Introduction
No Pens Day Wednesday lesson plans have been created by practising mainstream teachers and speech and language therapists. These have then been quality
assured by a specialist speech and language therapist to ensure they are fit for purpose.
Lesson plans
As all schools will be covering different topics and have different ways of planning, the lesson plans provide an example for teachers to adapt and build on,
though they can be used as they are if this fits in with your planning.
Lesson plans aim to follow good practice principles; e.g. they



Identify explicit learning objectives.
Support use of questioning, using Blooms taxonomy, to support learning.
Include plenary sessions that encourage pupils to reflect on their learning.
Some lessons include reflection on how the “no pens” theme of the day has influenced learning. This could be a discussion you could have in any lesson in
order to gather pupils’ views on how an emphasis on talk in the classroom has impacted on their learning and enjoyment of lessons.
Each lesson plan also has some key vocabulary identified, which is listed in the vocabulary section of the lesson plan, although you may wish to add particular
key words of your own too. Vocabulary is key for all pupils, particularly those whose language is not at an age appropriate level or pupils learning English as an
additional language. Teaching vocabulary explicitly as part of a lesson, using tried and tested strategies can make a significant difference to these pupils in
particular. Teachers can have a look at strategies for supporting vocabulary in class in the information for staff section of our website.
A speaking and listening objective has also been identified for each lesson. Some have been taken from guidelines previously made available by QCA, whilst
others have been taken from our Universally Speaking guides (available to download for free from www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/universallyspeaking),
which track language development throughout the primary years.
How do no pens activities support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)?
The aim of No Pens Day Wednesday is to include all children in spoken language activities to support their learning. This includes children who require SEN
support, many of whom will have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).
The SEND Code of Practice, which came into effect in September 2014, emphasises the importance of all teachers playing an important role in identifying and
supporting those who have SEND. By taking part in No Pens Day Wednesday you will be able to access and put in place lots of great ways to build in quality
support for all children’s communication across the school day. This is an important part of removing barriers to learning and engaging in inclusive practice.
You’ll also be able to access information and guidance that can help you better understand how to identify and support children who are struggling.
By placing a focus on spoken language in your setting, you may find that you’re more able to spot those children who are struggling with their speech, language
and communication development. For those children who have already been identified as requiring SEN support, placing a focus on spoken language means
that you are encouraging them to develop their skills in this important area, which is the foundation for so much of their learning.
Lesson plans could also be adapted to link with any objectives that have been set by specialist colleagues, such as a speech and language therapist.
You can find out more about identifying and supporting children with SEND, and in particular those with SLCN in our pack of strategies for every classroom,
which can be found in the information for staff section of our website.
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Lesson Objectives:
To measure and compare lengths using standard units.
Date:
Lesson: Numeracy – Measuring length (standard units)
Speaking and Listening Objectives:
To use talk to organise roles and action.
To actively include and respond to all group members.
Activity
Differentiation:
Vocabulary: Compare, estimate, measure, length, centimetre (cm), metre (m), millimetre (mm)
Starter: Challenge the children to work in groups of 4 to find:
-2 objects in the classroom that are shorter than 1 metre
-2 objects in the classroom that are longer than 1 metre
-1 object that is about 10cm long
Where possible ask the children to bring the objects on to the carpet to discuss and compare
their findings.
Main:
Recap previous lessons on measuring and talk about reasons why accurate measuring is
important for many reasons (e.g. building a house, making a dress etc). Discuss the different
parts of objects that can be measured (e.g. height, width, length) and model this with some
practical measuring – children to participate.
Recap standard units for measuring
Q-How many centimetres in 1 metre?
Q-How many millimetres in 1 centimetre?
Extension Q – How many metres in 1 kilometre?
Lower ability children to have
a metre stick to enable them
to have a concrete
representation of 1metre.
Extend higher ability pupils to
recall how many metres in
1km and give examples of
lengths that would need
measuring in kilometres.
Resources
Metre sticks
Metre sticks
Rulers
Lower ability pupils to be
seated near a TA
Talk about the importance of accurate measuring and model how to ensure the rulers/metre
sticks are used correctly by always starting the measuring at 0cm.
Explain that today the children will be working in pairs and supporting each other to complete
a challenge. What will help us to work well as part of a pair?
Think/Pair/Share - Children to share their ideas and teacher to list them on the board (e.g.
take turns, listen to each other, and support each other).
(Outside) Activity:
Children to be put in pairs. Each pair will need:
x1 ‘Measurement Challenge’ – (see example in resources below) Teacher to differentiate
according to the ability groups within the class.
x1 ruler
x1 pair of scissors,
x1 role of sellotape (or could be shared between a number of pairs)
Lower ability pupils to be
supported by adult where
needed and have regular
modelling of accurate
measuring starting from 0cm.
Rulers,
Scissors,
Sellotape,
Differentiated
‘Measurement Challenge’
sheet
The challenge involves working outside and the children are to find things (e.g. leaves,
blades of grass, twigs etc) on the playground and surrounding fields that measure to be the
same length as the lengths stated on the ‘Measurement Challenge’ sheet. Explain that
objects can be cut down slightly using the scissors to ensure they are exactly the length that
the challenge requires. Once items matching the measurements are found, they are to be
stuck with sellotape next to the given measurement.
Talk through and display the tips for effective paired work (created earlier in the lesson) and
ensure rewards are given to children working hard to be a good partner.
Plenary:
Bring all the children together with the objects they have found. Swap the sheets between pairs and ask them to check the accuracy of the measuring.
Reflect on the partnerships and team work, and celebrate achievements and efforts.
Q-How confident do you feel that your pair has measured accurately?
Q-How successful was the teamwork within your pair?
