Children will research the geography of the Yucatan Peninsula faced by the Conquistadors, before exploring sources to learn about the achievements of the Mayan Civilisation. They will then create a digital presentation to show off what they’ve learned. Children will use chronology to compare how their chosen focus has changed over time (before, during, after contact with the Conquistadors). This pack includes lesson plans, rubrics, and editable rubrics to support with the learning process. Lessons and objectives are aligned with the objectives of the 2014 National Curriculum of England, but ties are made to the CCSS where appropriate. A digital file for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available with download.

In this resource, children will participate in activities as they learn about the circulatory system and the heart in a hands-on and meaningful way before building an anatomical heart. In the past, I have taught these sessions in a carousel over several days, but they could be taught whole-class as well. A digital file for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available with download.

Children will begin by playing different video games online to evaluate what makes them fun and engaging for their audience. They will then analyse the mechanics of the games and then plan a game of their own remixing a game on Scratch based on their criteria. Children will then use conditionals, operators, and variables on Scratch to make their own game. Lesson plans, editable rubrics, and classroom examples from Year 6 are provided, as well as links to additional support on the Scratch website. A digital copy of the file is available for editing and posting on Google Classroom and Seesaw provided with download.

Children will write a narrative text about being pulled inside of a video game. Scaffolds and planning checklists are provided to support children in their writing. Writing objectives from Year 6 are used, pulling from the 2014 National Curriculum of England and the Interim Framework. A digital copy of the file is available for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw by following the link provided with download.

Children will consider video game controller design before discussing what makes a controller effective. Children will then write an informative text about how a MakeyMakey works, including what they can be used for and what makes them effective. Scaffolds and planning checklists are provided to support children in their writing. Objectives from Year 6 are used, pulled from the 2014 National Curriculum of England and the Interim Framework. Lesson plans, editable rubrics and classroom examples are included. A digital copy of the file for editing and sharing on digital platforms is available with download. ----------- You might also like: Working Scientifically with MakeyMakey in Years 3 & 4 Working Scientifically with MakeyMakey in Years 5 & 6

*Update with new graphics Children study an object in detail using tones and shades before using the same skills on a sketch of their eye with detail. The same planning can be used with eyes of creatures or animals (we did dragons) instead of human eyes, which is also very effective. A digital copy of the pack is available for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw by following the link provided with download.

In this resource, children will diagnose the symptoms of a Conquistador who has scurvy through research of his symptoms. Once this is established, they will do a blind taste test of foods high in Vitamin C, and will create a menu of items that Conquistadors can eat to stave off scurvy on their trip to the New World. This pack includes lesson plans, rubrics, and editable rubrics to support with the learning process. Lessons and objectives are aligned with objectives from the 2014 National Curriculum of England. A digital file for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available by following the link provided with download.

Children will look at how video game controllers have changed over time, including controllers from Nintendo and Playstation. After plotting changes on a timeline, children will consider what makes the designs effective before designing their own to use and evaluate. In the past, I have used this learning outcome alongside an explanation text and video game design on Scratch (both also available in my shop). A digital copy of the file is available for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw with download.

This BUNDLE brings together different SIX learning outcomes from the shop related to video games and video game controllers: * DESIGN A VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER USING MAKEYMAKEY * WRITING AN INFORMATION TEXT ABOUT MAKEYMAKEY * EXPLANATION TEXT ABOUT CHANGES IN VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS * DESIGN YOUR OWN VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS * DESIGN YOUR OWN VIDEO GAME ON SCRATCH * NARRATIVE WRITING ABOUT VIDEO GAMES The download is a zip file of the different individual packs, each with digital files for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw.

*Updated with new graphics I have used this project with different classes and in different ways. With more able cohorts, the pitch can be adjusted with different parameters on the designs (eg: no adhesives, instead researching different ways to attach boards with latches and folds vs. using tape and glue guns; setting rules for the height of the walls of the maze to use measurement in a meaningful way; only allowing a certain length of board that needs to be cut, etc). Our Year groups used this as an alternative to making periscopes, as it reinforces the same Science objectives about light and the way it travels. In my experience, the children have enjoyed this project more because they’re more in control of the design. A digital copy of the file for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available by following the link provided with download.

*Updated with new graphics Children will participate in a science investigation about pupil dilation before doing a study of how light affects how we see. Children will write an explanation text about how the eye works, including diagrams, with scaffolds provided. This pack can be used alongside the pack for drawing an eye, which has an art focus as opposed to an English focus. A digital copy of the pack is available for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw by following the link provided with download.

*Updated with new graphics To introduce this Learning Outcome, we took the children outside with different materials to make shadow art. Some were given challenges, and some were left to explore. Children are then exposed to how shadow is moved to create fear in horror films before being challenged to design a movie trailer of their own. We used iMovie’s Trailer option, but the same project could be done with a variety of different software options. At the end, we invited parents in to school and served popcorn as we all watched the horror trailers made by the children in the year group. A digital copy of the outcome for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available by following the link provided with download.

