Tag: school
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#6 Using Keys to Generate Ideas
Sometimes, the best writing starts with just a little inspiration. Today, that little bit of inspiration is going to be a key. Yes, a key! A key that could unlock the door to somewhere magical, special or even somewhere scary… Activities 1) Explore visual stimulus Have a look at some online visuals related to doors…
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#4 Word Detectives!
Kids love secret codes. They love playing detective and investigating things for themselves. In order to encourage children to become logophiles (word lovers), we’re going to unlock the meanings of words using a very special secret code – etymology! Etymology is the study of the true meaning of words. From personal experience, I think it’s…
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#3 Playing with Words (Poetry!)
This activity is inspired by Peter H Reynolds’ brilliant book The Word Collector. It’s a fun, creative poetry activity all about collecting and playing around with words! 1) Be inspired Watch this short Scholastic video* about The Word Collector by Peter H Reynolds. You can also read the story online here. *be mindful of adverts…
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#2 Create your own Imaginary Map
I have always loved maps within books. Much like novels themselves, maps can tell stories too. They often bring the real and the imaginary together. Maps are a brilliant way to explore imaginary lands inside our imaginations, providing a potential gateway to creative writing. Spending time creating illustrations gives us a starting point for bringing…
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Daily English Activities for Homeschooling
As we all try to do our bit to help children who will be learning from home for the foreseeable future, I would like to announce that I will be posting a daily English activity online from Monday to Friday, starting today. I am an experienced primary school teacher (KS2) with a specialism in English.…
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How I do it: Let’s Write for Pleasure!
I, like many others, have been a huge advocate of Reading for Pleasure for many years now, but Writing for Pleasure seems to have slipped the net. We depend on it as the largest indicator of success and progress in learning, yet it doesn’t quite receive the same limelight that reading does. Writing in primary…
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Happy National Poetry Day!
This year, whilst researching ideas to celebrate National Poetry Day with my class, I came across Tony Walsh’s poem Take This Pen. I love how the energy and passion of the poem builds to a beautiful, lyrical crescendo. It’s an incredibly moving poem, beautifully illustrated by Chris Riddell, which reminds us that everyone has something…
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The Literacy Calendar 2019-2020
Last year, I created a Literacy Calendar – something I’d wanted to sink my teeth into for a long time. I’ve always felt it would be one of those things that’s incredibly useful to have and to share with staff, yet something we rarely have time to research or create! It proved so popular amongst…
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Cosy Reading
Just because independent reading does not have a learning objective attached to it, does not mean it isn’t valuable. Just because it cannot be tested, does not mean it should lose curriculum time. Sadly, creating time and space for reading is something that many teachers struggle with (given the ever-increasing demands on our already crowded…
Literacy with Miss P 