Q-Is there anything you would do differently next time? If so what and why?
Assessment for learning:
 Children to use traffic lights to self-evaluate against speaking and listening objectives.
 Continual peer assessment - working in pairs ask children to think about: Were children able to take turns to speak? Were they able to listen to
another child’s viewpoint?
Learning Objective: I can measure length accurately using cm.
1cm =
NAMES: ________________________ &________________________
Measurement Challenge
(EXAMPLE – sheet would need to be blown up to A3 size)
6 ½ cm =
2cm =
12 cm =
3cm =
17 cm =
4cm =
20 ½ cm =
5cm =
30 cm =
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Date:
Lesson Objectives:
I can identify the features of an information text.
I can explain the reasons why an information text is organised in a certain way.
Lesson: Literacy – Information Texts
Speaking and Listening Objectives:
To explain and give reasons for their views or choices.
To actively include and respond to all group members.
Activity
Vocabulary: non-fiction, information, fact, title page, contents, heading, sub-heading, bold writing,
glossary, caption, paragraph, pictures, fact boxes, index, page numbers
Differentiation:
Starter: Fact or Opinion? Remind children of the difference between a fact and a person’s opinion.
Give examples to ensure the children have a clear understanding (e.g. ‘’I think that Arsenal are the
best football team in the world!’’ Q-Is this a fact? Or my opinion? Q-How do you know?) Teacher to
read a selection of statements (mixture of fact and opinion) and children to identify which it is through
actions - Fact = stand up and Opinion = sit down.
Main:
Display a selection of books (both fiction and non-fiction) in the middle of the carpet. Q-How can you
tell which books are fiction and which are non-fiction? Q-What clues do you get from only
looking at the front covers? Think/Pair/Share - Choose a few children to identify either a fiction or
non-fiction book and give reasons for their choices. Sort all of the books into 2 piles and then remove
the fiction books from sight.
In a small group lower ability
pupils are to play a simplified
starter game with a TA, using
simple statements such as; This
chair is blue (pointing to a blue
chair),
I think green is the best
colour! etc.
Explain that we are going to be focusing on non-fiction books today and in particular how they are
organised to make them easy for us to navigate. Display a few of the familiar key words (e.g. contents,
index, page numbers etc) and explain that these are all ‘features’ of non-fiction books. Q-What is a
feature? (relate to features of 2D/3D shapes e.g. different parts of 2D/3D shapes – edge, corner, face
etc). Explain that we are going to be identifying the parts of non-fiction books.
Have visual aids (e.g. 2D/3D
shapes) to model the term
‘feature’ – meaning ‘part’.
Children to get into pairs and each pair to have one non-fiction book to share between them. Explain
that we are going to become ‘Feature Finders’ and are going in search for the features within the
books! Reveal the key vocabulary one at a time and give the children time to find it within their own
book.
Q-Where are you likely to find this feature?
Q-How does this feature help us to navigate the book and find the specific information we are
looking for?
Q-Has anyone found a __________ (e.g. contents page) that is laid out differently to this one?
Q-Does it still work in the same way?
Teacher to use a non-fiction big book (ideally topic related) to highlight the feature to the rest of the
class. Repeat the questions for all key vocabulary and pause for paired/group discussion.
Lower ability pupils to be given
simple non-fiction books with
simple text.
Higher ability pupils to be given
more challenging non-fiction
books with more complex
organisation.
Continually refer back to the learning objective and highlight the reasons why each particular feature
assists the effective organisation of the non-fiction text.
Preparation for the activity:
1) The teacher needs to photocopy a selection of double page spreads from non-fiction texts (Texts
should be of varying levels of difficulty in order to meet the needs of various reading ability groups
Differentiated text levels
according to pupils reading
Resources
Non-fiction Big Book of
teachers choice (ideally topic
related)
A selection of non-fiction
books (enough to have one
between two)
within the class).
2) The photocopies should then be cut into small pieces so that all the features are separate from each
other (e.g. page numbers, heading, sub-heading, caption/paragraph, fact boxes,
pictures/photographs).
3) All features to be put into an envelope ready for the activity.
abilities.
Activity:
Children to work in pairs or groups of 3. Provide each group with given an envelope (with pieces of
photocopied text – see above), a piece of A3 paper and glue. The children are to read the features
carefully and organise them in a way that makes a clear double page spread from a non-fiction text.
Children should be encouraged to discuss each decision together before sticking the piece down and
give clear reasons for their choices.
Higher ability pupils could be
given a chopped up photocopy
of 2 different pages from a nonfiction text to increase the
challenge.
Lower ability pupils to work as a
guided group with CT or TA to
assist with reading.
Photocopies of double page
spreads from non-fiction texts
(of varying levels)
A3 paper
Glue
Plenary:
Invite children in their pairs/groups to present their non-fiction page to the rest of the class giving clear reasons and justification for their positioning of the features.
Encourage the rest of the children to ask questions to find out their reasons e.g. Q-Why did you put the heading at the top of the page? Q-Why did you put that photo
next to that caption/paragraph?
Teacher to help draw the learning back to the learning objective by highlighting the overall reason for the organisation of non-fiction texts - to make it easy for the reader to
retrieve the information they are looking for.
Highlight and celebrate effective partner/team work and encourage the children to evaluate the reasons for their success. Q-What helped you to work well as a team? QWas your partner a good listener? Q-Did you give each other opportunities to speak/participate?
Assessment for learning:
How well did we explain and listen to each other in our groups?
Do you think you achieved the speaking and listening learning objectives?
How did working in pairs/groups help your learning today?
Is there anything you wish you had done differently today? Why? How?
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Date:
Lesson Objectives:
I know that the local environment is divided up into different habitats.
I can describe how these habitats are similar and different.
Lesson: Science - habitats
Speaking and Listening Objectives:
To explain and give reasons for their views or choices.
To actively include and respond to all group members.
Activity
Vocabulary: animal, habitat, environment, identify, food, water, shelter, air, raise their young, sun,
shade,
Differentiation:
Resources
Share ‘Animal Habitat’s’ PowerPoint (see resources) and pause frequently to focus on the key
questions:
Q-What is a habitat?
Q-What things do animals need to survive in their habitat?
Q-Can you think of anywhere near by that we might find this type of habitat? (e.g. wood, hedge,
pond etc)
Q-What type of animals might live in this type of habitat?
Check understanding of the
word ‘habitat’ and give practical
examples from their own
experiences.
http://www.tes.co.uk/
ResourceDetail.aspx?
storyCode=6144554
‘Animal Habitats’ PowerPoint
taken from
www.tes.co.uk
Give children plenty of time to reflect of their own experiences of animal habitats whether it be from
holidays, day visits or things they have seen on television. Q-Where have you seen these animals
before? Q-Are there any places/parks/beaches that you have visited and have seen these
animals or their habitats before?
Lower ability pupils to sit near
TA so the TA can pre-teach the
key vocab and discuss, giving
examples to clarify.
Main:
Q-What is a habitat? Think/Pair/Share - Give children time to reflect on their own experiences of
habitats. Remind children that a habitat is a small part of the environment that is home to particular
plants and animals.
Teacher to help make comparisons between the pond/sea habitats and the hedge/wood habitats. QHow are the habitats for these animals different? Q-Why do they need to be different? Q-Why
wouldn’t a hedge be a suitable habitat for a seagull or a fish? Q-Why not? Recap previous
learning on animals and their needs, and compare them with other living things (plants).
(Outside) Activity:
Children to work in groups of 4 or 5.
Explain that the children will be working in groups to create a habitat for a chosen animal (each group
picks a random animal from the ‘Animal Cards –see resources)
1) Children to gather things from outside (e.g. twigs, leaves, rocks, stones etc) and use some other
joining equipment (e.g. string, tape etc) to make the habitat. Once they have created their habitat they
then have to carefully consider where they would position it in order to fulfil all 5 of the animal’s needs
(food, water shelter, air, a place to raise their young).
2) Plan a mini presentation to show why their chosen animal would want to live in their habitat, (e.g.
this habitat would be excellent for you Mr Hedgehog because it is hidden in the hedge and there is
plenty of shelter to keep you warm and dry etc). Children to record their presentation/habitat
Higher ability pupils to make
comparisons between animals
and their needs (How are their
needs the same? Different?)
Access to outside/wooded
area.
String, tape and other joining
materials.
‘Animal Cards’ (see below)
Images taken from PowerPoint
http://www.tes.co.uk/
ResourceDetail.aspx?
description on Easi Speak microphones.
Remind children of the importance of team work and how to be an effective team member. Q-What do
you need to remember when working in groups? Q-How can you make sure that everyone gets
to join in and share their ideas? Q-What should you do if you feel like you aren’t being listened
to?
Encourage higher ability pupils
to use exciting adjectives when
‘selling’ their habitat to their
chosen animal.
storyCode=6144554
Easi Speak microphones for
children to record their
presentations
Plenary:
In groups, ask the children to present their animal habitat to the rest of the class and explain how it meets the criteria and fulfils all 5 of that particular animal’s needs.
Highlight and celebrate effective team work and encourage the children to evaluate the reasons for their success. Q-What helped you to work well as a team? Q-Was
your partner a good listener? Q-Did you give each other opportunities to speak/participate?
Assessment for learning:
Children to use traffic lights to judge how well they achieved each of the learning outcomes and speaking and listening objectives.
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Date:
Lesson Objectives:
I can describe places using geographical words.
I can create a map with a detailed key with symbols or colours to help identify features.
Lesson: Geography – maps and directions
Speaking and Listening Objectives:
To give clear and precise directions and instructions.
To use newly learnt words in a specific and appropriate way.
Activity
Vocabulary: features, island, mainland, map, key, symbols, directions, compass, location, north,
south, east, west, route
Differentiation:
Starter:
Display a compass on the board and explain its purpose. Draw the four compass points (north, south,
east, west) on the board and teach the well-known sayings to help children remember the points and
their locations (e.g. ‘’Never Eat Shredded Wheat’’ and ‘’Naughty Elephants Squirt Water). Label the
classroom with North, South, East and West and give commands for children to move to certain
locations. Once children are familiar with the compass points, remove the labels and repeat the game.
Main:
Recap previous learning from this unit ‘An Island Home’ Q-What is an island? Q-How is an island
different to the mainland? Use the following PowerPoint if children need reminding of the definition of
an island (‘Islands’http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/An-introduction-to-the-geography-ofislands-6015496/ )
Explain that we are going to focus our attention today on a fictional island Q-What does fictional
mean? Q-Is it real? Q-Could we go to visit the island? Why/why not? The island is the home to a
little girl called Katie Morag and the island is called ‘The Isle of Struay’. Today we want to familiarise
ourselves with the features of this island and be able to describe where they are located.
Introduce and read the first book in the series: ‘Katie Morag Delivers the Mail’. Pause regularly
throughout the story to discuss the features that are mentioned and for children to describe its location
in comparison to the features already mentioned (e.g. Grannie Island’s house is near to the Bonny
Loch etc). Display the enlarged map (see resources) when reading the book so children can
familiarise themselves with the locations.
Leaving the enlarged version of the Isle of Struay on the board, ask children to play ‘Guess my
location’. Teacher to model the game first before the children have a go in pairs. Teacher to choose a
secret location from the map (e.g. The Jetty) and then describe the location (e.g. I am north of Katie
Morag’s house etc). Children to then take guesses as to what the location is and then repeat the game
in pairs.
Activity:
1) Children to complete the map of ‘The Isle of Struay’ by cutting and sticking the island features onto
the map in the correct place (see resources),
2) In pairs, the children are to then take it in turns to give verbal directions from one place to another
on the map with a focus on using N, S, E, W directions. Teacher to record directions on Easi Speak
Use small visual representations
of the compass points for lower
ability pupils to have in front of
them.
Children to draw on their own
experiences of islands that they
may have visited. How do they
differ from our own location?
Explain to pupils that the
fictional Isle of Struay is based
on a real island called the Isle of
Coll in Scotland. Possible
homework could be to find out
as much as they can about Coll.
Resources
Labels for putting around the
classroom (North, South, East,
West)
Copy of ‘Katie Morag Delivers
the Mail’
Enlarged map of The Isle of
Struay.
http://www.tes.co.uk/teachingresource/Island-Life-StruayDisplays-3005100
Lower ability pupils to have a
smaller version of the map and
use less complex directional
vocab (e.g. next to, above,
below).
‘The Isle of Struay’ map
resource sheet amended from
original version taken from:
http://www.tes.co.uk/
microphones to use in plenary.
ResourceDetail.aspx
?storyCode=6023607
Easi Speak microphones
Plenary:
Using the Easi Speak microphones, play back some of the children’s verbal directions recordings and ask the rest of the class to work out where the directions are from
and to. Children to help evaluate the directions Q-Were the directions clear and precise? Q-What helped you to identify the exact location? Q-Which words in
particular made the directions easy to follow?
Reflect on speaking and listening objectives. Q-How has today’s lesson helped us to give clear and precise directions and instructions? Q-What do you need to
consider when giving directions? Q-When might you need to give directions/instructions in the future?
Assessment for learning:
‘Secret Bunny Ears’
All children to close their eyes and display their bunny ears using hands representing ears:
Q- Do you think you have achieved the learning objectives?
0 ears = “No…It was really difficult!”
1 ear = “Almost…but maybe I need more practice”
2 ears = “Yes!”
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Lesson Objectives:
I know that we learn in different ways.
I can identify some of my own strengths as a learner.
Date:
Lesson: PSHE – Going for Goals
Speaking and Listening Objectives:
Takes turns to talk, listen and respond in two-way conversations
and groups.
Activity
Vocabulary: learning, style, method, help, listen, look, different, strengths
Differentiation:
Starter: Circle time:
Teacher to explain that this game is about highlighting the differences between us and stress how the
world would be very boring if we were all exactly the same and liked the same things. Play ‘Stand up
and cross the circle if…’ (e.g. you’re wearing short socks, you like mangos, you have a pet, you love
maths etc). Children to physically stand and swap seats with others if the statement is true to them.
TA to support lower ability pupils
by re-wording the statements
into questions (e.g. Are you
wearing short socks today? Do
you like mangos? etc).
Resources
Lesson idea taken from SEAL ‘Going for Goals’ theme. The theme provides opportunities for children
to reflect on themselves as individuals and their strengths as learners and how they learn most
effectively.
Main:
Discuss the importance of learning. Q-Why do we need to learn? Q-What do we need to learn? QWhat things don’t you already know that you would like to learn? In small groups of 3 or 4, give
the children an opportunity to discuss these questions, maybe relating to hobbies or interests outside
of school. Talk about the importance of learning in order to achieve certain lifetime goals (e.g. if you
want to become an astronaut then you need to study hard at school, and go to university in order to
learn everything that an astronaut needs to know etc).
Pose the key question Q-How do we learn? Q-What do we have to do in order to learn
something?
Share ‘How do we learn’ PowerPoint and discuss each slide using the following questions:
Q- Why is this important?
Q-Who finds this difficult? Why?
Q-What could we do to in class to make this easier for you?
Think/Pair/Share Remind the children that these learning tips are mostly useful when you are learning when the teacher
is talking. It’s great to listen but the BEST learning happens when you try it out for yourself and
discuss what you’ve learned with your classmates.
Choose a new song and explain that the children are going to try and learn it in different ways. QWhat could we do to help us try and learn this song?
Think/Pair/Share - Encourage the children to reflect on songs they have learnt in the past Q-How did
you do it? (e.g. reading the lyrics, hearing the song, singing it, repeating it, making up actions to go
with the words etc).
As a class, work through the different methods for learning a song and reflect on which of the methods
http://www.tes.co.uk
/ResourceDetail.asp
x?storyCode=6006478
‘How do we learn’
PowerPoint
Children to reflect on things that
they find easy at school and
things that are more challenging
for them. How are they
similar/different to their peers?
Children to identify resources
(visual and other) that support
their learning.
Children to draw on their own
experiences of extra-curricular
activities – How do you learn
how to play football? How do
you learn a new dance?
An unfamiliar song (preferably
with lyrics displayed and
possible actions to accompany
the song)
help the most when trying to learn the song. Q-Does everyone find that reading the words helps
you to learn the song or is there a better method for you? Conclude that many of us learn in
different ways and it’s best to have a variety of methods when learning as they all help us to learn.
Activity:
Children to work in mixed ability pairs and ask them to try and teach each other something (e.g.
song/dance/laces/counting/languages/clapping game etc). Children to be reminded of the different
methods that help us to learn and put them into practise when ‘teaching’ or being ‘taught’. Teacher to
take photographs or short videos to capture the moments and maybe make into a class display.
Highlight children that are
particularly good at giving clear
instructions and highlight what it
is that makes their teaching
successful.
Camera for the Teacher or TA
to take photographs with.
Plenary:
Display a selection of the photographs taken during the paired activity. Q-What do you think is being taught/learned in this picture? Q-How can you tell? Q-Can you
describe what the learner is doing that makes it look like he/she is working hard to learn what is being taught?
Q-What do you think is your strength as a learner? Q-How do you learn best? Children to sit in a circle and give their answers one at a time. Teacher to help draw
comparisons between the children’s learning styles and how they can use this new knowledge to help them learn in the future.
Assessment for learning:
Do you think you achieved the speaking and listening learning objectives?
How did working in pairs/groups help your learning today?
Is there anything you wish you had done differently today? Why? How?
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Date:
Lesson objectives:
To use a range of adjectives to create descriptive and creative sentences.
To make adventurous word and language choices appropriate to the style of the text.
Activity
Starter: Q-What is an adjective? Display a selection of pictures on IWB (e.g. animals, cars, people)
and children to come up with a variety of adjectives to describe the object. Encourage children to
suggest their second or third ‘thought’ instead of their first as often their first thought may be the
same as everyone else’s.
Vocabulary:
Adjectives, nouns, size, colour, shape, image, create, see.
Lesson: Literacy – Poetry ‘Really Looking’
Speaking and listening objectives:
To use newly learnt words in specific and appropriate
ways.
Differentiation
Resource
Main:
Ask the children to close their eyes but open their minds! Explain that they will have to switch off all
of their senses apart from their hearing which is essential for this part of the lesson. Q-What helps
you to be a good listener? Think/Pair/Share
Explain that the poem you are about to read is quite special because by listening to it, your mind will
magically paint pictures of what you hear! Read ‘The Magic Box’ by Kit Wright, a section at a time
and pause for questioning:
Q-Can you describe what you can see?
Q-What images has your mind created?
Q-What colours can you see?
Q-How does it make you feel?
Ask the children to be even more explicit with their descriptions by using one or more adjectives to
describe the noun. Q-How can we categorise the adjectives that we are using? Think/pair/share.
The Teacher should then scribe sub headings or make a mind map e.g. size, colour, shape, texture
and note down any adjectives used on IWB.
Once ‘The Magic Box’ has been read the Class Teacher is then to share his/her ‘Magic Box’ which is
filled with a selection of interesting objects. Explain that this time our hearing is not a vital sense, but
instead we will be relying on our sight and touch to describe the objects inside the box. Q-What
adjectives can you use to describe the objects inside the box? Q-Can you use an adjective
from each of the sub-headings on the board e.g. A tiny, smooth, oval and blue pebble.
Group Activity:
Children to be in mixed ability groups of 4/5. Each group to have a box with a selection of objects
inside. Each child to take it in turns to discreetly select an item and then describe the object using
adjectives only (same format as above) and without naming it. Rest of the group listen and guess
which object has been selected.
Plenary:
Choose a selection of children to share their descriptive sentence for a chosen item from ‘The Magic
Box’. Class Teacher to scribe the sentences on the board to create a whole class poem. Children to
evaluate and improve the sentences where appropriate. Q-Is there an even better adjective we
could use instead of _______________?
Assessment for learning:
‘Secret Bunny Ears’
All children to close their eyes and display their bunny ears using hands representing ears:
Q- Do you think you have achieved today’s learning objective?
0 ears = “No…It was really difficult!”
1 ear = “Almost….but maybe I need more practice”
2 ears = “Yes!”
Poem – ‘The Magic Box’
by Kit Wright
http://www.tes.co.uk/teachi
ng-resource/The-MagicBox-by-Kit-Wright3006308/
LSA to scribe possible word
bank for lower ability pupils
A ‘Magic Box’ (small
covered box with a
selection of interesting
objects.)
A selection of similar
adjectives ready prepared
for lower ability pupils to
choose from. Q-Which
word would best describe
this scarf?
Higher ability pupils to be
given a children’s thesaurus
to find alternative words for
popular adjectives e.g. big,
small
Children’s Thesaurus’s
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Date:
Lesson objectives:
To visualise common 2D shapes and 3D solids and describe shapes according to their properties.
Activity
Starter: Place value - Have six children at the front of the classroom arranged in two groups of 3.
One represents the hundreds column, the middle the tens and the last being the units. The class is
split into two teams and a set of digit cards is given to each team. The teacher calls out a three digit
number and the winner is the first team to get the appropriate number represented with the digit
cards correctly positioned.
Vocabulary:
Shapes, solid, faces, edges, corners, vertices.
Main: This problem is taken from the problem solving website http://nrich.maths.org It is a practical
activity that provides many opportunities for speaking and listening, working systematically and
building on skills of visualisation whilst primarily assisting the children in understanding the various
properties of common geometric solid shapes.
Lesson: Numeracy – Problem Solving
Speaking and listening objectives:
To listen to others in class, ask relevant questions and
follow instructions.
Differentiation
Resource
Two sets of 0-9 digit
cards.
‘Skeleton Shapes’ visual
images
http://nrich.maths.org/1156
A selection of cube
shaped objects.
Ensure the children have had an opportunity to free play with building sets of solid shapes so they
have an understanding of shape properties.
Copy of ‘Skeleton Shapes’
poster (below) taken from
http://nrich.maths.org/1156
Reveal a selection of different sized cubes in various forms (e.g. dice of various sizes, boxes, rubix
cube, 3D shapes of different sizes) Q-Can you tell me everything you know about cubes? In
pairs, children to discuss this question and come up with at least 2 facts they know about cubes.
