Included in this set of resources are summarised versions of the different parts of the story. These were created so that the children had something of a more realistic length to base their own story writing on. If you have the book you could create PowerPoint presentations combining the text and the images (for copyright reasons I have not included my versions of these). Also included are 'box up' frames (Talk For Writing) and comprehension questions.

Focused on vocabulary and summarising texts Linked to my Reading Roles (see my other TES resources) Includes 4 different activities in a sequence Questions are based on this text from The British Museum: http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/war/story/sto_set.html

A quick reading comprehension in response to Donald Trump's 'Muslim Ban' in the US centred around Mo Farah's initial statement outlining his concerns about not being allowed back to the US. This reading comprehension has colour-coded questions using my 'Reading Roles' which are based on the content domain areas for reading (download them here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-11416334).

Each of the new cognitive domains for reading has been linked to a well-known career/job/role in order to make each of the areas of the content domain easier to remember for both children and teachers. Each area has a symbol and is colour-coded so that there are further ways for the children to remember the areas and what they mean. These could be used to colour-code questions used in class - the symbols could also be assigned to question types so children begin to identify question types.

A comprehension activity based on a picture by Nuccio DiNuzzo taken at a US airport where protesters are protesting against Trump's Muslim ban. The questions focus on inference and do depend on children having some background knowledge, i.e. of the Holocaust.

A slimmed down version of Reading Roles PLUS which focuses only on reading comprehension strategies.

The siege account provides two parallel accounts - one from someone inside the castle defending it, one from someone outside attacking. One poem is by Alexander Anderson and has lots of great descriptive and figurative language to describe castles. The other poem is by me and looks at a castle in three time periods - in a time of peace, in a time of conflict and in the modern day.

Reading comprehension questions for various chapters of Cosmic by Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Focussing on character description, retrieval, vocabulary and inference.

Reading Roles PLUS Generic Reading Activity The aim of this activity is to help children gain a better understanding of a text. It focuses on using 5 of the main widely-acknowledged reading strategies. Although the activity itself has a goal of enabling understanding of one text, the cumulative effect of doing several of these activities is intended to be that children begin to use these strategies automatically when they read any text. For more on Reading Roles: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/reading-roles-plus-teaching-metacognitive-reading-comprehension-strategies-11890964 & http://www.thatboycanteach.co.uk/2018/04/reading-roles-metacognitive-reading-strategies.html

With various focuses on vocabulary and retrieving and inferring information, particularly about characters. Colours/symbols linked to Reading Roles: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/reading-roles-plus-teaching-metacognitive-reading-comprehension-strategies-11890964

Reading Roles PLUS is a resource designed to aid children’s metacognition when reading. Metacognition can be defined simply as ‘thinking about thinking’. Reading Roles PLUS takes familiar job titles and assigns them to reading strategies and skills thus giving children an easy-to-refer-to system for being more deliberate with their thinking during reading, with the ultimate goal of being able to comprehend texts. Alongside the job title (or role) there is a symbol which can be used as a further way to prompt certain kinds of thinking – some children may find these easier to remember. Read more: www.thatboycanteach.co.uk/2018/04/reading-roles-metacognitive-reading-strategies.html