Jungles and rain forests are thrilling to write about, and this words-in-a-picture approach adds in fun and meaning for primary aged pupils. A gap-free version of the jungle photo is included for inspiration and information, plus a Word Bank, including similes, for teacher reference - handy for examples and prompts. The resource supports poetry, vocabulary-building, writing fluency and confidence-building, as well as enhancing work on jungles, rain forests and related topics. Others in this series (Word Gaps in a Picture): Butterfly, Meadow (free), Dragons, Sea, Under the Sea and Fireworks, plus more to come. See my many other Jungle and Rain forest resources - rhymes, poetry frames and more.

Two dragon display pictures feature here - a blue one clasping a diamond and a lazy red one, snoozing on a cloud; also a little clip art design of a fire-breathing dragon whizzing, swooping, blasting down through the sky (also red). These will inspire end-of-term drawing, colouring, writing and acting fun for your class, whatever their age and maturity. For more, see my earlier upload: 3 Crazy Dragons, or try the Dragon’s Menu.

**Snappy dragon rhymes - with key colours. ** Great for all ages, especially early years, developing rhythm, rhyme, language, creativity and expressive confidence. Scope for drama, music and art developments. Once there was a dragon dressed in red. He liked to stay all day in… You can guess the last word, as can the children, though some may prefer to offer alternative rhymes. Red is just one example of the numerous colours featuring in these crazy dragon verses, which lend themselves to being enacted, and even sung to a made-up tune, as well as chanted and clapped. Follow on with dragon sketches or try my dragon’s menu for easy, crazy writing fun.

’Watch for the Moon’ is a published poem for children by this author, Kate Williams. The 12-line rhyming poem is presented on a moon photo background. It is fascinating, yet easily accessible for junior-aged readers. The poem highlights the ever-changing appearance of the moon, likening it to different things - a coin, a slice, melting ice… The rhymes are fun to spot - slice/twice/ice/trice, bright/white/sight, swerve/curve, and more.

Dragon inspiration! Dragons are ever-popular with children, and make great starting points for all sorts of teaching, from creative writing and expressive arts and design, to studies of myths and legends, fire, flight, colour, movement, and even for counting - why not? These red, pink and green ones have been key to my numerous dragon poetry workshops this year. Great for all ages.

Watch out for the dragon - but what sort? Scary? Crazy? Hot and spiky? Red, green, wild, funny? Your Reception and KS1 children will be eager to express their ideas, both out loud and in writing. Never mind if their word is hard to spell - they can sound it out and give it a go, building confidence in their writing skills as they go. Not that dragons have to be scary, of course - ‘Watch out for the kind or friendly dragon!’ would be equally valid - as in: don’t miss him/her. The gender can also be changed. There are 3 versions here, of graded difficulty, the last inviting describing words for spikes and scales too, and ideas for the dragon’s favourite food. NB (1) Please note that my hand-drawn illustrations are sketchy. However, in my experience, children don’t mind or notice this. NB (2) Older/abler Yr 2s will welcome further lines, perhaps inviting similes, e.g. He’s as hot as a… or [colour] … as a. These could be squeezed in or written on the back, or the sheet could be manually adapted. More advanced versions coming here in due course.

Great for St David’s Day dragon writing! Watch out for the ________ dragon! This exciting writing sheet starts. It’s as ___ as a ___ (perhaps hot as a volcano or red as a ripe tomato). Two more open similes follow, then two lines for features details, an action line - 'He goes__ ing __ ’ (perhaps gliding through the sunset to his secret cave, or cartwheeling over the mountaintops, or flame-blasting through your classrooms). The last line is always a favourite in this tried and tested sheet: His favourite food is __ ’ . Recommended for lower juniors. Supports Literacy, particularly poetry, creativity and vocabulary-stretching; also enriching Myths & Legends studies.