Share with the rest of the class. Scribe the vocab; faces, edges, corners on the board when
mentioned. Q-Do these facts apply to every type of cube? Test the statements with the various
examples of cubes.
Display ‘Skeleton Shapes’ images taken from http://nrich.maths.org/1156/ and reveal problem:
Part I - Q-How many balls of modelling clay and how many straws does it take to make the
cube?
Part II – Look at the rest of the 3D shapes. Q-Which piles are needed to make a skeleton of
each shape?
Group Activity:
Children to work in pairs or groups to solve the problem.
Possible extension –
children could find other
solid shapes and continue
the activity.
Lower ability children to
have access to real 3D
shapes to assist with the
skeleton shape making.
Straws (cut to equal
lengths) and pieces of
modelling clay.
3D shapes to match those
highlighted in poster
Plenary:
Reflect on the problem and the possible approaches. Children to evaluate what worked well and
what was not as effective.
Q-How many edges did you count? What does this tell you about the number of straws we
need?
Q-How many corners did you count? What does this tell you about the number of balls of
modelling clay we need?
Q-How many edges meet at this corner?
Assessment for learning:
 Children to use traffic lights to self-evaluate.
 Continual peer assessment as working in pairs.
Skeleton shape models
that the children created
during paired activity.
Numeracy – Skeleton Shapes (taken from http://nrich.maths.org)
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Date:
Lesson objectives:
To recall the key points from a significant event in history.
Activity
Starter:
NB – This lesson should be taught as part of an introduction to the topic of ‘The Great Fire of London’ at a
time when the children have little or no prior knowledge of the famous event.
Q-What do you know about The Great Fire of London? Think/Pair/Share and Class Teacher to scribe
any responses on to flip chart under sub heading ‘What we know’.
Vocabulary:
Fire, main events, fact, question, answer.
Lesson: History – The Great Fire of London
Speaking and listening objectives:
To ask relevant questions to find out specific
information.
Differentiation
Resource
Main:
Display a picture representing ‘The Great Fire of London’ from Google images and discuss what the
children already know about the event. Q-Does anyone know what this is a picture of? Explain that this
is a famous event that happened many years ago. Highlight recent famous events/celebrations (e.g.
London 2012, Queens Diamond Jubilee, Royal wedding) and compare with ‘The Great Fire of London’.
Q-Do you think this was a happy event and one that people enjoyed? Why? Think/pair/Share
Google Images:
http://www.google.co.uk
/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi
Discuss possible ways to find out more information about this famous event. Q-How can we learn about
what happened during The Great Fire of London? Remind children of the difference between fact and
opinion and explain that today we are going to be learning the key facts that help to explain what
happened in The Great Fire of London. Explain to the children that by the end of the lesson, ALL of the
children will be able to answer 7 questions about the key events from The Great Fire of London (see Quiz,
Quiz, Swap ‘Fact Slips’ for questions)
Explain ‘Quiz, Quiz, Swap’ activity and discuss necessary skills for the activity to be successful (e.g. turn
taking, listening, speaking clearly etc.)
Group Activity: (This activity needs to be completed in a large area where there is plenty of room
for the children to move around freely – maybe the school hall.)
All children to work individually and complete ‘Quiz, Quiz Swap’ activity.
Outline of activity:
1) Hand out the ‘Fact Slips’ (7 different fact slips – 1 fact slip per child. Every child to have a fact slip so
there will be duplicates). Give the children time to read the Question and Answer of their own fact slip.
2) QUIZ - Find another person and ask them the question and confirm the answer on the fact slip.
3) QUIZ - Allow the other person to ask the question and confirm the answer on their fact slip.
4) SWAP – Swap the ‘Fact Slips’ and then repeat points 2-4.
* The Class Teacher is to stop the activity when he/she hears that the majority of the children are
able to answer the 7 ‘Fact Slip’ questions.
Pre teach the new vocab
to lower ability readers to
support them with
reading section of Quiz.
Quiz, Quiz, Swap
‘Fact Slips’
(See below)
Children that need
support with reading
should initially be
accompanied by either
the Class Teacher or
LSA for Quiz, Quiz,
Swap activity.
Plenary:
Display flip chart page from starter ‘What we know’ and talk through responses. Display a new page on flip
chart ‘What we NOW know’. Q-Who can tell me a fact they have learnt about The Great Fire of
London? Celebrate the number of children who now have their hand up and hold knowledge about the
famous event! Wow!
Fill the flip chart with all of the facts the children have learnt and match the facts up with the 7 questions
previously asked.
Assessment for learning:
Reflect on speaking and listening objectives – who felt they achieved them? In what way did they achieve them?
Smiley Face    show of hands
History - Quiz, Quiz, Swap ‘Fact Slips’
Photocopy and cut individually. Give each child one ‘Fact Slip’ to begin the activity. (See plan for full outline of activity)
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Date:
Lesson objectives:
To know what a balanced diet is.
To understand that knowledge of the food groups can help us to build healthy diets.
Activity
Lesson: Science/D&T – ‘Health and Growth’
Speaking and listening objectives:
To use newly learnt words in a specific and
appropriate way.
Differentiation
Resource
Vocabulary:
Fruit, vegetables, cereals, starch, processed, balanced, healthy, energy, high-energy.
Main:
Ask the children to tell you some of the things they ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner
yesterday (list on the flip chart under main food group headings.
Use the lists as a starting point
Q-Can you think of any other foods that could go in the _______ list? Think/Pair/Share
Q-Does anyone think any of these foods are bad for you? Q-Can a food be bad for
you?
Remind children that no food is bad for you unless you eat too much of it – explain what a
balanced diet is:
Large amount – Fruit and veg and cereals
Medium amount – Meat, fish, dairy products
Small amount – Sweets, chocolate, salt etc.
