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?

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.

NEWS STORIES WITH COMPREHENSIONS ON ELON MUSK, THE TERRACOTTA ARMY AND THE WORLD’s OLDEST MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE! These reading comprehensions will test your student’s reading skills as they explore three engaging news stories from March 2018. Using research skills and their reporter’s notebooks, the young journalists will find out about: The vandalism of a precious Chinese statue in Philadelphia The discovery of the world’s oldest message in a bottle The world’s most powerful rocket is successfully launched Each story comes with questions and answers, and will require students to summarise stories; think critically and recall facts. 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: TERROR OF TERRACOTTA TREASURES 4: What is the Terracotta Army? 5: IT’S A RECORD BREAKER! World’s oldest message in a bottle. 6: ROCKET MAN! Elon Musk sends car into space. 7-10: Questions 11-14: Answers 15: How to write a newspaper article 16: Newspaper template 17-19: Posters for display

This guided reading resource includes a pair of texts about Antarctica with four comprehension skills sheets to complete, providing reading passages and questions that are challenging and engaging. Using the ‘LIMS’ approach, students work through Literal, Inference, Meaning and Summary questions to ensure that in the course of a week, they have practised skills in reading right across the Common Core. Text is differentiated and an answer scheme is provided. Suggested itinerary: Day 1 (30 mins) – Read both texts as a class. Highlight key parts. Discuss together. What have we learned? What do we want know more about? It is worth asking the students to write down any questions they have about the texts and putting them on display. Day 2 (30 mins) – Literal sheet Day 3 (30 mins) – Inference sheet (or meaning sheet if you prefer) Day 4 (30 mins) – Meaning sheet (or inference sheet if you prefer) Day 5 (45 mins) – Summary sheet and looking back at questions from the start of the week. This is the first in a series of Paired text resources looking at the seven continents of the world. Keep an eye on my store. ** Differentiation:** All questions are the same, which should make marking easier! However, the texts differ, with asterisks in the bottom right corner indicating the reading level.

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!

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

How does Donald Trump compare to Kim Jong-Un? Should we be worried about North Korea? Or how about Queen Victoria and JFK? Who exactly are Rex Tillerson and Mike Pence? This versatile set of 32 biography cards can be used in numerous ways. Firstly, they will test your students in their Common Core reading skills. Secondly, they will enable them to structure and write biographies of their own. Thirdly, they provide a platform for you as a teacher to critically evaluate your students’ writing with feedback which they will find engaging; encouraging them to write to their very best ability. Fourthly, they provide an insight into Donald Trump’s top team; US presidents of the past; prominent world leaders of today; and influential leaders through history. Fifthly, as a game, this will be a tremendous amount of fun! This is perfect all year round but is especially good as a Presidents Day activity. +++++ THE BIOGRAPHY CARDS ARE SPLIT INTO FOUR SECTIONS: Trump’s Team Trump, Preibus, Spicer, Devos, Conway, Tillerson, Pence, Mattis. US Presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Kennedy, Nixon, Lincoln, Roosevelt. World Leaders 2017 May, Nieto, Netanyahu, Putin, Trudeau, Merkel, Jong-un, Rouhani World Leaders 2017 Mandela, Malala, Mother Teresa, Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Queen Victoria, Princess Diana, Peron. +++++ HERE ARE SOME IDEAS FOR HOW THE BIOGRAPHY CARDS CAN BE USED: Reading skills Each biography comes with three questions. RETRIEVE: Students will find this answer in the text. REVIEW: They will need to use summarising skills to answer the questions. Answers can be quoted from the text. The question will make this clear. RESEARCH: Students can use the internet to answer a question. The information cannot be found within the text. Compare and contrast Students can take any two cards. Their task is to find three differences and three similarities about the characters they have chosen. Highlight the text Referring to the scores under each image, students can color code the text that applies to each category with a highlighter or colored crayon.

I put this resource together as part of a package that I have created for the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. If you like this, and want more like it (with answers), then please take a look in my store. 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 World War One. This collection of four reading comprehensions, aimed at 10-14 year olds, tests children’s comprehension, retrieval, inference and deduction skills through a range of informative and enlightening texts. It will also promote reflective and engaging classroom discussion as children discover more about this important chapter in the world’s history. For this reason, it is ideal for research projects. 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 Soldier who helped to end the war: The heroic story of a British officer who went behind enemy lines to secure the masterplan for the fearsome Hindenburg defences – a mission that many believe helped to end the war more quickly. America declares war: How America moved from neutrality to war; and how their actions were crucial in securing an Allied victory. The Armistice: The world celebrates as the peace treaty is signed in a railway carriage – but the war rumbles on right until the bitter end. We Will Remember Them: A look at the Flanders Fields poem, followed by information about Remembrance and Veteran’s Day; and the significance of the poppy.

