I have been teaching across the foundation phase and Key Stage 2 since 2004, and I have created a wide range of effective resources for all sorts of topics and subjects, all of which have been tried and tested with my own pupils. Most of my resources are already differentiated, as I know how much time this saves. I hope other teachers find these resources useful and that other pupils enjoy and benefit from them as much as my classes have. All reviews/ratings gratefully received!
I have been teaching across the foundation phase and Key Stage 2 since 2004, and I have created a wide range of effective resources for all sorts of topics and subjects, all of which have been tried and tested with my own pupils. Most of my resources are already differentiated, as I know how much time this saves. I hope other teachers find these resources useful and that other pupils enjoy and benefit from them as much as my classes have. All reviews/ratings gratefully received!
Two worksheets for identifying and sequencing days of the week. One is a matching exercise where pupils match the days of the week to activities they do during the week. The other has the days of the week in a jumbled order, and pupils have to identify 'yesterday' and 'tomorrow' for each of the days of the week.
Two differentiated versions of a sheet for recording results of a simple cress growing investigation to see what happens when you grow cress without either water, light or cotton wool, or with all three.
I created this project for my Year 3 class, but it could be easily adapted used in Y4 or higher. I based a whole week around it, including thinking skills, applying maths skills, designing products and advertising. I split my class into mixed ability teams for the week. The powerpoint file introduces the task, and contains instructions for every part of the task as you go through the week, including examples to demonstrate each maths activity. The maths activities are all differentiated for higher, middle and lower ability groups, and include calculating factory opening times, converting distances between metres and kilometres for 'distribution' and calculating production costs (multiplying by 2, 4 or 40). There are group thinking skills templates, which I enlarged to A3 for groups to brainstorm ideas for cereal types, flavours and brand names. There are also templates for designing a cereal box, an advertising poster, and a cartoon strip-style planning sheet to storyboard ideas for a TV advert. Afterwards, we filmed an advert for each group using an iPad and green screen.
Three differentiated versions of a worksheet using open number lines to find the difference between 2-digit numbers by counting on in steps. Created for my Year 3 class, but suitable for Year 2 or 4.
1) (LA) Finding the difference between 3-digit numbers - numbers at each end of the number lines and some of the jumps and '+' signs put in place for extra scaffolding.
2) (MA) Finding the difference between 3-digit numbers - with numbers at each end of the number lines to scaffold.
3) (HA) Finding the difference between 3-digit numbers - blank number lines.
This is a sunflower growing diary I created for a Year 1 class, but it would also suit Year 2 pupils. My class planted sunflowers in pots in school, which they then took home, along with the diary booklets. They completed one page each week, drawing, measuring and describing the changes in their sunflower each weekend for their homework over a half term, before returning the booklets and sunflowers to school during the last week of term.
A simple factfile sheet, which I created for my Year 3 class to complete by researching a rainforest animal, using both non-fiction books and the internet.
Differentiated worksheets for three ability groups, made for Year 3, but adaptable. There is a sheet of addition and a sheet of subtraction for each group. I printed them back-to-back and sent them out for homework after doing a few lessons on both, but they could be used separately too to introduce or consolidate the concept. There is also a QR code on the top of the sheet which links to a really useful youtube video that demonstrates the method very simply - great for parents who needed to understand the method we used so that they could work with their children at home!
Differentiated worksheet using weather forecast symbols to practise Welsh weather vocabulary. Also included are a few display materials, using the same weather symbols and weather vocabulary to form part of a classroom Welsh display, which could also be laminated and used as flashcards to rehearse the vocabulary in a Welsh lesson.
Fact file worksheet for Year 3/4. My class used a combination of non-fiction books and internet research to find the necessary information to complete the sheet, which they then used as a plan to write their own non-chronological report, create a powerpoint presentation and finally a green screen video presentation about their chosen woodland animal.
Differentiated writing frames for pupils to innovate part of the well-known story 'Flat Stanley' by putting their own name into the 'Flat _______' title and then imagining where they would post themselves and what they might do in their chosen destination if they were flat like Stanley. Pupils write about their chosen destination, the more able give reasons for their choice, and then pupils write about the activities they would like to do, and draw pictures of themselves doing them.
