I have created the first 3 parts to an original myth based on traditional Greek myths, which can be used to teach pupils how to develop their own myth. Lesson 1 - Creating the setting. Lesson 2 - Introducing the villain and setting out the problem. Lesson 3 - Introducing the hero and creating tension in the story. I have used this exemplar to teach children to write their own ‘myth’ over the course of a week, in stages, with time allowed for editing and improving. I have included the main features of a Greek myth, such as the use of magic, fantastic, hybrid creatures, and the Good vs Bad scenario. In the course of a lesson, these features will be emphasised as the teacher writes alongside the pupils, discussing the language and why it has been chosen. Characters will be developed with detailed descriptions and the plot will be discussed and used as a model for pupils’ own myths. I have not written the last parts of the story as this is where I would put the children fully in charge of the story - it is amazing the ideas they will devise for the hero to vanquish the evil villain Voltar and his terrifying creature, the Scorpidon! As the story is in Word, it can be adapted an lots of ways and also used to develop spelling, punctuation, cloze procedure and grammar activies. I have also included some Greek island images for use in pupils’ books, and an A4 feature list for myths. Enjoy!

I have created a chapter - by - chapter set of comprehension exercises with linked SPAG activities and additional writing tasks. There are 12 comprehension / SPAG worksheets and 5 corresponding writing tasks Each comprehension activity has a variety of different questions, with 20 marks available (allowing for a % score to be made!). I have designed questions which allow success for less able children but with challenging, higher order questions for above average pupils. Harder questions are signified by being awarded extra marks (up to 3 marks as in the SATs and key stage tests). Each reading task has a learning objective in line with Year 5/6 National Curriculum objectives and requires the reading of one full chapter or part of a chapter of the Firework - Maker’s Daughter. The worksheets are all A4 size, written in Word, and there are various ways to use the activity sheets, including: As part of a shared reading session, with the pupils completing the written tasks after discussion and analysis of the text as a class or group. As independent written tasks for the rest of the class, while the teacher is reading with a smaller group. As an additional, ready-made resource to support the study of The Firework-Maker’s Daughter as a Unit of Work / class book. As a stand-alone, independent reading activity / assessment. As a useful teacher prompt/ discussion leader when doing a guided read. Alongside the comprehension task, each worksheet has a SPAG challenge based on the Year 5 and 6 English frameworks - for example: dictionary activities, synonyms, etc. These could be the focus of the lesson, serve as an extension task or be used as a stand alone / separate activity. As all worksheets are created on Microsoft Word they can be easily adapted to suit your needs. For example, in the past I have shrank the set questions to half-page size and photocopied them to stick in pupils’ books, ready for independent work. You could also add your own questions, objectives etc.

I have created a set of 10 comprehension exercises which cover all 14 chapters (and postscript) of this classic book about life in a primary school. Also included are answer sheets which can be photocopied for pupils’ use or used on the whiteboard for all class marking. Each comprehension activity has 20 questions, designed to allow success for less able children but with challenging, higher order questions for above average pupils. Being ‘out of 20’ also allows to find a quick percentage score for each pupil! The worksheets are all A4 size and there are various ways to use the activity sheets, including: As part of a shared reading session, with the pupils completing the written tasks after discussion and analysis of the text as a class or group. As independent written tasks for the rest of the class, while the teacher is reading with a smaller group. As an additional, ready-made resource to support the study of The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler as a Unit of Work / class book. As a stand-alone, independent reading activity / assessment. All worksheets are created on Microsoft Word so can be easily adapted to suit your needs. For example, in the past I have shrank the 20 set questions to half-page size and photocopied them to stick in pupils’ books, ready for independent work. You could also add your own questions, objectives etc.

A chapter - by - chapter (12 chapters in all) set of comprehension exercises with linked Spelling and Grammar activities. Each comprehension activity has at least 10 questions, which I have designed to allow success for less able children but with challenging, higher order questions for above average pupils. Harder questions are signified by being awarded extra marks (up to 3 marks for a tricky question). Each reading task has a learning objective in and requires the reading of one full chapter of the Sheep-Pig. The worksheets are all A4 size and there are various ways to use the activity sheets, including: As part of a shared reading session, with the pupils completing the written tasks after discussion and analysis of the text as a class or group. As independent written tasks for the rest of the class, while the teacher is reading with a smaller group. As an additional, ready-made resource to support the study of The Sheep - Pig as a Unit of Work / class book. As a stand-alone, independent reading activity / assessment. As a useful teacher prompt/ discussion leader when doing a guided read. Alongside the comprehension task, each worksheet has a Spelling or Grammar challenge - for example: fronted adverbials, dictionary activities, word classes, etc. These could be the focus of the lesson, serve as an extension task or be used as a stand alone / separate activity. All worksheets are created on Microsoft Word so can be easily adapted to suit your needs. For example, in the past I have shrank the 10 set questions to half-page size and photocopied them to stick in pupils’ books, ready for independent work. You could also add your own questions, objectives etc.

