This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Michael Morpurgo’s 'When Fishes Flew.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS2 expectations within the National Curriculum framework. Children love learning from these resources, whilst they are also of great use to teachers, as there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: ‘Morpurgo’s Language Techniques’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Explain meanings of words that they know and ask the meaning of new words. Link the meaning of new words to words that they already know;’ ‘Character Analysis of Nandi and Maria’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ ‘An Interview with Nandi’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ ‘Storyboarders’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Read books that are structured in different ways and for a range of purposes.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is over 20 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. The resource is suitable for home/ remote learning.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘When Fishes Flew.’ The resource pack includes the extract and all of the activities for the session, which the class are guided through via a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The session is best suited for children in upper KS2, but it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop their understanding of different explorers from over time. In this lesson, children sequence exploration events and compare explorers from over time. Specifically, they: -Recall the achievements of different explorers from across history; -Place significant exploration events in chronological order; -Consider how the role of explorers has changed over time. It was originally taught as the final lesson in a sequence of lessons focusing on different explorers. Please note that to complete the final written task, it does help if children have either been taught the prior lessons in this sequence (available on this platform) or have other prior understanding of at least two explorers. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall of basic history skills, key terms, the meaning of exploration, and the achievements of different explorers; -Following clear instructions and utilising given resources to produce their own timelines of different exploration achievements from between 1400 to the present day. -Using information and prompts to compare and contrast different explorers from across time; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they believe they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (20 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included are the event cards for the timeline activity. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) but they could easily be used with upper KS2 - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop an understanding of the Apollo 11 mission and Neil Armstrong, as a part of their study of significant explorers. In particular, they: -Learn who Armstrong was and what he is best-known for; -Understand how his achievements impacted the world; -Use their researching skills to find out more about Armstrong and his mission. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall of basic history skills, key terms, and the meaning of exploration; -Gaining a background understanding of the Space Race and the drive to put humans on the Moon; -Learning about the risks and difficulties involved with the mission; -Watching an engaging, age-appropriate video to learn key details about the mission; -Using a research template to find out more information about the mission; -Empathising with Armstrong, through a hot-seating activity; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they believe they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (20 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included is the template for the research activity. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) but they could easily be used with upper KS2 - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop an understanding of the well-known aviator Amelia Earhart, as a part of their study of significant explorers. In particular, they: -Learn who Earhart was and what she is best-known for; -Understand the context of the world in which she lived; -Explain what made her achievements so inspirational; -Evaluate how she demonstrated the characteristics of a successful explorer. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall of basic history skills, key terms, and the meaning of exploration; -Gaining a background understanding of the world in which Amelia Earhart lived, including technological developments and gender expectations; -Learning about her life and her key achievements, and discussing which they feel are most impressive and why; -Discussing how Earhart was an inspiration, through discussing her achievements, legacy and key quotations; -Evaluating how Earhart demonstrated the key characteristics of successful explorers, through a ‘Diamond 9’ activity. -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they believe they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (21 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included are the templates for the Diamond 9 activity. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) but they could easily be used with upper KS2 - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

In this engaging and purposeful lesson, children develop an understanding of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. In particular, they: -Learn who Hillary and Norgay were and what they are known for; -Explain what made their achievements so incredible; -Learn more about the personality traits of both Hillary and Norgay; -Evaluate how both climbers were recognised after the climb. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall of basic history skills, key terms, and the meaning of exploration; -Gaining a background understanding of the dangers of climbing extremely high mountains; -Watching an engaging video (hyperlinked) to gain a base understanding of the key details of the climb; -Considering the key details and personality traits of both climbers; -Evaluating how the recognition for Hillary and Norgay differed after the successful climb, reflecting on how fair they feel this was; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they believe they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (19 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson. Also included are the images for the character profile activity. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about Dorothy Hodgkin, either as a part of their history study of ‘Significant Individuals’, or research into famous scientists and inventors. It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in Her Life; Important Vocabulary; Dorothy Hodgkin Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about John Logie Baird, either as a part of their history study of ‘Significant Individuals’, or research into famous scientists and inventors. It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in His Life; Important Vocabulary; John Logie Baird Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about Clement Attlee as a part of their history study of ‘Significant Individuals.’ It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in His Life; Important Vocabulary; Clement Attlee Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

This engaging and highly-purposeful double lesson has been designed to enable children to understand, identify and use different types of verbs. They learn about active, stative, modal and auxiliary verbs through a range of interesting and logically-sequenced activities. Children learn through: -Defining each of the different types of verbs, and thinking of examples of each; -Identfying different types of verbs within sentences; -Explaining how they know what type of verb is being used; -Employing different types of verb to describe interesting and humerous picture stimulus; -Creating their own creative texts, applying the knowledge that they have gained throughout the lesson; -Evaluating their own writing attempts, endeavouring to find further appropriate opportunities for uplevelling their use of verbs. The resource pack is comprised of a colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation, which offers a step-by-step guide through the entirety of the lesson. Also included is the Bloom’s Taxonomy activity sheet, which guides children through defining, identifying and explaining different types of verbs (provided in both PDF and Word, with an additional teacher answer sheet). This is best taught either in one double lesson period, or over the course of two lessons (there are approx 2-2.5 hours of materials). The lesson was originally created for children in both upper KS2 and lower KS3, however with minor adaptations could easily be suitable for those in lower KS2.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students securing place knowledge as a part of their geography study, enabling them to compare and contrast Scotland with Siberia. It contains comprehensive sections on: Key Facts Overview and Maps; Physical Geography Comparison; Human Geography Comparison; 10 Key Comparison Facts; Key Vocabulary. The organiser is designed to help children to learn the relevant place, human and physical geography knowledge from the KS2 Geography National Curriculum: -understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom and a non-European region; -physical geography, including: climate zones, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes; -human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students securing place knowledge as a part of their geography study, enabling them to compare and contrast the East of England with California. It contains comprehensive sections on: Key Facts Overview and Maps; Physical Geography Comparison; Human Geography Comparison; 10 Key Comparison Facts; Key Vocabulary. The organiser is designed to help children to learn the relevant place, human and physical geography knowledge from the KS2 Geography National Curriculum: -understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom and a region of North America; -physical geography, including: climate zones, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes; -human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about Alfred the Great. It is particularly useful for those completing a history study of the monarchy in England, learning about the Anglo-Saxons, or studying significant individuals in historical societies. It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in His Life; Important Vocabulary; Alfred the Great Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘Shadow.’ The resource pack includes the extract and all of the activities for the session, which the class are guided through via a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The session is best suited for children in Years 3 to 5, but it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about Oscar Wilde, particularly those studying his works in English or completing a history study of ‘Significant Individuals.’ It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in His Life; Important Vocabulary; Oscar Wilde Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about Lewis Carroll, particularly those studying his works in English or completing a history study of ‘Significant Individuals.’ It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in His Life; Important Vocabulary; Lewis Carroll Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about William Wordsworth, particularly those studying his works in English or completing a history study of ‘Significant Individuals.’ It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in His Life; Important Vocabulary; William Wordsworth Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising knowledge relating to the water cycle, developing both geography or science learning. It contains comprehensive sections on: -Overview of the Water Cycle; -Basic Information and Diagram; -The Stages of the Water Cycle; -The Role of Plants in the Water Cycle; -Effects of Climate Change; -Key Vocabulary; -Key Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use. The resource is most suitable for students in KS2, but could also easily be used for students in KS3.