercises covering all 15 chapters of the book. The activities are presented in two different formats: the first format consists of handy A4 worksheets which the pupils work on. Each A4 worksheet includes a reading challenge extension task. The second format requires the pupils to write the answers in their exercise books, and as there are 2 question sheets per A4 sheet this means the question sheets can be easily cut in half and stuck into the pupils’ books if required.
Each comprehension worksheet has a range of different questions, with 20 marks available (allowing for a % score to be made too!). I have tried to design questions which allow success for less able children but with challenging, higher order questions for above average pupils. Harder questions are signified by being awarded extra marks (up to 3 marks as in the SATs and key stage tests). Each comprehension has a learning objective in line with Year 3/4 National Curriculum objectives and requires the reading of one, two or three chapters of the book (most chapters are small).
The worksheets are are all written in Word, so can be easily adapted - for instance you could also add your own questions, objectives etc.
There are various ways to use this resource, including
As part of a shared reading session, with the pupils completing the written tasks after discussion and analysis of the text as a class or group.
As independent written tasks for the rest of the class, while the teacher is reading with a smaller group.
As an additional, ready-made resource to support the study of George’s Marvellous Medicine as a Unit of Work / class book.
As a stand-alone, independent reading activity / assessment.
As a useful teacher prompt/ discussion leader when doing a guided read.
SPAG ACTIVITIES
I have also included 5 SPAG activities which are based on the first 6 chapters. They include practice in proof reading, verb tenses, spelling and questions based on SATS format.
I have created a chapter - by - chapter set of comprehension exercises with linked SPAG activities and additional writing tasks. There are 12 comprehension / SPAG worksheets and 5 corresponding writing tasks
Each comprehension activity has a variety of different questions, with 20 marks available (allowing for a % score to be made!). I have designed questions which allow success for less able children but with challenging, higher order questions for above average pupils. Harder questions are signified by being awarded extra marks (up to 3 marks as in the SATs and key stage tests). Each reading task has a learning objective in line with Year 5/6 National Curriculum objectives and requires the reading of one full chapter or part of a chapter of the Firework - Maker’s Daughter.
The worksheets are all A4 size, written in Word, and there are various ways to use the activity sheets, including:
As part of a shared reading session, with the pupils completing the written tasks after discussion and analysis of the text as a class or group.
As independent written tasks for the rest of the class, while the teacher is reading with a smaller group.
As an additional, ready-made resource to support the study of The Firework-Maker’s Daughter as a Unit of Work / class book.
As a stand-alone, independent reading activity / assessment.
As a useful teacher prompt/ discussion leader when doing a guided read.
Alongside the comprehension task, each worksheet has a SPAG challenge based on the Year 5 and 6 English frameworks - for example: dictionary activities, synonyms, etc. These could be the focus of the lesson, serve as an extension task or be used as a stand alone / separate activity.
As all worksheets are created on Microsoft Word they can be easily adapted to suit your needs. For example, in the past I have shrank the set questions to half-page size and photocopied them to stick in pupils’ books, ready for independent work. You could also add your own questions, objectives etc.
Full chapter - by - chapter comprehension packs for 5 classic children’s books ideal for use in Key Stage Two:
*George’s Marvellous Medicine
*The Sheep - Pig
*The Angel of Nitshill Road
*The Firework-Maker’s Daughter
*The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler