These comprehensions are taken from real newspaper reports of major news events that made the world stop in its tracks. These are important stories for your children to understand, as they play a significant part in recent world history. The comprehensions focus on: The sinking of the Titanic 9/11 The Asian tsunami and The assassination of JFK There are a variety of questions styles, testing skills in retrieval, inference and deduction. Answers are provided, and children are given an indication of marks on offer so this is good preparation for reading tests and assessments. As with all of my work, I try to make the subject matter interesting and exciting for the children to engage with. As these stories may be familiar, I have made some of the questions particularly challenging, focussing on the parts of the story that your cohort won’t know about.

This set of multiplication tables activities is designed to help your students learn their tables in a variety of ways. It explores other mathematical concepts such as greater than and less than; inverse operations; word problems and number sequences. There are also puzzles such as word searches and calculation crosswords. The activities not only test a child’s math skills, they also encourage them to use logic, reasoning and comprehension skills. Your children will certainly enjoy this different approach to learning their times tables! CONTENTS 5x table activity worksheet 5x table answers 6x table activity worksheet 6x table answers 7x table activity worksheet 7x table answers

Did you know that the first and last soldiers to be killed in World War One are buried just feet apart? Have you heard the story about the American Naval Officer who escaped from a Prisoner of War camp, swimming up the River Rhine to safety? How about the tale of the soldier who spared the life of a young Adolf Hitler? 2018 marks the centenary of the end of World War One. This collection of four guided reading activities, aimed at 10 to 14 year olds, tests children’s comprehension, retrieval, inference and deduction skills through some intriguing stories from the soldiers at war. It will also promote reflective and engaging classroom discussion as children discover more about this important chapter in the world’s history. Each activity has questions and answers, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required. The texts take the form of different written genres, such as diary extracts, letters, newspaper reports and information texts. CONTENTS A Tale of Two Soldiers: Private John Parr The story of the first soldier to be killed in World War One A Tale of Two Soldiers: Private George Ellison The story of the last Allied soldier to be killed in the war, just minutes before peace was declared. Read about the extraordinary link between Ellison and Private John Parr. Saving Corporal Adolf How one British soldier’s humanity spared the life of future dictator, Adolf Hitler. The Daily News Stories of courage and loyalty from the war, including Edouard Izac, the American naval officer who escaped from a prisoner of war camp to pass on vital intelligence to his commanders.

These comprehensions are taken from real newspaper reports of major news events that made the world stop in its tracks. These are important stories for your children to understand, as they play a significant part in recent world history. The comprehensions focus on: The sinking of the Titanic 9/11 The Asian tsunami and The assassination of JFK There are a variety of questions styles, testing skills in retrieval, inference and deduction. Answers are provided, and children are given an indication of marks on offer so this is good preparation for reading tests and assessments. As with all of my work, I try to make the subject matter interesting and exciting for the children to engage with. As these stories may be familiar, I have made some of the questions particularly challenging, focussing on the parts of the story that your cohort won’t know about.

This reading activity pack tells the story of the Jesus’ death and resurrection from Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday. It is ideal all year round for reading or Religious Studies, but is particularly useful in the run up to Easter, as they follow the last week in Jesus’ life. They can also be used as Sunday School activities or as readings in church. Based on the gospel accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, I have written five reports from key people in the Easter story about what happened with comprehension based questions and answers for each. These will bring the well-known story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection to your students in a fresh, engaging and enlightening way. The characters featured are: Peter Pontius Pilate A Roman soldier Mary Magdalen Cleopas The comprehension questions tackle the following skills: Literal and retrieval Word meaning Inference and deduction There is also an activity at the end to summarise each of the characters stories. All activities are aligned to the common core. As an added extra, there are a number of posters with key bible verses for your displays, including posters to colour in. These can be found at the end of the reading pack. A bit about me: Before teaching, I was a journalist. I still work as a freelance writer, and like nothing more than writing engaging texts to challenge and inspire children and young people. I choose subjects that may not be on the curriculum but are still of great importance for students to know about. Everything I write has been comprehensively researched from a number of sources and been written by myself. No plagiarism here! This is all original material. My questions are pitched at a high level, but with a bit of patience and persistence (and some adult help if necessary) most students will have great fun as they learn, especially as the penny drops. I am aware of the impact of printed resources on our environment so try to condense my reading activities into as compact a space as possible. Hopefully this will help you save time in printing, and keep the bills down! Check out my store if you enjoy this – you’re sure to find more. Thanks! While you are here… You may also be interested in a similar pack of reading comprehensions I have written about the birth of Jesus. Follow the link for more: Stories from the Stable

The birth of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA is celebrated during Black History Month. But do your students know the full story behind Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King? This collection of four guided reading activities, aimed at children aged 10-13 years old, tests children in the Common Core and National Curriculum reading skills. They will learn to: Determine the meaning of words such as segregation and discrimination. Refer to examples in the text, both explicitly and implied. Compare the values of characters like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Identify what is happening in images. Comment on the wider historical implications of the stories. Each activity has questions and answers, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required. As with all of my reading comprehensions, I aim to make them engaging and challenging. The characters may be well known, but your students will fully understand the broader context of their actions in history through these in-depth character studies. CONTENTS Rosa Parks The Bus Boycott The Civil Rights Movement “I have a dream” and Black Power.

AMUSING, ENTERTAINING AND EDUCATIONAL! These reading comprehensions will test your students’ reading skills as they explore the four greatest April Fools of all time, as ranked by the Museum of Hoaxes. Using research skills and their reporter’s notebooks, the young journalists will find out about: Spaghetti growing on trees in Switzerland A fake volcanic eruption in Alaska Instant Colour TV in Sweden An iceberg in Sydney Harbour Each story comes with questions and answers, and will require students to check dictionaries; summarise stories; think critically; retrieve facts; and prioritise statements. They will also generate lively and fun classroom discussion. Would your students fall for these pranks? Can they come up with anything better? A template for a news story is also provided so children can write them up for themselves. A scaffold is included to show them how to fill in the boxes. Finally, posters are enclosed if you want to make the students’ work into a simple, effective display. As a journalist and teacher, it’s my passion that children should have an awareness of what is going on in the world through engaging reading material. Contents: 3: SWISS SPAGHETTI HARVEST 4: INSTANT COLOUR TV 5: ERUPTION OF MOUNT EDGECUMBE 6: THE SYDNEY ICEBERG 7-10: Questions 11-14: Answers 15: How to write a newspaper article 16: Newspaper template 17-20: Posters for display

Children have been captivated by the animals of Africa for decades. In this reading package, you can find out all about the ‘big five’ animals to spot; their habitats and behaviour; and how we can help to save them from extinction. There are eight reading activities, aimed at 8, 9, 10 and 11 year olds, testing children’s reading skills right across the curriculum. As with all of my reading comprehension projects, my aim is to create stimulating text that will actually get children into reading. I started writing my own material in 2014 after feeling bored by a lot of the comprehensions on offer. Using this approach, I have introduced my students to many stories and topics that may not be on the curriculum, but are important for young people to know. Contents Lion Factfile – Group facts about lions into categories Meet a Lion – Look at words and phrases in context Save The Elephants – Summarise main idea and extra detail The Man and The Elephant - Sequence a fable The Big Five – Identify cause, effect and solution Decline of the Black Rhino - Analyse information in a graph Big Five – Who’s not on the list? – Compare, select and justify using evidence Who am I – Use cryptic clues and keywords to identify animals Answers BONUS KAHOOT QUIZ! In the teacher notes for this item, there is a link to a Kahoot quiz which can be used at the end of the unit. It tests retention of facts from the texts and speed processing skills. A fantastic way to finish the material! ______________________________________________________ This product has been designed to put you in control. There is a Powerpoint file, so you can edit it, delete slides, change the order, print it or share it digitally. The great benefit of this is that your children can complete this as a worksheet or on a digital device – or even a bit of both! I often share this with children on tablets, but obviously I copy the file and remove the answers first! Sometimes, they read the text on a tablet and answer the questions on a sheet. However you use this, I’m sure you will find a way that works for your students – and save some paper and photocopying costs in the process.

The Tokyo Olympics will bring the world together for a festival of sport in 2021. Please note: Some of this material is featured in another product from my store. In these reading comprehensions, your students will get to find out about some of the stories about the Olympics. Find out about: THE OLYMPICS IN TOKYO with a focus on Japan THE OLYMPICS IN ANCIENT GREECE THE HISTORY OF THE MODERN OLYMPICS USAIN BOLT and the treble treble! Questions and answers are provided, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required. As with all of my reading exercises, I try to write content that is interesting and engaging - stories that may not be on the curriculum, but are important for children to know. Your students will develop reading comprehension skills through a range of retrieval and inference questions, using skills to skim and scan the text. There are also word meaning and text summary questions in the activities. Just print and go…no prep needed! Please note - one of the comprehensions here is available as an individual activity. Check my store if you just want one comprehension!***

When Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, it was perhaps the greatest scientific achievement in history. July 2019 marks the fiftieth anniversary of this extraordinary voyage. Thousands of scientists, mathematicians, engineers and astronauts had a part to play in working together on the Apollo 11 mission - but space exploration goes much further than the Lunar landings. In this space exploration comprehension package, your students will take part in FIVE reading activities, which will open up the world of space exploration to them: *1) The Space Race: What was the space race, and why was it so important? The First Man on the Moon: A celebration of the life and achievements of Neil Armstrong. The Last Man on the Moon: A celebration of the life and achievements of Eugene Cernan “Houston, We’ve got a problem”: Disasters in space, featuring the amazing survival story of Apollo 13. Space Travel - next steps: Find out about plans to travel to Mars, passenger space travel, and how a 41-year old probe is still sending messages to scientists from 11 billion miles away!* Students will use inference and deduction skills as well as fact retrieval, word meaning and summarising. Questions and answers are provided, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required. As with all of my reading exercises, I try to write content that is interesting and engaging - stories that may not be on the curriculum, but are important for children to know.

In this reading pack, your students will develop their reading skills through a range of specially created documents about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. These include: Fawkes’ birth certificate His school report Minutes of the meeting of conspirators A letter to his mother A testimony of the King’s Guard Fawkes’ confession His death certificate Ideal as a booklet for the week running up to November 5th, these activities, aimed at children aged 8-11 years old, test skills in retrieval; inference and deduction; and summarising. It will also promote lively and engaging classroom discussion as children explore the tale of Guy Fawkes in greater depth than ever before. Each activity has questions and answers, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required.

How exactly did World War One begin? Who was Franz Ferdinand? How did the Americans get involved? What role did Uncle Sam play in recruiting an army? 2018 marks the centenary of the end of World War One. This collection of four guided reading activities, aimed at 10 to 14 year olds, tests children’s comprehension, retrieval, inference and deduction skills. It will also promote reflective and engaging classroom discussion as children discover more about this important chapter in the world’s history. CONTENTS Causes of the war - Why did the First World War take place and how did it begin? Find out about how tensions in Europe reached boiling point in the summer of 1914. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand - Read in detail about the daring mission which led to Archduke Franz Ferdinand being killed – and how this led to war. Movers & Shakers - From Woodrow Wilson to the Kaiser, find out about the leaders who played a pivotal part in the war. You will also discover how Adolf Hitler started out as a soldier in World War One. Recruiting an Army - The posters of Lord Kitchener and Uncle Sam are recognised throughout the world, but just how difficult was it to recruit an army for war?

This guided reading resource includes four epic stories of survival. These include the pilot who crash landed in the Hudson River, the football team who got trapped for weeks in a flooded cave and the child who fell into the gorilla enclosure at the zoo. Using the ‘LIMS’ approach, students work through Literal, Inference, Meaning and Summary questions to ensure that as your students find out about these captivating stories, they will also practise skills in reading right across the curriculum. As answer scheme is provided, and the product is ready to print and go. Here is a short sample taken from one of the stories: But shortly after take off, disaster struck. As the plane climbed from the airport, the pilot’s view was filled with a huge flock of large birds. Passengers heard a series of loud bangs, and showers of flame coming from the engines followed by silence and a sickening smell of fuel. The plane had struck a flock of Canada Geese, and lost power in both of the aircraft’s engines. Now useless as a plane, Sully found himself in charge of a 75-tonne glider. He had to think quickly. And examples of questions: *What type of birds struck the engine of Flight 1549? *Why is the plane described as a glider in the second paragraph? * This is the second set of survival stories I have compiled. The other package can be found here: Stories of Survival

This set of multiplication tables activities is designed to help your students learn their tables in a variety of ways. It explores other mathematical concepts such as greater than and less than; inverse operations; word problems and number sequences. There are also puzzles such as word searches and calculation crosswords. The activities not only test a child’s math skills, they also encourage them to use logic, reasoning and comprehension skills. Your children will certainly enjoy this different approach to learning their times tables! CONTENTS 9x table activity worksheet 9x table answers 11x table activity worksheet 11x table answers 12x table activity worksheet 12x table answers

Have you ever wondered how far Mary and Joseph travelled on the donkey? Or why Bethlehem was so busy at the time of Jesus birth? Or what myrrh actually is? Your students will find out these and more through these fascinating stories from the Nativity. From Mary and Joseph to the shepherds and wise men, these accounts paint the picture of what life must have been like in Nazareth and Bethlehem at this time. Each passage comes with a series of questions that will test students’ comprehension skills through fact retrieval, word meaning and inference and deduction.

