KS2 Assembly PowerPoint introducing this year’s Earth Day theme, ‘restore the planet’. PowerPoint supporting discussion on and teaching of: our amazing planet the problems our planet faces inspiring Earth heroes small actions we can take to make a difference This assembly introduces 3 good texts that can be used to explore the Earth and its protection, but it is not necessary to have these. You could introduce your own selected texts on the theme to encourage reading. Supporting whole class comprehension resources for ‘Protect the Planet’ by Jess French, ‘Natural World: A Visual Compendium of Wonders from Nature’ by AJ Wood and Mike Jolley and ‘Earth Heroes’ by Lily Dyu can be found on our TES shop page or our website. Our resource for ‘Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers’ by Daniel Thompson also inspires a poetry activity abut making a positive change for the benefit of the Earth.

3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on chapters 1, 2 and 6 of ‘Race to the Frozen North’ by Catherine Johnson. About the book, whole class reading, paired reading Reading Skills foci: predict, summarise, reading fluency, infer 34-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 4 PDF activities. Extract of Introduction and Chapter One included only. Reading age 8+. Lessons recommended for age 10+ Lesson 1 To make predictions about what might happen in a text. To summarise the main events in a text. First, remind children of what ‘powerful predictors’ do. Warm up by making predictions about the front and back cover of the story. Also find out about the real Matthew Henson. Shared reading/questioning as a class of the first 5 pages of chapter 1. Children continue the chapter with their reading partner. Summarise the events of the chapter by cutting up and sorting the strips of paper. Finally, make a prediction about the next chapter. Lesson 2 To read with increasing fluency. To make inferences about a character, supported by evidence from the text. Teacher to model reading with accuracy, with expression and at an appropriate pace. Remind children what inference is. Children to look for evidence to support a statement about a character’s personality in chapter 2. Then, make inferences about a character’s feelings. Lesson 3 In pairs, read Chapter 6. Then select 3 words from the cards on the sheet to describe life aboard the ship. Children to justify their answers with evidence from the text. If time allows, children to choose their own creative activity, i.e. letter writing, role play or an artist’s sketch. At the end of the lesson, point children in the direction of other real-life adventure stories.

Reading journal activities worksheet Repeat tasks or encourage children to colour in each task as it is completed. Stick in the front of a child’s reading journal exercise book. Upper KS2 Example tasks: Design and draw your own front cover for a book you are reading. Write 5 interview questions for the author of your book or for a character in the story. Make a list of words from a text that you would like to learn and/or use in your own writing. Write a diary entry for one of the characters in the story. Write a blurb for your story. Don’t give too many details away!

3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on an extract from the Blue Peter book award winner, ‘Podkin One-Ear’ by Kieran Larwood. Whole class reading, paired reading, pre-teaching vocabulary Reading Skills foci: visualise, infer, question 31-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 2 x printable PDF activities. Extract not included. Suitable for ages 9+

based on Chapter 1, ‘Planet Omar’, by Zanib Mian World Book Day whole class reading comprehension lesson Years 4 & 5 Whole book recommended 8+ 9 page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint delving deeper into the text, exploring the main characters and thinking about how their personality and relationship will affect their upcoming journey.  Includes an inference activity and a fun task creating word illustration. Extract not included but available on the World Book Day website. Book is currently £1 as part of World Book Day 2021. Offer your children the opportunity to read diverse, inspirational books as part of the Planet Omar series.

Get a snapshot of what books your children are enjoying. Space for children to draw a cover design and explain why they enjoyed three recent books.

Design a bookmark activity sheet for your favourite book. Free. KS2.

KS2 Refugee Week Assembly 2021 PowerPoint, age 7+ 14th -20th June Introduce year’s theme is ‘we cannot walk alone’. PowerPoint supporting discussion on and teaching of: What is a refugee? What is an asylum seeker? If you had to leave home with 1 small bag, what would you take with you? The Refugee Week 2021 theme, ‘we cannot walk alone’ an introduction to 3 award-winning KS2 appropriate texts: ‘The Island’ by Francesca Sanna ‘Oranges in No Man’s Land’ by Elizabeth Laird ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ by Onjali Rauf Supporting whole class guided reading resources for ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ by Onjali Rauf looking at the main character Ahmed’s journey to the UK also available.

3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on Viking Voyagers by Jack Tite. Vocabulary, whole class reading, paired reading Reading Skills foci: retrieve, infer, summarise 24-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 3 x printable PDF activities Extract not included. Suitable for age 7+ Available for £3 on our website

3 KS2 whole class reading lessons based on the introduction and dipping into the book at chapter 16 ‘The Boy who Grew Dragons’, by Andy Shepherd Vocabulary, whole class reading, paired reading Reading Skills foci: predict, infer, clarify and connect (compare to other stories about dragons) 28-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 3 x printable PDF activities Extract included Recommended for age 7+ Free download when you sign up at My Teaching Hive.

