• Post your lesson ideas under the relevant section (Maths or English).

• Use the subject to note the objective of your session

• Add details in the body.

• Comment on others’ posts to discuss or share feedback!

We are then going to think about similes/metaphors/ personification/ alliteration/ onomatopoeia to describe the different things we've added.

For example:

• Simile: The fairy wings shimmered like rainbows trapped in glass.

• Metaphor: The dragon is a volcano waiting to roar.

• Personification: The clouds inside the jar sighed softly, sleepy and slow.

• Alliteration: Fierce fairies fluttered fearlessly.

• Onomatopoeia: Tinkle! went the fairy dust as it fell like snow.

If time allows, we can then make them pretty by adding glitter/ food colouring/ putting labels on them.

Enjoy!

For face to face- the detective image would be printed out or clues would be scattered around the room x

Give each child a cauldron sheet (you can draw or print one).

Prepare ingredient cards with 4-digit numbers (e.g. “Eye of Newt – 3,246”, “Spider Legs – 1,572”).

Pupils draw two or more cards and add the values to find their potion’s total power.

You can make it competitive: “Whose potion has the highest total?”

Variation: Include “poison cards” (subtract instead of add).

I also adapted this task to teach percentages:

Give each pupil a “cauldron sheet.”

Each cauldron starts with a base potion value, e.g. 1,000 potion points.

Prepare ingredient cards with names and percentage effects, such as:

o Eye of Newt – adds 25% of your base potion

o Dragon Scales – adds 40% of your base potion

o Spider Legs – adds 15% of your base potion

o Unicorn Hair – adds 10% of your base potion

o Poison Frog Slime – subtracts 20% of your base potion

How to mix:

Pupils draw two or more ingredient cards and must:

o Calculate the percentage of their base value each ingredient represents.

o Add or subtract to find their final potion power.

Example:

Base = 1,000 potion points

Ingredients: +25%, +15%, −20%

→ Potion Power = 1,000 + 250 + 150 − 200 = 1,200 points

Make it competitive:

o “Whose potion has the strongest power?” (highest total)

Give students cards with different adverbial phrases (examples below).

Ask them to sort into "Time", "Place", and "Manner (how)".

Examples:

• Before sunrise

• In the pumpkin patch

• With great care

• As the wind howled

• Through the crunchy leaves

• On a foggy morning

• Like a whisper

  
  

➡️ Let students stick them onto a whiteboard/chart in categories. Then discuss how they work at the start of a sentence.

✏️ "Build-a-Sentence Challenge"

Give them some base sentences and let them choose a fronted adverbial to add. Example base sentences:

• "The fox darted between the trees."

• "Children played in the park."

• "Leaves danced in the wind."

Task:
Students pick a fronted adverbial and say or write the full sentence with a comma.

On a misty morning, the fox darted between the trees.

We used macaroni as commas which was great fun!

Make this into a game: Let them take turns rolling a dice to choose a category (1–2 = time, 3–4 = place, 5–6 = manner) and build a sentence using that type of fronted adverbial.

Each child was given a random number (for example, 53,650). Their task was to decide which 10,000 interval their number would round to — so 53,650 would round down to 50,000.

Two children worked on the rollercoaster itself, placing or writing their numbers on the track at the correct rounded value. The other two children completed rounding loop cards, practising rounding to different place values (tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.).

Afterwards, the groups switched roles — the loop card pair moved to the rollercoaster, and the rollercoaster pair checked the first group’s answers for mistakes before having their own go.

It was a fun, hands-on way to practise rounding large numbers and to reinforce estimation skills through teamwork and checking each other’s work.

The children chose autumn leaves with verbs written on them and created sentences in different tenses, such as:

• The wind was blowing the golden leaves across the park (past progressive)

• The children are jumping into crunchy piles of leaves (present progressive)

• The leaves had fallen before we went on our walk (past perfect)

• The trees have turned orange and red already (present perfect)

They then painted their own leaves to display alongside their sentences — a creative touch they absolutely loved! We also recapped our awareness of hyphenated adjectives to up-level our description of colour.

Since this concept was still new, some children counted all the windows, while others used skip counting to find the total more efficiently.

After creating our buildings, we looked at some pre-made array city cards, working out which times table each one showed. When we flipped them over, the multiplication question was written on the back so we could check our answers.

It was a really lovely, hands-on session that made multiplication visual and creative — and I’ve seen a fun version of this done with Cheerios too! 🌆

Inspiration from @misshallaltutoring.

We began by recapping the method together, then moved through three levels of challenge:

• Level 1: 3-digit numbers with no exchanging

• Level 2: 3-digit numbers with one exchange

• Level 3: 4-digit numbers with two or more exchanges

Each question had a creature at the top (e.g. rats, worms, snakes, lizards, spiders, crickets). When children answered correctly, they could add that creature into the cauldron — which was filled with water, food colouring, and fairy liquid to create a bubbling potion!

