Poetry & literacy resources by published children's poet. Also lead poetry workshops for UK primary schools. Website: katewilliamspoet.com
YouTube latest: Buttercup Party: https://youtu.be/pHKh1_NvaiY
Book of animal poems - Squeak! Squawk! Roar! - out 9th Jan '25.
Poetry & literacy resources by published children's poet. Also lead poetry workshops for UK primary schools. Website: katewilliamspoet.com
YouTube latest: Buttercup Party: https://youtu.be/pHKh1_NvaiY
Book of animal poems - Squeak! Squawk! Roar! - out 9th Jan '25.
These 3 simple rhymes bring the mini-beast world alive for young children. Each offers rhyme, rhythm, descriptive words and scope for multiple activities: clapping, enacting, language-building, physical movement, performance, and preparation for any follow-on writing. The rhymes could also be set to music or percussion, or sung to a made-up tune.
I made up the rhymes and have found them effective in my poetry workshops for Early Years and KS1. (Illustrations also mine.)
This 5-sheet resource comprises a castle picture-poem, easier/harder, and a castle-characters picture-poem in 3 graded versions.
These are attractive sheets with lively, hand-drawn illustrations of old, cobwebby, crumbling castles, the graded ones featuring characters such as a ghost, king and queen. Children have the fun of writing directly onto the castles - a particularly vivid experience in the ‘My castle is’ activity. Describing words are invited on each sheet.
These writing frames are self-explanatory, having starter phrases followed by thick lines for writing, with increasing opportunities for imaginative, expressive input on the graded character sheets.
For ‘My castle is’, prompt for describing words such as: old, crumbly, tall, spooky, dark, haunted, spidery, cold, windy, grand, royal, huge, hard, rat-infested, ghostly, scary, massive, golden, fine, splendid, stone, rich, ancient, mysterious, creepy, abandoned, damp, shadowy, candle-lit, and ruined. On the Castle Characters graded sheets, encourage a range of personality attributions for the ghost, king and queen, such as kind, mean, cruel, crazy, gentle, friendly, and various colours. The ghost might be see-through, floaty, spooky or dancing.
This is principally a Literacy resource, though it also offers scope for expressive art through colouring, and an intriguing window onto the past.
These 5 simple, rhythmic rhymes focus on everyday concepts. Their titles are: Busy Street, In the Park, Windy Day, Taller and Smaller, and School is for Me.
Each rhyme sheet includes guidance notes.
Suitable for clapping, enacting, word-swapping and performing with embellishments (such as percussion, a tune, or extra actions).
They support the learning areas Understanding the World, Expressive Arts & Design, Literacy, Communication & Language, and Physical Development.
The rhymes (and illustrations) are my own.
Autumn leaves picture poem activities. Writing and colouring sheets for all stages from Reception to Ys 2-3. Describing words, similes, movement words and more are invited on these beautiful, inspiring, leafy sheets. Supports seasonal study and literacy together.
Warm up tip: combine with outdoor fun watching leaves blowing off trees and gathering fallen ones. Examine, discuss and launch them together, then fly and spin like leaves yourselves, building language and imagery as you go.
Very popular in my workshops.
Get your class up and moving in your poetry warm-ups and performances, with this lively mix of poems to read, write and act out. There’s also an 8-point list of outdoor literacy activities for healthy and motivating learning approaches. Approx. age range - lower juniors, and younger as verbal, teacher-led group.
Sunshine and clouds are the focus of this 4-sheet pack. The illustrated writing sheets - or picture poems - provide attractive and accessible means for children to develop their writing and phonics skills, also spurring creativity and stretching active vocabulary. There are colouring opportunities too. The accompanying rhymes can be chanted, clapped, swayed to or enacted, and are recommended (on the Guidance Sheet) as warm-up activities.
The Guidance Sheet offers lists of prompt ideas for each writing sheet, with development suggestions for the cloud one. Suggested preparatory activities are also included.
The sheets are hand-illustrated and home-produced, rather than machine-perfect. All sheets are black-and-white, PDF.