Storyboard-style worksheet for writing instructions to making chocolate Easter 'nests'. There are three differentiated versions; one is a cut-and-stick sequencing version, the second is a cloze gap-fill version, and the third just has pictures and the pupils have to write all the instructions themselves.
Worksheet where pupils have to divide popular meals into their food groups (e.g. spaghetti bolognese -> spaghetti (carbohydrates) beef (meat/protein) tomato (fruit&veg). I used this with my Year 3 class as part of a healthy eating topic, after studying the well-known "healthy plate" diagram showing the proportion of food groups we should eat. There is also a follow-up homework task, where pupils use the meals they eat over the weekend to complete the food groups task.
Also included is a simple research task, finding out which fruit and vegetables are usually grown in the UK, and which countries are the main producers of others, with a couple of additional data handling-type questions at the end. My class completed it using the internet, although this could also be done as a homework task, with pupils researching fruit and vegetables at the supermarket.
3 differentiated worksheets (in the same file) I made for my Year 3 class, but would be suitable for Year 4 too.
Worksheet 1- More able - 18 questions - subtracting 3 digit numbers, using borrowing.
Worksheet 2 - Middle group - 18 questions - q1-9 subtracting 2 digit numbers using borrowing / q10-18 subtracting 3 digit numbers, using borrowing
Worksheet 3 - Less able - 12 questions - subtracting 2 digit numbers using borrowing.
Pupils use the grid to draw an island, and then have to add a list of things on their map, such as a lake, hotel, beach, etc.
Once they have finished creating their island, they need to complete directions for tourists to help them get around their island. Using North, South, East and West pupils have to tell them how to get to and from different places on the map.
There are 3 differentiated versions:
LA - Have to give simple instructions for 4 different routes.
MA - Have to give instructions for 9 different routes.
HA - Have to give 9 instructions for different routes, and also have to give some directions for routes with more than one stop (e.g. hotel -> lake -> beach).
I printed them out on A3 for my Year 3 class to use, which worked well, but they could be printed A4 too.
4 differentiated versions of a worksheet where pupils identify and colour odd and even numbers;
*Numbers within 10,
*Numbers within 20
*2-digit numbers
*3-digit numbers
Two differentiated worksheets; one has o'clock times, and the other has o'clock and half past times, both with analogue clock face displays which pupils complete to match with the times written in word form. Both worksheets have a firefighter theme, asking pupils to complete a timetable to help the firefighters get all their jobs done at the right times during the day.
A variety of worksheets based on different fairy tales, such as 'The 3 little pigs', 'Cinderella' and 'Frozen'. Several literacy tasks including analysing characters from the stories, and writing a spell for the Fairy Godmother.
Also included are a couple of worksheets for simple science experiments - one is a materials investigation based on 'The 3 little pigs' and the other is the 'Frozen Ice Bunnies' experiment, where we used rabbit-shaped sand moulds to create 'ice bunnies', which were assigned to 'Frozen' characters and placed in different places around the classroom on paper towels, then we measured how much they melted over time by measuring the patches of water on the paper towels.
A whole bundle of superhero-based resources, including differentiated poem and cartoon strip templates, fact files to create you own superhero or super villain, differentiated digital times worksheets, and a variety of other tasks including designing a cape and utility belt gadgets, and links to health eating by creating healthy superhero meals. Also links to PSE with a poem called 'Superhero in my house' where pupils write about one of their parents/relatives and everything they do for them. Some of these resources are also available separately...browse my 'shop' for details.
I created these tasks for my mixed ability Year 3 class, but they would be suitable to use with younger or older pupils too. As part of our human body topic, I wanted them to do some research about organs, and set this for homework, although it could of course be done in class too if you have non-fiction books/iPads/laptops available to use for research.
There are three differentiated tasks (all saved in one file):
'Less able' - Matching task where pupils have to research the appearance of the main organs so they can match images of them to the correct names.
'Middle group' - Research the main organs, and write a brief description of what each one does.
'More able' - Choose one of the main organs, research it and complete a fact sheet about it, describing its size, position, function and drawing a labelled picture of it.