The children loved seeing their potion come to life as they worked through each level. It was a brilliant way to build fluency, stretch reasoning, and spot misconceptions.

We finished with some word problems to apply their skills in context — a magical end to a fantastic session! 🪄✨

• Secret agent Place Value mat on floor (Th, H, T, 0)

• Give each child a number. “digit badge”

• Call out “secret code” number (4d) –

“The agents” (children) must

stand in the right order.

• Each time they succeed –

“code accepted, access granted”

.

MISSION 2 – THE SAFE CRACKER HUNT

• Hide numbers. Give children a 4d number (a vault code). Find

numbers and place in the right place on the place value chart. Once

complete they have unlocked the safe!

Main activity (partitioning)

• Partition numbers to 1000 (recap) – part whole model on whiteboard.

Model ex 4231 = 4000 + 200 + 30 + 1 (draw part whole)

MISSION 3 – DECODE THE MESSAGE

• Partition numbers to 10,000 – focus.

Model 4285 = 4000 + 200 + 80 = 5. (show using counters)

• Hide 4d numbers around the room. Children find the numbers and then

go back to the table and build them using dienes or counters (spy tools)

Once partitioned they report back. “Code 6305 cracked. It’s 6000 + 300

+5”

• Give children part whole model questions to do in books

Challenge: MISSION 4 – DISARM THE LASER

Whiteboards (as quick as possible before laser timer goes off!)

3245 = 3000 + 200 = 40 = 5

I found an actual laser countdown on YouTube which they loved!

Also adapted this to 3 digit numbers.

The children made their own spy names and added them to a badge at the beginning of the lesson (resource on Twinkl).

We then turned the lesson into an interview activity using a blow-up microphone — the learner pretended to be Barnum Brown while I acted as the reporter. He answered questions like, “What were you feeling when you discovered those first few fossils?” and I quickly jotted down his responses.

Next, we worked on adding accurate punctuation to his speech — making sure the inverted commas, commas, and punctuation marks were in the right places.

To finish, we wrote the quotations into a tea-stained newspaper template and added drawings of dinosaurs and fossils to complete the page. He absolutely loved it — a creative, hands-on way to make grammar meaningful and memorable! 🦕🗞️

We began by discussing how many millilitres are in a litre, then used matching cards from Twinkl to practise reading scales and matching ml to l (and vice versa).

Next, we moved on to our potion-making setup! Using cups filled with different coloured water, 5ml pipettes, measuring jugs, and markable measuring cylinders (from Amazon), the children created their own colourful potions. They carefully measured and recorded the amounts they used in both ml and l, then worked out the total volume of their mixtures.

We compared our potions to see whose held more or less and discussed how we knew. To finish, the children completed a conversion and ordering challenge, where they had to convert all capacities into the same unit before ordering them from smallest to largest.

It was a fantastic, creative session that built confidence with measurement, estimation, and conversions — and quickly became one of my favourites! ✨

Once they had completed each sentence they were given a puzzle piece. The sentences and puzzle were linked to Moana.

Once the puzzle had been completed, we created a spider diagram about what we would be able to see, hear, feel etc if we were on the beach. We have been looking at the use of expanded noun phrases so we then wrote a setting description about the image shown on the completed puzzle.

We then moved on to plural possession, discussing how the apostrophe changes position when there is more than one owner. Using pictures showing one animal versus several, the child practised identifying where the apostrophe should go depending on whether the noun was singular or plural.

To consolidate learning, we played a giant noughts and crosses game focusing on contractions (e.g. can’t, didn’t, she’s). Each correct answer allowed the child to place their mark on the board.

As a motivational element, for every completed task the child added a new feature to their pig puppet (bought on Amazon), gradually building their own version of Wilbur.

Next, we practised matching 12-hour and 24-hour times, discussing how to convert between the two formats.

The main task centred around calculating time intervals. The child was given a timetable of Stitch’s day, showing different activities at specific times. They then selected balloons labelled with two activities and worked out how much time had passed between them. To support this, they used a large roll of wallpaper to draw out number lines, bridging across hours where needed to visualise the jumps.

Each correct calculation earned them the chance to colour in part of a fuel gauge, linked to the story context: Stitch’s spacecraft had run out of fuel, and each correct time interval helped refill it so he could blast off again!

The children had to collect the correct amount of ingredients and add it to the cauldron before writing the corresponding addition statement.

I wrote our sounds we were learning that week on the blocks (oo,oo,ai,ee,igh,oa) and they moved their Minecraft pieces around and had to read the sound on the block as well as a word containing that sound.

For some of the other blocks, they had different tasks covering objectives such as number bonds to 10, counting in 10s and writing words containing our new sounds.

They recieved blocks as prizes to free the Minecraft characters. This could be adapted for new objectives/age groups.