This collection of eight activity sheets will take your child on an exciting journey of conjunction discovery. Using the idea of conjunctions joining words and sentences, each activity is themed around highways and road junctions. Your children have to join them correctly in order to move on to the next activity. The first activity explores what is and what isn’t an independent clause. From here, children have to put co-ordinating conjunctions between independent clauses before coming up with their own ideas. After this, the children take a jumbled set of words and have to re-arrange them into compound sentences. They also have to plot a route through a word grid. To finish the activities, the children take part in a test of what they’ve learned. By getting the answers correct, they reach their final destination. Our children loved this and it has really helped them develop their understanding of how to use FANBOYS. There is enough material for three or even four lessons, and flashcards and answers are also provided. The activities themselves contain tips (on road signs) to help the children develop their knowledge along the way. The activities can be displayed on a screen to be worked through as a class.

Reading Comprehension Package for Qatar World Cup, with four individual activities. Whether you love soccer or not, the World Cup will dominate the headlines in the coming weeks. This collection of four guided reading activities, aimed at 9 to 14 year olds, tests children’s comprehension, retrieval, inference and deduction skills. There are also questions on word meaning. It will promote lively and engaging classroom discussion as children decide for themselves who will win the World Cup 2022, and indeed, if the tournament should be taking place at all! Each activity has questions and answers, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required. Contents The World Cup 2022 General information about the World Cup in Qatar and the history of the tournament. Qatar 2022: Controversies A look at why the hosting of the World Cup to Qatar has led to much criticism. Heroes & Villains I’ve chosen six players from previous tournaments, but who are the heroes and villains, and why? Do you know? From an oracle octopus to a dog that found the world cup, here are a few quirky stories from World Cup history!

Apollo 13 Plane crash in the Andes Mine rescue in Chile Castaway This collection of four guided reading activities, aimed at children aged 10-13 years old, tests children’s inference and deduction skills. It will also promote lively and engaging classroom discussion as children explore these remarkable stories for themselves. Each activity has questions and answers, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required.

This package on the 2022 Winter Olympics is full of interesting facts, stories and statistics which will inspire and challenge your students through a range of Common Core-aligned reading activities. The reading skills that children will develop are in finding and recalling facts, inference, word meaning and summarising. CONTENTS 2022 Winter Olympics: Beijing – Comprehension questions based on the 24th Winter Olympics and further questions on China. This includes some geography. Sports of the Winter Olympics – A guide to four prominent winter sports with some interesting questions based on photographs that refer to the text. An Olympics like no other – A text exploring the use of artificial snow at Beijing 2022, and the threat of Covid-19 during the games. These questions rely on children using inference and summary skills. History of Winter Olympics – Tables and infographics containing statistics on where past games have been held and which nations and individuals have won the most medals. A series of number-based questions follow. Unlikely Olympic Heroes – The wonderful stories of the Jamaican Bobsled team and Eddie the Eagle, who lit up the 1988 games in Calgary. Questions compare the stories, request students to identify the obstacles, and relate the stories to personal experience. A Bit About Me Before teaching, I was a journalist. I still work as a freelance writer, and like nothing more than writing engaging texts to challenge and inspire children and young people. I choose subjects that may not be on the curriculum but are still of great importance for students to know about. Everything I write has been comprehensively researched from a number of sources and been written by myself. No plagiarism here! This is all original material. My questions are pitched at a high level, but with a bit of patience and persistence (and some adult help if necessary) most students will have great fun as they learn, especially as the penny drops I am aware of the impact of printed resources on our environment so try to condense my reading activities into as compact a space as possible. Hopefully this will help you save time in printing, and keep the bills down! Check out my store if you enjoy this – you’re sure to find more. Thanks!

2018 marks the centenary of the end of the First World War. This remarkable set of TEN guided reading activities uncovers the horror, humanity and humour of life in the Great War. Each activity focuses on a different part of the war, such as life in the trenches; the Christmas Truce and the assasination of Franz Ferdinand. Also, find out about the fascinating story of the British soldier who spared the life of a young Adolf Hitler. These guided reading activities, aimed at children aged 10-13 years old, test children’s retrieval, inference and deduction skills. They will also promote lively and engaging classroom discussion as children explore these stories for themselves. Each activity has questions and answers, with an indication of how many marks are on offer at the end of each question. This is particularly helpful for children preparing for reading tests and exams, encouraging them to give fuller answers where required.