Display a selection of meal pictures on the Interactive whiteboard (or possibly photographs
from a selection of recipe books). Discuss the meals with the children. Q-Is this a wellbalanced meal? Why? Why not? Q-What is missing to make this a balanced meal? QIs there too much of a particular food group that makes this meal un-balanced and
unhealthy?
Group Activity:
Children to work in pairs to collage their own ‘balanced meal’ on paper plates. Children to
be encouraged to use a range of collage techniques (e.g. folding, scrunching, tearing, rolling
etc) to make their 3D plate of food.
When their plate is complete, they have to prepare a short presentation which describes
their planned meal and outlines the reasons why this is a balanced meal.
Download and print
copies of the ‘Eat well
plate’ from
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewe
ll/Goodfood/Pages/eatwel
l-plate.aspx and use as
discussion point for lower
ability pupils.
Paper plates (1 per
child)
Higher ability pupils to
create ‘alternatives’ or
substitutes for certain
foods on their plate (e.g.
pasta, or rice)
A selection of papers
and materials
Scissors & glue
Plenary/Assessment for learning:
Choose a selection of children to present their ‘balanced meal’ to the rest of the class. The
rest of the class to ask questions or comment on their presented meal. Q-Could we
substitute the rice for pasta? Q-Would that make a difference to the meal? Why? Why
not?
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Date:
Lesson objectives:
To repeat and explore movements and skills.
To select and use appropriate skills, actions and ideas.
Activity
Warm Up:
Play ‘Human Bop It’ - Teacher calls out actions to which the children respond in the
following ways:
Kick it – children kick in front of them (ensure they are all in a space first!)
Twist it – twist their bodies half way around then back, feet remaining in the same place on
the floor
Spin it – children turn around
Pull it – imagine they are pulling two levers down from above their heads
Bop it – Jump in the air
They must try to do all these actions on the beat of the music.
Vocabulary:
Monster, size, shape, stout, heavy, long, slithery, beat, stomp.
Lesson: PE - Dance
Speaking and listening objectives:
To understand and follow two or three part
instructions.
Differentiation
Resource
Children to be
encouraged to think of
some other movements
and instructions to
accompany them.
CD with drum beat on.
Main:
Play and discuss the music ‘Wild Thing’ Q-What does it make you think of? Q-What kind
of creature do you think this song could be about? Why?
‘Wild Thing’ by The
Troggs
Show ‘Monster Poster’ (a selection of images of different types of monsters including
images from ‘Not Now Bernard’ - link with Literacy unit – Stories with familiar settings) QHow do you think these monsters would move? Q-Are they stout and heavy or long
and slithery? Explore vocab and ideas and share different examples of children modelling
a variety of movements. Rest of class to repeat and practice to music.
Monster Poster (see
below – images found
from Google images)
Encourage the children to listen to the beat and clap along in time.
Q-Can you march or stomp in time to the music?
Q-How would this type (choose from poster) of monster stomp in time to the music?
Q-What about this type of monster?
Q-What words could you use that would describe the movements of this monster?
Group Activity:
In small groups of 3-4, children are to choose in secret one of the monster pictures from the
poster and decide on movements that will represent how they think the monster will move.
Rehearse in their groups and then present to the rest of the class.
Plenary/Assessment for learning:
Children to present their Wild Thing monster dance to the rest of the class a group at a time.
The rest of the class to identify which monster they think is being represented and give
reasons why by reflecting on the type of movements used.
Cool Down:
All children to create long slithery monster shapes and movements, focusing on feeling the
stretches and slow movements.
Lower ability children to
be supported with giving
feedback “I think it was
the _______ monster
because….” Children to
be given descriptive
vocab to
assist oral feedback.
A number of ‘Monster
Posters’ photocopied
and displayed around
the hall as stimulus for
group work
Dance – Monster Poster
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Date:
Lesson objectives:
I share my opinions on things that matter to me and explain my views.
I say what I like and dislike, what is fair and unfair, and what is right and wrong.
Activity
Starter: Play the ‘Yes’ ‘No’ game with the children.
Display on the board a selection of alterative responses to ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and read through them with
the children. In pairs, the children ask each other a number of questions about themselves and the
partner cannot respond with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Lesson: PSHE – ‘Good to be me’
Speaking and listening objectives:
To ask relevant and specific questions in order to gather
information.
Differentiation
Resource
Ready prepared
alternative responses to
‘Yes’ and ‘No’ scribed on
board.
Vocabulary:
Special, precious, valuable, treasured, question, answer, visualise.
What, when, why, how, who, where.
Main:
Class Teacher to hold the Treasure Box with his/her treasure hidden inside (possible an old blanket
or tatty toy from when they were a child). Explain to the class that inside the box is a very precious
and valuable item which is extremely special to me. Q-What do you think could be inside this
box? Q-What type of thing do you think could be described as ‘precious’ or ‘valuable’?
Think/Pair/Share
A ‘Treasure Box’ (a
special looking opaque
box
Discuss some suggestions and compare children’s different opinions on ‘valuable’. Q-What does
‘valuable’ or ‘treasured’ mean? Q-What types of things are valuable to you? Explain that
valuable items do not necessarily have to be of a high value in terms of price. Many people treasure
items with sentimental value that are irreplaceable due to the memories they hold.
Explain to the children that they have a total of 20 questions to ask in order to try and guess what is
inside the Treasure Box. Display and read through the questions words. Q-What type of answer
would you expect to get it you asked a question beginning with ‘who’? Think/Pair/Share – the
answer would involve a person. Repeat with other question words and ask children to think carefully
about the types of questions they are asking so that no question is wasted.
