This is a descriptive writing graphic organiser on a single A3 sheet, aimed at KS3 and KS4. Print on a large sheet of paper for planning and creative thinking, or on a smaller A4 sheet if needed. This organiser prompts your students to plan for writing about:
5 senses
Thoughts and emotions
Nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs
Textures and patterns
Similes and personification
Colours and synonyms
Varied punctuation
…and includes a selection of scenes to choose from and describe if writer’s block hits. Available with both UK and US spellings.
Do you need to boost group speaking skills in Years 7-11? These Oracy Mats are printable placemats or posters, designed to show kids the ways in which different sentence starters can be used for impact and precision in discussions and presentations.
You will receive a file of four documents: 2 plain-text editable versions so you can customise the sentence starters for your own class, and 2 PDFs with slightly more jazzy fonts and graphics that are ready to print.
These can be printed in different sizes and easily laminated for durability.
If you found this helpful, you might also like:
Oracy | Free Choice Talk | Individual Presentation | Planning
Accuracy Passport | Improve Punctuation and Grammar | Literacy
Secondary Grammar Mat | Supporting Writing | Literacy
Secondary Punctuation Mat | Supporting Writing | Literacy
Ambitious Sentence Structures Mat | Literacy Stretch | Challenge MAT
Ambitious Punctuation Mat | Literacy Stretch | Challenge MAT
This booklet of nine extracts from classic fiction is a great flexible resource for sports fiction or units to engage students with sporting interests.
Wide-spaced for easy annotation and including activity sheets for single extracts, paired extracts and multiple extracts, you can adapt the pack to your secondary school students’ needs.
Each extract is heavy in description and can be differentiated towards MAT students.
Aimed at Primary level, this resource includes six punctuation mats for general writing support. There are four fun color versions, one minimalist color and one black and white version.
These work best stuck in exercise books or to desks as tools for improving students’ written work.
Each mat covers…
Full stop
Commas
Omissive and possessive apostrophes
Question mark
Exclamation mark
Paragraphs
If you found this helpful, you might also like:
Oracy Mats | Speaking and Listening | Prompts and Sentence Starters
Ambitious Sentence Structures Mat | Literacy Stretch | Challenge MAT
Ambitious Punctuation Mat | Literacy Stretch | Challenge MAT
Student Newsbites | Introduction Activity | Back to School
Primary Persuasive Writing Bingo | Any Topic | Differentiated Layouts
Primary Grammar Mat | Supporting Writing | Literacy
Primary Punctuation Mat | Supporting Writing | Literacy
A single page writing frame or scaffold to guide KS3 or KS4 pupils through writing a five-paragraph persuasive piece of writing. The page features five sections for planning five paragraphs, and there are three columns for each paragraph: what to include, useful sentence starters, and space to plan or make notes for the written content. Matching writing paper included for those who like a theme!
There are prompts for appropriate punctuation at the bottom of the page, and this can be used as a worksheet, handout or poster.
This resource comes in both UK A4 and US letter document sizes.
A fun, thoughtful ‘would you rather’ slideshow and accompanying worksheets for KS3 and KS4 students with a back to school theme. For example, would your students rather do lessons one day a week without electricity, or one day a week outdoors in any weather, and why?
Encourage discussion around fifteen prompt pairs, all focused on the school theme. Great for warm-ups, bell-ringers or brain breaks. Either use the PowerPoint alone for verbal responses, use the full worksheets as a longer activity, hand out individual pairs as slips for a quick task… or a use as a combination!
US and UK document sizes included, and Google Apps versions with editable worksheets provided.
This resource includes a bingo grid of 25 prompts to encourage students to research and develop their opinion on school uniforms, ready for a debate on whether they should be worn or not. Great for competitive classes, and can be used with students who do or don’t already wear a school uniform.
The resource also includes a graphic organizer for students to prepare their information, and all sheets come in both UK and US document sizes.
This Silent Discussion pre-reading activity for F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel Of The Great Gatsby prompts students to collaborate on vintage book covers images with their thoughts, opinions, interpretations and predictions. Resources include two lesson formats with instructive slideshows.
Includes:
18 pages of cover image prompts for a seated silent discussion
18 pages of cover image prompts for a gallery walk silent discussion
Duplicate of the gallery version in A3 size for ease of writing
Slideshow with instructions for seated silent discussion
Slideshow with instructions for gallery walk silent discussion
Follow up activity - do your students think that any of the covers belong to the same novel? Why?
Prepare to read Sharon M Draper’s timely novel Tears of a Tiger with this printable pre-reading activity. Silent Discussion, Collaborative Predictions, Written Debate… whatever you call it, these image prompts and instructions have you covered!
Simply print and go - includes 15 image prompts connected to the plot. Students move around a gallery of the images or pass the sheets from person to person leaving annotations, comments and observations on every sheet.
Includes:
15 US letter size printable prompt sheets
15 A3 size printable prompt sheets
7 slides of instructions for classroom and lesson use
2 slides of holistic follow-up activities
Using simple countdown prompts to guide students, this resource allows your class to get on with research responsibly with clear starting and finishing points. Supplement your unit on homelessness or social issues as either a classroom or a homework task.
There are three differentiated versions of this worksheet - one with suggested search terms and foci for pupils needing support, one without prompts but including writing lines, and one without prompts for more independent students.
