Creative Openings
Promoting creativity in learning and teaching.
Free Resources - for home and school use
Card sorts
This is a deceptively simple technique that can be used to encourage collaborative talking and thinking - they can be used as starters and stimulators - refreshers and revisions - teachers and parents can use the ideas to create their own card packs to suit the learners.
The downloaded sheets can be laminated and cut up to create sets of cards for classroom use.
Geography Links KS3
Highly popular card set exploring the British Isles.
Slavery and Freedom
Helps learners discuss and appreciate the concepts of freedom and slavery.
WordPlay KS2-3
Fun with words starter activity.
WordPlay GCSE English
Enables understanding to develop of the metalanguage of GCSE, can be used effectively as an English revision resource.
WordPlay GCSE (Romeo & Juliet)
This selection of cards has been geared towards developing the level of understanding of text, plot, character and themes necessary to achieve good grades in the Shakespeare section of GCSE English Literature.
free download
Material supporting work on recent novels:
The Holes Resource Book
free download
The Millions Ideas Book
(Revised and updated version will be available soon). Can be purchased from
Good talking - good learning
The essence of good learning is good talking those exploratory
discussions that go on between learners as they tackle a problem together.
History Links and Geography Links
These packs are one of the simplest and most economical ways of generating good learner to learner talk.
The discussion comes from the task (which can be devised by the teacher or the learners themselves) which will involve sorting the cards in different ways - making links (some obvious, some more imaginative) between statements or ideas.
The cards can then be placed on the desk so that everyone can see the results of the group's deliberations.
KS 2-3 WordPlay
This pack has been devised to provide a quick starter. The cards provide a fun way of revising and refreshing knowledge about the metalanguage of the English lesson.
Learners enjoy practising their knowledge of the various terms used in English from 'onomatopoeia' to autobiography' from 'assonance' to 'syllables' and much more.
New Resource for KS 2 and KS3
Download Thinking Aloud pdf here, or contact me for the PowerPoint. This resource is free to download.
This teaching resource takes themes and ideas from the novel The Savage written by David Almond, illustrated by Dave McKean.
The material guides, supports and promotes creative thinking approaches to learning.
It can used with upper KS2 and KS3 classes.
Originally designed to provide a vehicle for some of the SEAL themes it also helps to explore other literary themes.
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