This 69 page resource is designed to be used during Reading Workshop and is to be used with The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable Fib by Adam Shaughnessy. ABOUT THE NOVEL: “What is the Unbelievable FIB?” That’s the question eleven-year-old Prudence Potts discovers on a baffling card no one else in Middleton--except ABE, a new kid at school with a knack for solving riddles--seems to see. Then a mysterious man asks for ABE and Pru’s help investigating mythical beings infiltrating the town, and that’s just the first of many things Pru finds hard to believe. Soon Pru and ABE discover another world beneath their quiet town, where Viking gods lurk just out of sight. And when the pair find themselves locked in a battle against a dangerously clever enemy, they must race to secure the Eye of Odin, source of all knowledge--and the key to stopping a war that could destroy both human and immortal realms. ABOUT THE RESOURCE: Designed in alignment with the 2014 National Curriculum of England’s reading objectives for Year 6, the pack includes: Chapter Summaries, Comprehension Questions, Digging Deeper Opportunities (includes character studies and plot studies), Creative Writing Tasks, and Non-Fiction Tasks related to content of the novel (Thor, Loki, Odin, runes, Vikings). Resource is provided as a PDF but a digital copy of the pack is available for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw available with download. ----------- You might also like: The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable Fib Novel Study + Viking STEAM

This 65 page resource is designed to be used during Reading Workshop and is to be used with The Skeleton Tree by Iain Lawrence. ABOUT THE NOVEL: Less than 48 hours after twelve-year-old Chris casts off on a trip to sail down the Alaskan coast with his uncle, their boat sinks. The only survivors are Chris and a boy named Frank, who hates Chris immediately. Chris and Frank have no radio, no flares, no food. Suddenly, they've got to find a way to forage, fish and scavenge supplies from the shore. Chris likes the company of a curious friendly raven more than he likes the prickly Frank. But the boys have to get along if they want to survive. Because as the days get colder, and the salmon migration ends, survival will take more than sheer force of will. There in the wilderness of Kodiak, they discover a bond they didn't expect, and through it, the compassion and teamwork that might truly be the path to rescue. ABOUT THE RESOURCE: Designed in alignment with the 2014 National Curriculum of England’s reading objectives for Year 6, the pack includes: Chapter Summaries, Comprehension Questions, Digging Deeper Opportunities (includes character studies and plot studies), Creative Writing Tasks, and Non-Fiction Tasks related to content of the novel (tide, Alaska, northern lights, salmon, ravens, Marconi, wolves, Grizzly bears, tsunami, sailing). Resource is provided as a PDF but a digital copy of the pack is available for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw available with download. -------- You might also like: The Skeleton Tree Novel Study with STEM BUNDLE

This resource is meant to be used by children in Key Stage 2 (English objectives pitched to Years 5 and 6) related to the Ancient Kingdom of Benin. Children will first learn about the art that has made the study of the kingdom significant, as well as the removal of the art by the British forces in 1897 when they annexed the kingdom by force. Children will have to think critically about the art and who has rights to it, before writing a persuasive text that either argues that the British Museum should be able to retain the art, or that the government of Nigeria should be able to have the art back. A digital copy of the file for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is provided with download.

This resource is meant to be used by children in Key Stage 2 (English objectives pitched to Years 5 and 6) related to the Ancient Kingdom of Benin. Children will first learn about the art that has made the study of the kingdom significant, as well as the removal of the art by the British forces in 1897 when they annexed the kingdom by force. Children will have to think critically about the art and who has rights to it, before writing a persuasive text that either argues that the British Museum should be able to retain the art, or that the government of Nigeria should be able to have the art back. Sequence of Sessions: - About and location of Ancient Benin - Different examples of art from Ancient Benin - Use timeline to show changes in Benin trading before and after meeting different merchants from Europe - Understand the events of the annexation of the Kingdom of Benin and its art - Use formal language to plan a persuasive writing piece - Incorporate formal language into writing frame for or against returning the art A digital file for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is available by following the link provided with download.

This resource is meant to be used by children in Key Stage 2 (English objectives pitched to Years 5 and 6) to investigate instruments used by traditional societies in West Africa. After listening to music and investigating different instruments used and how they are designed and used, children will design their own thumb piano (mbira) before making it and evaluating it. Alternatively, after researching different instruments from West Africa, children can choose to make a different one instead of a thumb piano. The design, make, and evaluate sheets have been made as generic as possible to allow for this. A digital copy for editing and sharing on Google Classroom and Seesaw is provided with download.

This 35-page resource has been designed to use alongside** Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo**, but can also be done independently of the novel study. Children will research different flora and fauna of an island in the South Pacific before writing an information text about their chosen flora or fauna. The pack includes different graphic organisers, resources for lower ability pupils, as well as lesson plans and rubrics. Lessons and objectives are aligned with objectives from the 2014 National Curriculum of England and has links to the Common Core. Digital copies of the files for editing and sharing on digital platforms are available with download.

This resource has been designed to be done alongside Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo, but can also be done independently of the novel study. Children will design survival inventions to withstand the environment of a remote island after a shipwreck before studying the organisms on the island by creating a field guide. There are also opportunities for narrative and non-fiction writing. Included Outcomes (also sold separately and in paired bundles): Evaluate a survival invention Explanation text of a survival invention Create a field guide for island organisms Information text about an island organism Narrative writing about being stranded **Link also included to digital file for editing and sharing on learning platforms such as Google Classroom and Seesaw.

This resource has been designed to be done alongside Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo, but can also be done independently of the novel study. Children will read about different survival inventions before writing an explanation text about how they work. Alternatively, children can design, make and evaluate their own survival invention before explaining how it works (link to that learning outcome by searching Create a Survival Invention STEAM). What’s Included: - Curriculum Links - Handouts **Link also included to digital file for editing and sharing on learning platforms such as Google Classroom and Seesaw.