A complete, ready-to-teach English lesson (slideshow and worksheet - approx 1 hour - 1.5 hours) explaining the difference between facts and opinions, framed through statements being objectively true, subjective, or false. This works as an excellent standalone lesson, but I have found it most useful when starting a unit on non-fiction texts (e.g. non-chronological reports, explanation texts). Works well for Year 4, year 5, year 6, year 7 and perhaps Year 8. **Lesson includes: ** SPAG warmup Explanation, and worked examples, of differentiating between facts, opinions and falsehoods. A printable worksheet with learning objective, in which students sort statements as either “objective”, “subjective” or “false”. I have used this as a cutting and sorting activity, but students could easily draw out the sorting table themselves and write the statements into the correct sections.

A complete, full lesson (slide show, worksheet, activities - approx 1 hour - 1.5 hours) about writing clear and precise instructions or algorithms, ideal for English/literacy in Year 4, year 5 or Year 6, and perhaps Year 7. Fully ready to load up and teach! Students follow instructions or algorithms for drawing monsters, and then evaluate the instructions, considering how to improve their precision and clarity. At the end, they have to write their own clear, precise instructions or algorithm that somebody else could use to draw a specific monster. I have taught this to Year 4 and Year 5, in English, when studying instruction texts. I have taught a similar lesson to year 5 computing. My class really enjoyed this lesson, and it formed a solid first lesson in a unit on instruction writing. It takes about 1 hour to complete, depending on the class. There is a slide show to work through, a worksheet for the first set of activities (following and evaluating instructions), and a final slide that students use to write their own set of instructions. I hope that you find this useful!

A complete, short KS2 SPAG lesson (slideshow and 3 worksheets, approx 1 - 1.5 hours), practicing the correct use of direct speech, and use of synonyms of said. Ideal for Year 4, Year 5 or Year 6 (as revision and practice for SATS). This includes a complete slideshow (approx 30 minutes input), outlining how to punctuate direct speech, an introducing students to use of different synonyms of said to convey emotion. This also includes three worksheets (approx 40 minutes independent work) to complete, practicing these skills. 2 of the worksheets can be stuck into books and with work written directly on to them, and the final one is designed so that children write their answers directly into their book, as opposed to on the sheet. My Year 4 class found this very useful, and my Year 6 class used this as practice in the weeks leading up to the KS2 SATs.

A complete lesson (slideshow outlining activity, and printable learning objectives - approx 1 -1.5 hours) explaining how acrostic poems work, demonstrating the process of writing an acrostic poem, and evaluating other acrostic poems. This also includes a starter activity about identifying verbs and adverbs. After the input (approx 15-20 minutes), students write their own acrostic poems. Acrostic poetry is a great introduction to structured poetry for Key Stage 2, and my Year 4 class found this lesson enjoyable. I hope you find it useful!

These worksheets are designed to practice close reading skills. Each sheet has a very short (2-5 sentences) extract from a gothic horror story, followed by some simple comprehension (mainly recall and inference) questions that require close reading of the short extract. Ideal for Year 5, year 6, year 7, year 8. The extracts use high-quality vocabulary and language, and would also be useful for demonstrating the use of similes, personification, withholding information from the reader, dramatic writing techniques etc. The extracts come from a short young adult gothic horror(ish) story. They are NOT scary, but they hint at a darkness that the children in my very high-attaining year 5 class relished. There are 4 sheets in all, but they could be condensed. I recommend doing all sheets together, as the children really enjoyed the building tension, the gradual revealing of the plot and the new mysteries that arose in each extract. You could also copy the extracts and questions onto a slideshow/smartboard, to read and answer the questions together as a whole class. With my year 5 class, we read each extract together. We worked through the first set of questions as a class, to model how to approach the task. The children absolutely adored the extracts, and to this day they still beg me to tell them what happens at the end! As a follow-up, the students BEGGED to write a continuation/prequel to the story. We spent a subsequent lesson considering ways of building tension and foreshadowing, and then wrote our own stories. They loved it! :)

A complete, short lesson (approx 1 hour - 25 minutes input, 35 or so minutes independent work), introducing the past and present tense. This is ideal for Year 3, 4, or 5, and as a recap for Year 6 before SATs. This lesson covers how to identify and convert between the past and present tense, how to use the correct versions of was and were, and is and are, and ensuring tense consistency. This includes a complete slideshow and a three page worksheet, which is easily editable. My Year 4 and Year 5s found this very useful, and I used it as an early recap of tenses with my Year 6s before SATs. I hope that you find it useful!

