I created these to get an idea of where my year 1 children were with knowing numbers to 20 as well as understanding simple addition and subtraction again using numbers to 20. It gave me clarity on gaps in learning as well as children working above this level. It is not meant as a reading test so I encouraged children to ask an adult to read the instructions for them - similar to a SAT. It also worked when run in a small group as an intervention assessment. I then used the results to target children's weak areas.

I created this challenge for KS1 children as a way of assessing who understood different material qualities. it came at the end of a unit of work on space and materials. It was designed so the children could apply their learning of opaque/transparent/translucent, waterproof, warm and heavy, It also combined to cover some DT with ways of joining things. The children love this activity and really make this their own. I can think of many ways to extend this to older year groups including planning how to test it, testing different materials for best choice etc. Have fun.

I created this so my KS1 class could remember question words as they were stuck on using the same type each time. It was also a useful self assessment tool so they each had a copy and coloured in one when they used it as a question word. Later we used as interview cards to improve speaking and listening during show and tell, hot seating and interviewing visitors.

I had this displayed each year in my class. Sometimes I used the mini traffic lights to start with and then once children understood moved onto coloured dots only. Some children remained on the preprinted lights as they needed the layout to choose the correct circle and some needed the visual. I always had 1 lesson on the traffic light system to explain each colour. Some children needed the yellow explaining as needing more practice to get it right rather than just more practise to feel confident as self-confidence sometimes affected this result. It also needed explaining that red means you cannot do it without help…rather than if I had any help I am red as sometimes 2 minutes extra help meant a child could be green - which is just good teaching practise.

I created this for my year 1 class who were battling to recognise sounds within words. It also helped them to see how there is more than one way of writing a sound. The aim is fun and incorporates reading, segmenting and phonic recognition. The ideas is to identify all the sounds in the words but only colour in the target sound. We used one a week in our revision of phase 3, 4 and 5. Also a great resource for revision before the phonic test. I have also used this in year 2 upwards to help SEND and EAL children recognise the sounds.

I use this mat to help children see numbers in a variety of ways. from single digits and higher. Easily adaptable to incorporate mental and practical addition to make a larger number. Great for EYFS and KS1

I made this as hot air balloons as it was a display I left up year round so it was placed high. The children’s date of birth and names were written on the clouds and placed by their birthday month. e,g. 12th Sam in a cloud was placed by January. Please note: I also put the months in order from September - August following the academic year so that I could quickly see the age of my current cohort and youngest/oldest which helped me tracking trends etc.

I made this resource for my year 1 class but other classes in year 2 and 3 used it too. The children used it as a basis for a weather report after looking at weather images the previous day. Later that day the children filmed each other in front of a map of the UK giving the weather report after watching some weather reports in the local news by using the ideas from the sheet and other ideas of what the weather type was to suggest activities to do that day. It was fun, engaging and a way to extend a daily weatherboard in a real and relevant way.

I used this after a unit of work as an assessment type sheet with year 1’s. The aim of the challenges was to see greater depth and knowledge as well as to show understanding in using the terms in real life.

I have used this very successfully to support writing skills and address areas of difficulty in Reception and KS1 writing as well as with special needs children. It is a list of ideas and activities on common problems in children’s writing transcription, spelling and punctuation - particularly capital letters. I give parents a copy of the ideas in the area needed and discuss it with them. The progress does depend on the effort out in though. I have also used it to support LSA’s to be more independent in supporting and planning ideas.

A great end of term activity for the final week of term 2. I have used this challenge with various KS1 and KS2 classes. Obviously, the support varies. For younger children just creating the scene was enough and they needed more premade elements e.g. printed characters etc. For older children the Further suggestions became requirements. Children could work in pairs/groups/individually. They were great to display and get parents in too. Caution: if using school circuits you will need to brief children beforehand that they will need to dismantle that part of their diorama - this usually meant the circuitry was added to the background rather than within the display.