A comprehension exercise based on chapter three, with an extension challenge based on the use of a dictionary. There are 20 comprehension questions with 25 marks available, allowing for an easy percentage score to be found! Could be used in independent work, guided reading sessions, whole class teaching, homework or an assessment activity. Answer sheets included.

A comprehension exercises based on chapter four, with an extension challenge based on spelling / editing. There are 21 comprehension questions with 25 marks available, allowing for an easy percentage score to be found! Can be used as guided reading, independent work, whole class teaching, homework or assessment. Answer sheets included for the comprehension and challenge.

This is a fun activity where the children will use the string telephones they have made to investigate how sound travels through solids. The main activity is best suited to be done outdoors, in pairs or threes. The children are firstly encouraged to make predictions on whether sound can travel through a number of solids and liquids. This part of the lesson can be done by teacher demonstration while the children discuss and predict what will happen. This leads to a practical investigation to find out how, (and if ), a string telephone works! Encourages prediction, discussion and observation skills

KS2 Years 4 and 5 This includes over 10 resources: Two cloze procedure comprehensions on sailors’ conditions Text and comprehension worksheet on Francis Drake Brief biographies of 6 major explorers Two PP presentations Galleon drawing with lines for written work Maths problems worksheet problem solving Wordsearch Original Christopher Columbus play - could be for the whole class or done as a guided read. Schooldays in the Past questionnaire - homework activity.

The pack contains a set of comprehension exercises covering all 10 chapters of the book. The activities are presented on A4 worksheets which the pupils work on. Each A4 worksheet includes a reading challenge extension task. Each comprehension worksheet has a range of different questions, with 20 marks available (allowing for a % score to be made too!). I have tried to design questions which allow success for less able children but with challenging, higher order questions for above average pupils. Harder questions are signified by being awarded extra marks (up to 3 marks as in the SATs and key stage tests). Each reading comprehension requires the reading of one chapter of the book (except for chapters 9 and 10, which I have combined into one comprehension sheet as the chapters are small). The worksheets are are all written in Microsoft Word, so can be easily adapted - for instance you could also add your own questions, objectives etc. There are various ways to use this resource, including: As part of a shared reading session, with the pupils completing the written tasks after discussion and analysis of the text as a class or group. As independent written tasks for the rest of the class, while the teacher is reading with a smaller group. As an additional, ready-made resource to support the study of The Angel of Nitshill Road as a Unit of Work / class book. As a stand-alone, independent reading activity / assessment. As a useful teacher prompt/ discussion leader when doing a guided read.

This is a literacy pack containing chapter- by - chapter activities based on the first seven chapters of the book The Witches by Roald Dahl, plus associated grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and spelling activities. There are ten worksheets in all, comprising: 6 x reading comprehension worksheets (including extension activities) 2 x vocabulary / grammar / punctuation worksheets 2 x spelling worksheets For each of the seven chapters there is a comprehension / guided reading worksheet which also contains a reading / spelling / writing challenge. (Chapters 6 and 7 are combined as chapter 6 is very short.) There are 25 marks available in each comprehension, allowing pupils to work out their percentage score. The worksheets could be used as part of SATs practice as the questions are set in a similar vein. Similarly, pupils could do the reading comprehension worksheets as independent tasks or as part of whole class revision. Alternatively, each worksheet could be used as part of a guided reading session, reading assessment or whole class teaching. Each Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation worksheet is double A4 - sized, with space for pupils’ answers. Pupils could do the worksheet as an independent task or as part of whole class revision for the SATs. There are 25 marks available - which again allows pupils to find their percentage score! All activities are created in Word so can be edited to your own taste.