This is a short activity about the planets in our solar system, for KS2 or KS3. There are three stages: Children connect a statement about a planet to the planet it is referring to Children read statements about our solar system and decide if they are true or false Children read a clue/series of clues, and have to use their knowledge of the solar system to work out what the mystery planet is. There are some complex ideas here slightly beyond the KS2 curriculum, but not beyond KS2 children’s abilities. I’d advise pre-reading to check that you have covered this content. If not, I’d advise giving it a go; the kids love space, and are always up for new and challenging info about it! Alternatively, you could use this as a research activity, or a homework or home learning task. In the past, I have used this as a consolidation/recap activity a few weeks after completing the “Earth and Space” topic.

A simple, short grammar worksheet, consolidating the use of the there/their/they’re homophone. Ideal for year 3, year 4, year 5, year 6, year 7. This should take about 5-10 minutes to complete and self-mark/peer-mark. This would work as a starter activity, extension, homework, or home learning activity. I have found that, when doing SPAG activities like these, self-marking as a whole class helps solidifiy understanding.

A short art lesson (approx 20 - 30 mins), teaching shading, cross hatching, stippling and scumbling. The aim is to give experience of these basic drawing skills. Includes a complete powerpoint, and a worksheet.

A short grammar / SPAG worksheet for year3, year 4, year 5, year 6, and maybe year 7 and year 8. Students identify which homophone is most appropriate to fill in a gap on the worksheet. Takes 5-15 minutes to complete. Includes the of/off homophone, the your/you’re homophone, and the were/where/we’re homophone. Ideal as a starter activity, main SPAG / grammar activity, homework, home learning. Also excellent as a formative assessment of your class’s ability to correctly use these homophones, and a recap/consolidation activity. I’d recommend self-assessing as a whole class, to help cement the learning.

Three short literacy worksheets about identifying and correctly punctuating direct and indirect speech, and converting between them. Ideal for year 5 (who are confident readers), year 6, and maybe year 7 and year 8. Works well as a starter, main SPAG activity, homework, home learning or cover work. The first sheet involves adding speech marks to sentences containing direct speech. The second sheet involves simply identifying whether a sentence is an example of direct or indirect speech. The third sheet involves converting between direct and indirect speech. I gave this as a starter for a cover lesson for my “top” year 5 class, and it was given as homework for another year 5 class. Children seemed to enjoy this, and it did help consolidate the correct punctuation of direct speech. I recommend this as a consolidation activity to children who have a firm understanding of written speech. I recommend giving this 15-20 minutes to complete, with more time if children are cutting and sticking this into books themselves (a good idea for fine motor skills), and then 10 or so minutes to self-assess or peer-assess. The answers are unambiguous, so it is easy to self/peer-mark as a whole class.

A short multiple choice vocabulary activity for KS2 or KS3. It includes work on close synonyms and antonyms, making inferences based on verb choices, useful vocabulary, and close reading short paragraphs. It works well as a warm up or extension activity, a short homework task, a lockdown/isolation homework activity. Ideally, go through the answers with the whole class after completion. Id recommend it for year 4, year 5, year 6, year 7, or perhaps year 8. My “top” year 5 literacy class loved this activity, and it took about 15-20 minutes to cut and stick, complete and self-mark with lots of discussion of the answers. I’d recommend discussing other possible synonyms and antonyms, whether the synonyms are true synonyms or near synonyms, other acronyms, what the implications of a change of verb choice would be, and ambiguity in the sheet’s answers. My class also enjoyed discussing the “Words in our World” section, especially the different fields of scientific study, the role of MPs in parliament, and the word origins of words like “anthropologist”.