-Discuss how ‘said’ is dead as it is boring and how there are so many exciting synonyms we can use

-They had to swap a said with one of those synonyms they knew (they had to explain to me how it could be used before replacing it)

-Headband game where I chose a synonym for each of them and we took it in turns to offer a an example sentence where it could be used

-We then wrote some of the new, unfamiliar synonyms on our tombstones with a brief description of how it could be used

-We then looked at speech sandwiches to understand the order of the different components

-We finished by writing speech sentences about film/book/real people that we liked (ideas from the parents) with the different parts and our new synonyms

Worked so well and they loved it!

Used a large physical number line to address common misconceptions (e.g. why –15 is smaller than –3). Reinforced learning through a buzzer game identifying the smallest number and an animal temperature challenge, where pupils placed animals on the number line and justified choices using prior knowledge.

Introduced temperature change problems (drops and increases), encouraging mental strategies before using the number line as support. Focused heavily on direction and movement relative to zero.

Used a Minecraft-themed setup to boost engagement. Began with whole-group modelling, reinforcing that fractions must have the same denominator before being added or subtracted. Modelled the process step by step, including multiplying both denominators. Method was largely secure, with only a small reminder needed around changing both denominators.

Main task involved selecting two fraction cards, calculating the sum or difference, and then sorting the answer into categories: less than ½, greater than ½, or more than 1 whole. This added a strong reasoning element, requiring pupils to simplify, find equivalents, or convert to mixed numbers.

Some initial support was needed when comparing fractions to ½, but once modelled, confidence improved quickly. Teamwork was strong throughout, with good peer support and clear mathematical explanations shared between pupils.

At the end of each round, the children voted on who they thought the traitor was and explained their reasoning before the reveal. We played multiple rounds so the traitor changed each time, which kept everyone on their toes. It worked brilliantly because the traitor couldn’t simply get everything wrong without giving themselves away—so they had to think strategically. The level of engagement was unreal…

Session Concept

Students run a hot chocolate café where they must correctly prepare individual customer orders. Each order includes:

• A drink amount given in litres, which must be converted to millilitres

• A cup with a maximum capacity (either 200 ml or 400 ml)

• A marshmallow calculation involving fractions, decimals, or percentages

Students only get to “serve” the order if all maths is correct.

How the Session Works

1. Setup (5 minutes)

• Introduce the café scenario and explain cup sizes:
  

  • Small cups: 200 ml max

  • Large cups: 400 ml max

• 
  

• Recap key skills:
  

  • 1 litre = 1000 ml

  • How to find fractions/percentages of an amount

• 
  

2. Main Activity (30–40 minutes)

• Each student receives an individual order card with:
  

  • A drink amount in litres

  • A marshmallow problem (e.g. ½ of ¾ of 16)

• 
  

• Students must:
  

  • Convert litres to millilitres

  • Check the drink fits the cup

  • Calculate the number of marshmallows

  • Explain or justify their thinking

• 
  

Optional:

• Tutor checks answers before the “drink” is served

• Incorrect orders must be fixed before proceeding

SO much fun!

In a previous session, have students work in small groups to create "Definition Posters" for each type of figurative language.

In the following session introduced a list o footballers (or any themed characters) and identify their "defining trait."

• The Discussion: "What is ___ known for?" "What about Lionel Messi?"

Give students the "Character Cards". Their task is to identify the figurative language they have used in their speech bubble.

Extension options:

• Example: "Write a metaphor for a goalkeeper who never lets a ball past."

  • Student Result: "The keeper was a brick wall at the mouth of the goal."

• Example: "Use hyperbole to describe a striker’s shot."

  • Student Result: "His kick was so powerful it broke the sound barrier."

This can be adapted to other themes too.

lollipop sticks) to lay out Roman Numeral

equations.

Children to identify the roman numerals using the matchsticks - some can be set up for them to decode.

I did this as a 'Traitor' themed task - but it doesn't need to be.

Challenge Task: You must

move only ONE matchstick to fix the

equation and make it true.

Task 1: The Basic Deception

The Traitor wrote: VI = V - I

● Move 1 matchstick to make the

equation correct.

● Solution: Move the I from the left

to the right to make V = VI - I (5

= 6 - 1) or move the minus vertical

bar to make it a plus: VI = V + I.

Task 2: The Double Cross

The Traitor wrote: IX = V - IV

● Move 1 matchstick to make it true.

● Solution: Take one match from the X

to turn it into a V, making it IV =

V - I.

Tricky Number to build:

2. XCIX (99) — Remind them: 100 (C)

What's the longest Roman Numeral you can make?

Then used Top Trump Cards (I used superhero theme but could use any theme) and we had to fill in the abilities using worded problems. For example “Character As Strength is a Prime number which is a factor of 44.” Questions increase in difficulty.

Play a game of Top Trumps at the end!

Familiarised with bar charts/line graphs already made to assess knowledge. Used insect facts as a hook.

Main activity I hid plastic insects around the garden and student had to tally the insects before creating own bar chart. Repeated by looking at insect habitat instead of insect type (flowerbed/plant pot/patio etc). Came up with own questions based on students bar chart.