I used this resource to record seasonal data during a weather topic. It was very useful for the children to see the differences and similarities between pictograms and block graphs, For my more able children and children at expected levels (especially year 2) it was a successful way of practically introducing a key. Later in their own play I saw children using pictograms and block graphs - collecting data straight away on to the data method chosen, I had previously taught lessons on collecting data in tables but accuracy was affected as some children forgot or changed answers or repeat counted so this made it more about the data presentation and less about the time-consuming collection. Later we did a unit collecting data using tally’s which was much more accurate, once they could count in 5;s more accurately.

This resource helps children identify sounds in words and see where a sound occurs in a word. it is aimed at phase 4 though the ‘wh’ sheet requires phase 5 knowledge. It really helped year 1 children in remembering sounds, reading longer words and dealing with compound words, Especially good for children who rely on contextual clues in reading rather than reading actual words .

I created this for a year 1 class with a range of reading abilities as I battled to find suitable reading material to match and wanted children to have non-fiction text relevant to what was being talked about in class. I didn’t have too many pictures as wanted the children to focus on a) using other decoding skills and b) listening to each other. Also, they all had prior experience so didn’t need too many picture cues as already had contextual cues. To help them build fluency each child’s text was in a different colour which I gave them time to read first before we read in a group. The questions and activities were great and I have varied what I have chosen depending on the cohort/LSA Support/previous activities in other weeks. Sometimes I used this before Bonfire night to explain what would happen and sometimes after to understand why things had happened

I have used this with Reception children to ensure they know how to write, show and count accurately the numbers from 0 - 20. I laminated some too and they could be used over and over again. It was good as the children enjoyed being able to do three different ways of working in 1 activity and could be run as an independent activity. For differentiation we used counters to fill in the gaps in the grid and sometimes numbers. In Year 1 I used this in term 1 to revise reception learning, informally assess who had correct 1:1 correspondence and number formation and make links from reception to year 1.

I use these posters in a variety of ways but often only displaying a few - not all. For older children, I often use this as a reading activity or grammar recap. I give them a small version A6 version (photocopy shrunk) to stick in their books then they have to either find examples in books or write their own. For younger children, I keep the appropriate terms A4 size and use a group or whole class activity with them drawing and writing further examples. For year 6 I used to give them to partners in a pack and they did oral tests to see if the other person could give examples of the random term selected.

I use this resource a lot from year 3/4 to year 6. the aim is to use it to teach and practise tables. I suggest laminating first and then just add a split pin and a paper clip to the centre of each circle. A useful resource that will last ages. Children can draw the arrays/groups or write the calculation fact. Useful as a lesson when introducing a table or as a mental oral starter. I have also used it as a gap filler - to see how many children could do in the time. It is also great for leaving with supply teachers if you want an easy activity that practises tables.

I have used this in many year groups in many ways from a mental oral starter on the IWB to a morning activity, independent work for children to show what they know. Mostly used in year 1 with numbers to 100 and practical resources, after being modeled a few times with the class.

I use this resource a lot from year 2 to year 6. the aim is to use it to teach and practise tables. I suggest laminating first and then just add a split pin and a paper clip to the centre of each circle. A useful resource that will last ages. Children can draw the arrays/groups or write the calculation fact. Useful as a lesson when introducing a table or as a mental oral starter. I have also used it as a gap filler - to see how many children could do in the time. It is also great for leaving with supply teachers if you want an easy activity that practises tables.

I use this resource a lot, mostly from year 3 to year 6. the aim is to use it to teach and practise tables. I suggest laminating first and then just add a split pin and a paper clip to the centre of each circle. A useful resource that will last ages. Children can draw the arrays/groups or write the calculation fact. Useful as a lesson when introducing a table or as a mental oral starter. I have also used it as a gap filler - to see how many children could do in the time. It is also great for leaving with supply teachers if you want an easy activity that practises tables.