A comprehension activity based on a retelling of the ancient Greek legend “The Sword of Damocles”, with plenty of teaching ideas to extend it into a small unit of learning. Ideal for Upper KS2 or KS3. This includes the story, a series of questions that can be answered on the sheets or in books, and a sheet with a selection of teaching ideas, including art, drama, discussion and writing. This would also work as homework or home learning for confident readers. This is a complex text, with high-level vocabulary and ideas for KS2/KS3. I’d recommend reading and discussing it with a class first, so that you can explain the vocabulary and ideas, and ensure students understand as you go along. There are questions embedded in the text, which can be answered as they read, or at the end. Alternatively, you could move the questions to the end, so that they do not interrupt the flow of reading. This would make a nice one-off reading comprehension for confident readers in upper KS2 or lower KS3. It would also make an interesting component of a unit on legends, or on power, governance and inequality. The last sheet is a series of teaching ideas, which could be used to plan a week long or so unit on this text. It includes drama activities, writing activities, discussion ideas, and art activities. With an engaged and able class, this is a great way into discussions of power, and who has the right to wield it. It is also a great way to think about assumptions in storytelling - what assumptions has the author made about what power looks like? Is it right to have a monarch? Is it right that the monarch has ALL of this power and wealth? Are there not alternative ways to govern that don’t involve such concentrations of power? How is wealth linked to power? Is this what a society we’d like to live in looks like?

A simple medium-length literacy lesson - 1 hour to 1 & 1/2 hours - about kennings, a type of poetry associated with Anglo-Saxon and Viking cultures. Aimed at Upper KS2 or lower KS3. Lesson structure: -Recap of nouns, verbs and turning nouns into verbs. Reading and interpreting simple kennings. The typical structure of kennings Metaphorical language in kennings Students writing their own kennings Students perform their own kennings to the class, who try to work out what the subject of the kennings is. Ideas! :) This is a simple lesson, but, with a bit of extra flair, can be turned into something memorable and magical! When I did this with my “top” year 5 class, we turned the classroom into an Anglo-Saxon banquet hall. During the recitation stage, we rearranged the classroom, lit candles, drank “mead” (apple juice, honey, cinnamon…), shouted “Wassail!” and drank the mead when somebody guessed a kenning correctly. We had been making Anglo-Saxon brooches and Sutton-Hoo helmets in our art/DT lessons, so we also wore those to make the whole experience a bit more immersive. I’d look through and edit to make sure it is suitable for your class. Enjoy!

A short powerpoint introducing children to the circulatory system and the heart. Children are taught 8 key facts to remember about the heart and circulatory system. Perfect for year 4/5/6/7/8. There is also a small group of worksheets, which you could use to consolidate understanding. My class really enjoyed this lesson, and I hope yours do too!

SPAG worksheets, using SATs content, about the use of active and passive voice. Ideal for upper KS2 (year 5 and year 6) and KS3. The first worksheet involves identifying whether a sentence has been written in an active or passive voice. The second worksheet involves converting sentences between active and passive voices. I found this simple, quick and effective for consolidating this grammar concept. Would also be useful for learning English as an additional language. I hope you find it useful :)

A short lesson practicing reading comprehension, focusing on the skill of retrieval of information from short fiction texts. There is a slide show and a worksheet. Questions have been designed to be SATs style, so it is ideal as a Year 6 SATs practice, but it is also suitable for Year 4 and Year 5. My year 5 class really enjoyed and benefited from this. I hope you find it useful!

A complete lesson, ideal for upper KS2 or KS3. This lesson can work standalone as an exercise in purposeful writing, and justifying viewpoints, or improving general language skills. It also works very well as a part of a unit on the novel Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. Students will imagine they are on a sinking ship, near a deserted island. They must decide on which of the 5 items available they will rescue and take to the island, before the boat entirely sinks. This contains a powerpoint, which includes group discussion warm up activities, a worksheet containing images of items that can be cut and stuck into exercise books, and a set of date and learning objectives that can be stuck into books. My Year 6 class ADORED this lesson! I hope yours do too!

A quick human bingo ice breaker activity, great for new KS2 KS3 classes. Each child has one of these sheets. They need to find people in their class who meet the criteria in each box, and get them to write their name in the box. This is most fun in a large space - such as a hall or playground - where children can run around. This would also work well as an introduction to diversity in a school setting; we are all different but part of the same whole. My class adored this activity, and it was a great way for them to reacquaint after the Summer holidays. The sheet is fully editable, so feel free to adapt the responses to your class. For example, if there are no Chinese speakers in your class, then nobody will complete it! Have fun!

A short SATs-style reading comprehension activity, based on a poem (well, actually song lyrics!). This contains a sheet with the poem (perfect for annotation), and a worksheet, laid out in a way similar to SATs. Enjoy!

A short lesson about chronology and chronological vocabulary. Students complete a short activity, in which they link terms for different lengths of time to their definition, and think about what kind of thinks take each length of time.