3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on 3 poems from ‘Werewolf Club Rules’ by Joseph Coelho. Extracts included. Whole class reading, paired reading, pre-teaching vocabulary Reading Skills foci: feature’splore, summarise, word’splore, infer, clarify 37-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 4 x printable PDF activities. Suitable for ages 7+ Lesson 1 – feature’splore, summarise pages 8-9, ‘Hamster! Hamster!’ Opportunity to write their own poem Lesson 2 – word’splore Pages 86-89, ‘If all the world were paper’ Opportunity to write their own poem Lesson 3 – infer, clarify Pages 13-15, ‘Miss Flotsam’ Available for £3 on our website.

4 whole class guided reading comprehension lessons based on chapter one of ‘A Dangerous Game’ by Malorie Blackman. 34-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 1 x printable PDF activity (other activities featured on the PowerPoint slides) Extract included. Pre-teach vocabulary, about the author, whole class reading, paired reading Reading Skills foci: predict, infer **Lesson 1 ** To use clues in a text to predict what might happen next. To recall any similarities or differences between books by the same author. Lesson 2 - 4 To make inferences about a character. To support your inferences with evidence from a text. Suitable for age 7+ Recommended for Year 3 and 4. Story Synopsis Although Sam has a long-term illness, all he wants is the chance to lead a normal life. So he is thrilled when he finally gets his mum and dad to let him go on the school trip to the Scottish Highlands. Sam’s desperate for an adventure and wants to prove to everyone that he’s just as strong as his friends. But when some of the boys from his class take a reckless risk in order to win a challenge, the trip turns out to be more dangerous than Sam could have imagined. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers.

Book review template. Free. KS2. Space for star rating, an illustration, short synopsis and review. More free resources on our website. What should I include in a book review? Provide a summary of the most important events and characters, but be careful not to give too much away! Let the reader know what genre the book would fall under. It could be more than one. Opportunities to hit National Curriculum objectives. Give your opinion on the story and remember to explain your viewpoint. Recommend the story to a particular audience. Is it for thrill-seekers? Lovers of history? Is it a page turning mystery for budding detectives? Mention similar books that might mean somebody would like this one too. Draw an illustration to show a character, setting, important object or even your own front cover design. Would make a nice display for children to share their favourite books.

3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on Chapter 1 and the first letter in Chapter 2 of ‘Daddy Long-Legs’ by Jean Webster. About the author and the book, vocabulary, whole class reading, paired reading Reading Skills foci: imitating the writer’s style, summarise, retrieve, infer and clarify 42-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 1 x printable PDF activities. Extract included. Suitable for ages 10+

5 KS2 reading comprehension whole class lessons Based on the prologue and chapter one of ‘The House with Chicken Legs’ by Sophie Anderson. Vocabulary, whole class reading, paired reading, making connections Reading Skills foci: clarify, infer and connect. 40-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 2 x printable PDFs Extract included. Suitable for ages 9+ Available on our website for £3 or as part of our school subscription.

3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on the picture book ‘House Held Up By Trees’ by Ted Kooser Whole class reading, discussion cards, exploring themes. Reading Skills foci: predict, discuss, connect (exploring themes in the story 21-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 2 x PDF downloadable activities. Picture book comprehension Extract not included. Recommended for age 7+ Lesson 1 Firstly pre-teach vocabulary. Children then participate in a discussion about the text considering key question cards. Finally, ask the children to reflect on what kind of story it is and what it makes them think about. Lesson 2 Encourage the children to make wider connections with the the book, exploring the main ideas, topics and issues raised. Children then sort cards they think best represents the key themes in the book in order of importance. If they had to pick just one card, which would they choose? Lesson 2 Children consider what inspired the author to write this story. Then children reflect on their own lives and places which are important to them. Finally, the children explore the work of the award-winning illustrator Jon Klassen as inspiration for their own artwork.

FREE Get to know your pupils and find out about their reading habits. How many sustained the habit of reading regularly this summer? How often did they read? What different genres and authors are they reading? How do they feel about reading? Did they get the chance to visit a library or a bookshop? Where is their favourite place to read? Use our free ‘Summer Reading Habits’ worksheet to find out! SPace is also provided for children to design three front covers for their favourite recent reads to help you gain a picture as to what their reading preferences are. Why not blow it up to A3 and keep them in a class folder for sharing?

Based on an extract from chapter 5 of ‘Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow’ by Benjamin Dean. Year 5 & 6 Book recommended age 9+ 10-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint 1 lesson 2 x PDF activities Clarify word meanings Making inferences about characters based on their actions Extract included WINNER OF THE DIVERSE BOOK AWARDS 2022 My name’s Archie Albright, and I know two things for certain: My mum and dad kind of hate each other, and they’re not doing a great job of pretending that they don’t anymore. They’re both keeping a secret from me, but I can’t figure out what. Available for £2 on our website. My Teaching Hive.

Years 4, 5 & 6 Book recommended age 7+ 30-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint 3 lessons 4 x PDF activities exploring the poet’s word choices, discussing understanding of a poem, exploring figurative language, prediction, sharing personal responses to a poem. Extract included. Available on our website for £3 or as part of our school subscription.

3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on Aaron Becker, ‘A Stone for Sascha’ . About the author, whole class reading, group discussion Reading Skills foci: predict, infer, retrieve, question, group discussion, exploring themes 23-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 4 x printable PDF activities Extract not included. Suitable for age 9+ Available on our website for £3 or as part of our school subscription.