English

My English Wiki

This is the wiki I produced that includes resources to use if teaching monsters in literacy.





ABC News 4 Kids  []  A news site from US broadcasters ABC that years 7 and 8 can use to study the media. The site presents American and international news in full colour with plenty of animation to keep children interested.

Andersen Fairy Tale  []  Watch and listen to a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. The text appears along with graphics so children can read along with the story. English, French, Italian and Russian versions of the story can be viewed.

BookWorm - Great Books for Kids  []  A child-friendly book review area where key stage 2 and 3 pupils can browse through book reviews and summaries. Why not join book clubs and read interviews with your favourite authors?

Brain Boosters  []  Try the word and letter play section for quick brain-teaser style literacy problems suitable for upper key stage 2 children. Some problems include the answer.

Bunyips  []  Five aboriginal stories are told here - based around the legendary Aboriginal character of the Bunyip. Each could be printed out on one page of A4 for parents to read with their children.

Charles Dickens Gad's Hill Place <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Lots of information about Charles Dickens. Older key stage 2 pupils can find out about the man and his novels along with snippets of Dickensian information.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Coconia by Chris Covins <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> A children's fantasy story that you download into PDF format and print out for free. It tells the story of the peaceful tribes of Coconia, who are attacked and forced to draw upon their strength and ingenuity to survive.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Do the Right Thing <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What’s a simile, metaphor or cliché? This brightly animated site tests knowledge of sayings at three levels of difficulty. Create your own catchphrase fridge magnet. A fun way to improve children’s knowledge of English.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">English Online <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Oodles of great ideas for writing stories. Young writers can start their own or contribute to an ongoing tale. Students up to the age of 17 can submit poetry too. Let your imagination run wild.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fake Out! <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> What on earth does that word mean? If you think you've got what it takes then try this fun key stage 2 or 3 activity and test your knowledge of vocabulary. Suggest outlandish definitions for next week's word.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fun School <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Discover a wealth of educational and fun games for children of all ages to play online. Some English related games are 'Gator's Smash 'Em', 'Begins With' and 'Anagram Sleuth'.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Giggle Poetry <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This comical collection of poetry for kids covers numerous topics including a section devoted to school. Children can review some brand new poems. Fun for key stage 2 English students.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Guide to Grammar and Writing <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Mystified by sentence fragments? Stunned by plurals and possessives? Students will benefit from a comprehensive and authoritative list of definitions of the workings of English grammar.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Homework High <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|http://www.homeworkhigh.co.uk] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Aagh! You're stuck with your homework - where can you turn to? You can email a teacher at this Channel 4 site, or browse the problems that other students your age have come across. You're not alone!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Internet Anagram Server <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Enjoy playing with words at this fun anagram site. Did you know that parliament is an anagram of partial men? Find anagrams for your name or favourite phrase.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kid Crosswords and Other Puzzles <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Solve crosswords and learn new words with these fun quizzes for key stage 2 pupils. Either print them out or play online. If you like Roald Dahl, you'll love the 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' crossword.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">KidsBookshelf <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> KidsBookshelf aims to encourage children of all ages to read more widely. There are suggested books for holiday reading, guidelines for parents and teachers and fun activities such as poetry, story writing and drawing contests.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ladybird <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|www.ladybird.co.uk] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This colourful site offers stories, games and activities to be enjoyed by children with their parents or teachers. Notes are provided for both parents and teachers on how to use the site. The pages are printable.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maritime Museum Games and Quizzes <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Do you have good sea legs or are you a land-lubber? Try the explorers wordsearch to find nautical words. Other activities include matching up the names of famous pirates.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mighty Book <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Children will love practising their reading and listening skills here. The entertaining ‘TV style’ animated stories are read aloud, with words highlighted on screen. Go to the interactive library and select your age group to find books at the relevant level.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mrs Mad <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> There are plenty of good book ideas here for those stuck for ideas. Search by age or interest - from adventure to science fiction. The book reviews are written by children, and there’s a ‘Top 50’.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Native American Bedtime-Story Collection <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Parents and their key stage 1 children will enjoy reading these original tales together. Collated from a variety of tribes the stories are inspired by Native American folklore. Each simple story also has a brief explanation, duration and age range.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ogden Nash <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> A collection of Ogden Nash's amusing poetry for key stage 2 children. The poems range from 'Further Reflections on Parsley' to 'The Tale of Custard the Dragon'. Many of the poems have an animal theme.