This resource includes:
3 differentiated versions of the task
PDF versions for quick, no-prep printing
US and UK document sizes
This Bloom’s Ball template for close character study features two sides for each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy - remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create.
Each side has a prompt for character study:
Remember the character’s first appearance
Remember the character’s key details
Understand the character’s choices
Understand the character’s conflict
Apply one of the character’s beliefs to the real world
Apply one of the character’s quotes to an impression you get of them
Analyze the meaning of the character’s name
Analyze the impact of the character on the story
Evaluate how good or bad the character is
Evaluate the character’s future
Create a picture of the character
Create a meal for this character
A thoughtful ‘would you rather’ worksheet and PowerPoint for older students with a summer theme. For example, would your students rather spend every day at the beach, or every day in the woods, and why?
Encourage discussion around eight prompt pairs, all focused on summer activities, then students use the ‘why’ section to explain their choice. Check out the video preview for a closer look!
This resource comes in two styles (one color and one black and white), and in both US letter and UK A4 document formats for easy printing, plus accompanying PowerPoint to make it easy for you to use these tasks as individual bell-ringers or exit tickets.
I have also ensured that US and UK spellings are included on the appropriate documents.
If you found this helpful, you might also like:
Exposition Bingo | School Breaks and Holidays | Persuasion | KS3 and KS4
Summer Writing | Developing Ideas | Sentence Building | KS2 and KS3
Family Activities | Would You Rather | Discussion and Reasoning
Wonder | Ordinary | Literature Extract Question and Essay Response Plan
Accuracy Passport | Improve Punctuation and Grammar | Literacy
Ambitious Sentence Structures Mat | Literacy Stretch | Challenge MAT
Ambitious Punctuation Mat | Literacy Stretch | Challenge MAT
Challenge your high school students to recognize a wider range of poetic devices, techniques and terms with these six puzzles and activities based on the definitions of 25 poetry vocabulary words!
This definitions and puzzle set is designed to encourage students to become comfortable with academic and stylistic language.
This pack includes the following printables:
Definitions of 25 poetry devices and techniques
Follow-up reflection activity
Word scramble challenge
Letter shapes puzzle
Matching definitions activity
Word search puzzle
Crossword challenge
Answer Key
This differentiated informal letter task requires students to finish or redraft Stanley’s letter from chapter 9 of Louis Sachar’s novel Holes. If Stanley is twisting the truth so that his mom won’t worry, what else might he write?
There are three styles of worksheet for the writing activity included, plus a printable sheet of checklist slips (four per sheet) to give out as necessary. Introduction and planning activity also included…
All versions come in both US letter and UK A4 document size.
A single page writing frame or scaffold to guide KS3 or KS4 pupils through writing a five-paragraph descriptive piece of writing. The page features five sections for planning five paragraphs, and there are three columns for each paragraph: what to include, useful sentence starters, and space to plan or make notes for the written content. Matching writing paper included for those who like a theme!
There are prompts for appropriate punctuation at the bottom of the page, and this can be used as a worksheet, handout or poster.
This resource comes in both UK A4 and US letter document sizes.
A single page writing frame or scaffold to guide KS3 or KS4 pupils through writing a five-paragraph narrative piece of writing. The page features five sections for planning five paragraphs, and there are three columns for each paragraph: what to include, useful sentence starters, and space to plan or make notes for the written content. Matching writing paper included for those who like a theme!
There are prompts for appropriate punctuation at the bottom of the page, and this can be used as a worksheet, handout or poster.
This resource comes in both UK A4 and US letter document sizes.
Great starter and exit tasks for lessons on Louis Sachar’s Holes. This slideshow features opening quotations from all 50 chapters; there are six spelling, punctuation or grammar errors in each, and answer keys built in. That’s 300 errors to correct in one slideshow.
Use as bellringers, brain breaks, exit tickets or as mini-lessons.
Perfect for classes reading Robert Cormier’s WWII novel Heroes. This pack of questions provides 20 comprehension questions and 20 analysis questions for chapter 1 of the novel. Differentiated to four levels, set work to support learners at every access stage!
Level 1 is Easy, Level 2 is Moderate, Level 3 is challenging and Level 4 is Expert.
Includes:
Level 1 Comprehension - 5 questions and answer guide
Level 2 Comprehension - 5 questions and answer guide
Level 3 Comprehension - 5 questions and answer guide
Level 4 Comprehension - 5 questions and answer guide
Level 1 Analysis - 5 questions and answer guide
Level 2 Analysis - 5 questions and answer guide
Level 3 Analysis - 5 questions and answer guide
Level 4 Analysis - 5 questions and answer guide
Coach your students through discussion and note-taking for the characters of the play An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley, or allow them to work independently on the hexagon diagram pieces.
Then instruct them in the creation of a hex diagram by matching the sides, drawing links between characters and explaining their reasons.
This resource includes US letter and UK A4 size versions.
A simple poster or handout aimed at 11-16 year olds. This resource should prompt students to develop their vocabulary in English Language and Literature, and makes a good addition to a Literacy display.
If you found this helpful, you might also like:
Accuracy Passport | Improve Punctuation and Grammar | Literacy
Ambitious Sentence Structures Mat | Literacy Stretch | Challenge MAT
Ambitious Punctuation Mat | Literacy Stretch | Challenge MAT
Student Newsbites | Introduction Activity | Back to School