This is a literacy pack based on the first 5 chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. For each chapter, there is a comprehension worksheet containing a range of around 20 questions, based on the text, producing 25 marks in total. The questions are written on one size of A4 and include an extension activity. The worksheets could be used as independent reading tasks, homework activities or as a tool for guided reading groups. Also included with each comprehension task is an A4 answer sheet. Just for for chapter one, there are two comprehension activities, one based on pages 7 - 13 and the next on pages 13 - 18. The extension activities attached to each comprehension task are listed below: Chapter one, pages 7 - 13: Dictionary Challenge Chapter One, pages 13 - 18: Astounding Alliteration Chapter Two: Compound Words Chapter Three: Dictionary Challenge Chapter Four: Spelling Challenge Chapter Five: Vibrant Verbs The literacy pack also includes nine writing resources as follows: Chapter Two - Dear Diary ( Harry’s point of view) Chapter Two - Writing activity based on Harry and Dudley’s differing viewpoints Chapter Four - Mysterious character descriptive writing task Chapter Four - Letter writing task: Hagrid writing to Dumbledore Chapter Five - Recount based on the visit to the Leaky Cauldron (Harry’s POV) Chapters 1 to 5 - Book review Spooky Picture for use in creative writing Spelling task - ‘soft c’ Awesome Adjectives Wordsearch

Several literacy schemes are asking Year 6 teachers to use The Piano animation (readily available on YouTube) as a resource to teach ‘flashback’ writing. This is a writing example which could be used to stimulate discussion and help pupils to grasp how they can write a flashback scene. I wrote it in collaboration with a Y6 class I taught and it took a week to do - and is unfinished as I asked the children to complete it! There are 5 paragraphs and everything written - the names of the characters, their backstories etc. are all from the class’s imagination. There are two versions, one with text only, one with illustrations added. Both are created in Microsoft Word so can be easily tailored. I am also including a planning worksheet for a two week block with the main objective being to write a story with flashbacks.

A comprehension exercises based on chapter five, with an extension challenge based on vibrant verbs There are 20 comprehension questions with 25 marks available, allowing for an easy percentage score to be found! Can be used in guided reading, independent work, whole class teaching, homework or assessment. Answer sheets included for the comprehension and challenge.

A comprehension activity based on the story of Jonah and the Whale. There are 12 questions and the activity is copied so two pupil sheets fit on one A4 sheet, needing to be trimmed in half. It could be used simply as an aid to discussion or as an independent activity. There is a challenge activity where pupils are asked to draw a scene from the story.

A worksheet designed to teach about trickier connectives such as: However Therefore In addition Consequently etc . . . to help build cohesion within a paragraph. After discussion, pupils will redraft a paragraph about keeping fit. A simple but effective resource.

3 worksheets and a wordsearch to teach about the different food groups / healthy living. There are questions on the pyramid and a fun activity where the pupils will talk about what sort of foods are represented by cartoon pictures, then list each food under the 5 main food group headings. As a challenge, the pupils then add other foods to the lists to even them up!

These resources focus on exploring rainforests through literacy and give lots of scope for follow up writing activities! They’re also useful in the study of conservation issues. As some of the language is tricky the comprehensions are mainly suitable for Year 5 and above, but could be a challenge for a bright Year 4 class! Comprehension 1 - consists of a detailed A4 sized text on the Amazon rainforest, including conservation issues. The question sheet is designed to stick in the pupils’ books and includes lesson objectives and 2 differentiated dictionary challenges. Comprehension 2 - an A4 - sized cloze procedure exercise called ‘What is a Rainforest?’ Map of world rainforests with space for written tasks. Seven pages of rainforest images which are useful for initiating and inspiring a rainforest art project.

‘A Victorian Diary’ is a series of 15 minute videos showing life in Victorian times. Events are reported by fictional character Maggie Johnson and by other characters she meets, providing different perspectives. This series is brilliant just to watch and enjoy, but it can also be used to help develop literacy skills. These are resources based on chapters 2 and 3 and also include generic diary writing templates. The chapter 2 resource is a punctuation and proof reading exercise. Pupils have to read and correct a diary entry, written from Maggie’s perspective. It could also be used as an example of writing in diary style and lead to the pupils writing their own version. The main learning objective of the Chapter 3 worksheet is to develop pupils’ understanding of empathy, but there is activities on prediction skills and note - taking. Alongside the worksheet I have created some excerpts and images to cement the main learning objective.

A simple 6 - question maths sheet for use with year 5. Two activity sheets are pasted on to a single A4 sheet, so it needs to be trimmed. Could be used as an assessment activity, a whole class lesson or an independent task.

There are 16 questions, covering chapters 1 and 2, with 20 marks available, plus a reading challenge which could be used as an extension task. The worksheet could be used as an independent task, for whole class reading / guided reading or as a homework task.