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oxford Primary Funzone <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Chip the astronaut is the guide in this fun zone for years 1 and 2. There is an alphabetical dot-to-dot and dictionary colouring book for reading skills, a simple database and a money game.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Puffin House <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Navigate around this colourful house to find book reviews, jokes, games, puzzles and biographies, including tips on writing from children's authors. With stimulating activity sheets, poems to finish and a teacher's section, this offers fun suggestions for primary pupils.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Puzzlemaker <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Build your own word or number puzzles here. Pupils can download the puzzles and work on them from the screen or on paper. Why not prepare a puzzle for your parents or friends?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reading Matters <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Written by a parent, this is an accessible way for students in key stages 2 to 4 to find fiction books to read. Users can find a book tailored to their tastes with the 'Bookchooser'.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Roget's Thesaurus <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Words are our precision tools and this site enables you to find just the right one. As well as being a good reference site, it is quite fun to browse through and discover words you never knew existed.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Santa's Secret Village <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Why not practice your writing and email your present wish list to Santa this year? Fun for key stage 1 students who can also read books here about the goings on in Santa's village.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Seussville <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Green eggs and ham, anyone? This fun site contains games and competition trivia based on the familiar characters from Dr Seuss books. It is a useful literacy resource for developing phonics and rhyming cues with key stage 1 children.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shakespeare <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Simplified prose versions of six of Shakespeare's plays - great for introducing children to his work. There are RealAudio additions to add to the experience as well as a separate classroom version to facilitate group reading.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Stories from the Web <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Do you like reading books and writing stories? This bright, clear website for key stage 2 students has author interviews, stories and book reviews. Readers are encouraged to submit their literary opinions.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Story Starts <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Stuck for a story start? Find lots of ideas on this school site. The suggestions, which use drop-down menus, are aimed at key stages 1 and 2. Choose from an adventure, animal or many other sorts of stories.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">StoryPlus <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Parents can download five free stories to read with their children. The stories have pictures and are printable - good for bedtime stories.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Teach Me ABCs <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Select 'Begins with' for a visually appealing interactive vocabulary game for young children, with brightly coloured pictures to illustrate each letter. Find the items in the picture which begin with different named letters.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The Child Literacy Centre <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Reading aloud, reading with children and learning letter sounds - they all help children learn to read. Of special value to parents of key stage 1 children, this site explains how to encourage children's English skills.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Grammar Gorillas <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Correctly spot the verb, noun or adjective and the grammar gorilla wins a banana. This site for key stage 1 students is a game that tests knowledge of grammar terms and improves overall literacy. Beginners and advanced stages available.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Word Pool <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This children's book site provides book reviews, author profiles, reviews of numeracy resources, ideas for reluctant readers and information on writing for children. A good source of literacy information for parents.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Theodore the Tugboat Online Activity Centre <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This site offers large-text, well-illustrated interactive stories, which parents can read with their key stage 1 children. The user can alter the story by choosing an alternative at the end of each page.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Treasure Island - Quiz <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Based on Stevenson's 'Treasure Island', this site tests comprehension with a multiple-choice quiz about the novel and general questions about pirates. Children are given a 'Pirate' rating based on scores.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What If You Had 60 Seconds to Tell a Story? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Movie writers pitch their stories using short versions. Watch the short cartoon then try it yourself at this fun site that teaches how to construct a story.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Young Writer <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Ever wonder what makes writers tick? Here young interviewers get the chance to interview a famous author - writers such as Philip Pullman, Allan Ahlberg and Grace Nichols reveal their secrets.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Zelo Nursery Rhymes <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Bright, bold colours will endear this collection of nursery rhymes and children's song lyrics to reception and key stage 1 pupils. Parents can read them with their children. The site is American.



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 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">It gives them a potential audience of thousands for their work.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">It's great for developing literacy skills (writing scripts, setting up interviews etc), allows children to develop and practise their speaking and listening skills, and they also learn some amazing ICT skills.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Podcasts can be interactive, and the audience can be invited to send their comments, giving valuable feedback to the children about their work.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">I've found that making a podcast is also great for developing teamwork skills. The children always work together really well, as they're always keen to make a great show.