YouTube recording of my poem: ‘What is a Cloud?’ - https://youtu.be/EOKVIktMh10
These 8 lively, colourful pictures offer inspiration for story-writing, poetry-crafting, newspaper report inventing, and enhancement of the topics they reflect, which include: wild woods, migrating birds, ocean, sunset, jungle, wild animals (British and tropical), dragons, magic carpet rides, transport, myths and more. NB: I sketched and coloured the pictures by hand, adjusting them slightly with basic computer software, so expect spontaneity rather than professional artwork or machine neatness. I use them for all primary classes.
Shooting stars, planets & aliens feature in these space-themed Literacy activities. There are two action rhymes for EY/KS1 + 3 graded versions of a star picture-poem; for confident/older writers there are 2 fun, illustrated poetry frames of planet and alien respectively. Guidance notes for all.
These are my own designs and rhymes, home-produced, hand-illustrated, successfully tested in schools.
Children can dream up any under-sea creature, treasure, relic, mystery, beauty or blight they like, to list and describe in these 3, ability-graded, creative-writing sheets. Writing inside the fascinating picture will draw them right into the ocean world, prompting adventurous, experimental language to express their knowledge and thoughts. Will embellish any related projects or events.
Stretch vocabulary and speaking/writing skills with these 3 word banks. They cover 3 interesting themes: Castles, Spring and Healthy Eating/Wholesome foods. Draw from them yourself in class discussions and elicit selected words from children. Encourage use in speech and writing; point out in reading material. Supports literacy, topic study and all-round education at all levels.
Rhyme banks for Space, Dragons, Castle Characters + Ocean (sailors, pirates, more), with Examples for all, PLUS Seabed Rhymes to complete. Fun for whole class, together, in groups or pairs, or individually. Literacy made fun! Themed information, topic study, & creativity scope incorporated. Huge discount!
Phonics learning activities: 6 rhymes for oo, ee, u, ar, er and long i (iy), Reading/Phonics Game, Woodland Animals Reading Challenge (labels on picture); Mini-beasts Phonics Fun (labels on picture). Supports Phonics, Reading, Writing, Listing, Speaking, and Understanding the World. EY/KS1. All original items.
3 Picture-Poem sheets for Early Years - Yr 1, representing a ladybird, a butterfly and a snail, respectively, with accompanying Guidance Notes for each. These resources promote Literacy, Creative Writing, Expressive Arts & Design and Understanding the World.
Young children will enjoy thinking up words to describe dragons and sounding them out to complete the lines on these illustrated sheets, then colouring in the pictures. Non-writers can colour in the dragon and castle turrets picture and offer words verbally. Dragons can be any colour, have any character, and have exciting physical features to describe. Contents: 1 colouring picture, 1 writing/colouring sheet starting My dragon is…, 3 graded versions of a writing/colouring sheet starting Watch out for the… dragon, and Dragon’s Menu with alliteration (T… on Toast etc.).
4 star-themed activities for young children:
Sparkly star - phonics + hand-writing,
My star is - creative writing (3 grades),
Hello Star! - action rhyme + development ideas,
Star colouring sheet.
Butterfly, Ladybird, Robin, Squirrel, Hedgehog, Frog + Rabbit colouring sheets for young children. Clear, attractive, black-and-white drawings, with natural settings and details, nurturing a love of nature and wild animals while also developing colour sense, pattern appreciation and fine motor control.
Do have a listen (free) to this gorgeous cat music, by a favourite composer of mine! The children will love it too!
This colourful collection of activities for Early Years & Yr1 (+Y2) comprises:
2 colour-focused rhymes (one about different-coloured dragons, one about red things), and butterfly, ladybird and fish writing/colouring sheets.
See my video poem, Rainbow Glow -
https://youtu.be/qAq3CfoRaaE
Snakes - easier + harder - to write inside of, plus ladybird, butterfly and snail picture-poems with lines in or around picture for writing descriptions on. Fun and motivating, bringing words and world alive. EYFS - Y3
These castle-themed activities bring the past alive for children, while motivating creative writing, artwork and history study. The 3 punchy rhymes invite actions, word-exchanges, clapping and performance. The 5 writing sheets (or poetry frames) are generously illustrated with lively, inspiring details. Guidance provided for rhymes + worksheets. All rhymes and artwork original.