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.

Make your children’s creative writing stand out with these writing prompts to help them write fantastic character descriptions. Inspired by some of the world’s most famous authors, these words will add wonderful detail to their work. There are seven sections in total, including eyes, hair, skin, facial features, bodily features and physique. The prompts also include ‘super sentences’ in each section to help your children craft their words into masterful sentences. These can be used as a display or as a learning aid available to children on their tables as a printed copy or on tablet devices. I hope you find them as useful as my 10 and 11 year-olds have - their descriptive writing has shown great improvement with the aid of this resource.

This is a small part of a much bigger reading package on Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. If you like these reading activities, then there is much more available in ‘The Fawkes Files’ which is available at the price of £2 from my store. The paid version also includes an answer key and several writing activities, as well as another six documents (like those in this free resource) with reading comprehension questions.

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.

This reading comprehension will test your students’ reading skills as they explore one of the 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 Porky Bickar and how he faked a volcanic eruption in Alaska, 1978. The story comes with questions, and will require students to check dictionaries; summarise stories; think critically and retrieve facts. They will also generate lively and fun classroom discussion. Would your students fall for this prank? Can they come up with anything better? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This story is also featured in a bigger pack with other famous April Fools: FAKE NEWS - APRIL FOOL! In that pack, you will find the stories featured below, answer sheets, a writing activity based on the stories and posters for display: Spaghetti growing on trees in Switzerland A fake volcanic eruption in Alaska Instant Colour TV in Sweden An iceberg in Sydney Harbour 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.

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

Relevant, topical and engaging. This reading comprehension will test your students’ reading skills as they explore an engaging news story from February 2017. Using research skills and their reporter’s notebook, the young journalists will find out about the sad story of the pilot whales that got stranded on Farewell Spit, New Zealand in February 2017. It was one of the largest whale strandings in recorded history, and hundreds of people tried in vain to help. Your students will establish the facts of the story; find out all about pilot whales and work out why it might have happened. This is part of a bigger pack of news stories, which can be found in my store. IN THE NEWS, February 2017 This pack includes the story about the Australian farmer, Dan Miller, who survived for five hours with his nose above the surface of the water after being trapped beneath a digger in Australia; and the story about the discovery of a World War Two bomb in Thesalonica, Greece, which led to the evacuation of 75,000 people. Each story comes with questions and answers, and will require students to check dictionaries; summarise stories; think critically; retrieve facts; and prioritise statements. 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.

These reading comprehensions will test your students’ reading skills as they explore three engaging news stories from February 2017. Using research skills and their reporters notebooks, the young journalists will find out about: Mass whale stranding in New Zealand World War Two Bomb panic in Greece Miraculous survival of Australian farmer Each story comes with questions and answers, and will require students to check dictionaries; summarise stories; think critically; retrieve facts; and prioritise statements. 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: INCHES FROM DEATH! 4: Heartbreak of the Whales 5: PANIC IN GREECE! 6-8: Questions 9-11: Answers 12: How to write a newspaper article 13: Newspaper template 14-16: Posters for display

This writing aid will help your students develop creative vocabulary in their work through the use of synonyms. It can be used in a variety of ways. The engaging word clouds can be used as posters for a display, or on an interactive whiteboard during a vocabulary focused lesson. They can be used in small groups as table centres, or by individual students as a set of bookmarks. This is saved as a PDF and is supplemented by a separate customisable Powerpoint file. As this is a PowerPoint file, it can be shared directly with students to use on their own devices. The hyperlinked contents page will take them to the page they are looking for. At the end of the resource are the bookmarks. These can be printed, laminated and attached together so students can keep them and refer to them in all aspects of their writing. There are blank bookmarks so you can make your own synonym bookmarks to add to your sets in the customisable file. You can also edit the whole file as you see fit to suit your own needs. Finally, there is some bunting banner to help you make this into a display. I hope you and your students find this useful! The synonyms featured are: happy sad big small good young old house move walk talk warm cold