Lower ability pupils to be
supported by LSA and to
focus on one question word
at a time.
Also remind the children to visualise the possible treasure in their head according to the clues they
get from the questions that have been asked.
Higher ability pupils to be
expected to notice the
difference between ‘open’
and ‘closed’ questions and
create questions that will
provide the most
information.
Whole Class Activity:
Whole class to join in asking 20 questions to the Class Teacher in order to find out what the treasure
is. Class Teacher to celebrate effective questioning and scribe any key information on the board. At
the end of the 20 questions, the Class Teacher is to reveal his/her treasure.
Question words on
individual cards to be used
as visual aids during
questioning session.
Plenary:
Reveal and discuss the Class Teachers treasure. Class Teacher to explain why it is treasured by
himself/herself and tell any relevant anecdotes that helps to contextualise the item.
Q-Was it what you thought it would be? Why? Q-Could it have been anything else based on
the answers you got from the questions that were asked? Think/Pair/Share
Explain that over the coming weeks, everyone will get an opportunity to have the Treasure Box and
they will in turn, take the Treasure Box home and return it to school with their hidden treasure and
the rest of the class will ask questions to find out what the hidden treasure is.
Assessment for learning:
Children to evaluate the questions that were asked – reflect on speaking and listening objectives.
Q-Which question do you think helped to find out the most information about the hidden treasure?
Q-Why and how did it find out the most information?
Q-If we changed the question word, would it still be an effective question? Why? Why not?
Thumbs up/thumbs down, Q-How effective do you think your questioning was?
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Lesson objectives:
 To recognise traditional stories
 To know characters, themes and settings
Date:
Previous learning:
Knowledge of a variety of fairy tales
Activity
Starter:
 Teach 3 words - Ogre, beanstalk, harp. Use picture prompts
 Introduce each word – ask children to ‘think, pair, share’ a meaning
for each word
 Choose pairs to share their explanations
 As a group - what is the first sound, the last, clap the syllables, what
category does each word belong to? Use the I CAN Communication
Cookbook word magic template below to help
 Give the meanings for children to guess the word
Vocabulary: Ogre, beanstalk, harp
Main:
Ask the question? - What sort of stories might have ogres, beanstalks
and harps in? - What sort of stories might we learn about today?
Jigsaw activity
1.Give each child an object or picture from a variety of fairy tales (castle,
ogre, Jack, pumpkin, harp, cow, wolf, beans, pig, slipper, sticks, straw,
bricks, ragged clothes, gold coins, prince, Cinderella, Ugly Sisters, apple,
mirror, dwarf, Wicked Queen)
2. Ask children to move around and, by talking to each other, get together
in groups with all the other children that have things from their story.
3. In the groups - what is your story? What are the main things that
happen in the story? Where does the story take place? Are the characters
‘good’ or ‘bad’? How does your story end?
4. Make a podcast from your group using Easi Speak microphone - what is
the story, who’s in it, where does it takes place, how does it ends
Plenary:
Listen to podcasts
Question - what things are similar in the stories? What are differences?
What other things could we find out about traditional stories?
Lesson: English – Traditional tales
Speaking and listening objectives:
 Take turns to talk and listen, and respond in two-way conversations
 Identify what is important and unimportant information
Differentiation
Picture prompts for each
word
Resource
Picture prompts for each word on A4 cards or
IWB
Management of ‘pair, share’
groups
Use Word Magic template below, taken from
I CAN’s Communication Cookbook, available to
order from www.ican.org.uk/cookbook
Forced alternative target
questions - e.g. would a pig
be in Jack and the Beanstalk
or Red Riding Hood
Bags of pictures/objects per group; picture
resources www.picsearch.com,
Clicker 5 picture library, fairy tale charades cards
www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Fairytalecharacter-cards-possibly-for-charades-6068488
www.k-3teacherresources.com/storysequencing.html
Management of grouping
For target children – ‘find
everyone who has things
from........’
Prompt cards to focus group
discussion – good/bad
character, setting
Narrative cue cards – ‘What’ happens? ‘Where
does it happen?’ ‘Who are the characters?’
www.blacksheeppress.co.uk
Easi Speak recorder http://www.digitalblue.org.uk/Voice_Recorders.ht
ml
Assessment for learning: Children to use self assessment checklist to see how well they worked in the groups http://www.teachfind.com/nationalstrategies/seal-working-together-self-review-checklist
In groups, ask the children to think about how they know what is important information when listening to the stories and what is less important – use traffic
lights to show how confident they are with this objective.
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Lesson objectives:
 To know what maps are for
 To know that maps share common features
Date:
Lesson: Geography – Map work
Previous learning:
To have investigated features of their
surroundings
Speaking and listening objective:
Join in a discussion about an activity using topic related
vocabulary
Activity
Starter:
Active listening - ‘Simon Says’ with direction words
Vocabulary: Forward, back, left, right, up, down, stop, next to, symbol, sign, route
Teach vocabulary using strategies and materials suggested in the activity template pack.
Highlight vocabulary for the lesson and explain that all children will have the opportunity to
use these words throughout the lesson – encourage all children to listen out for them
Main:
 Introduce lesson with the slide show of different maps
Question - what are these pictures of?
 Children talk about – where they have seen maps being used, when they have used
a map.
Jigsaw activity - give each child part of a cut up map (photocopies or printed images from
slide show). The children are asked to move around the room talking to others about the
features of their map part, and find the other parts of their map.
In groups - put the pieces together to make the map. Take a photo of the reconstructed
map.
Differentiation
Visual prompt cards for
direction words - e.g.
arrow pointing up/down
Resource
Give more obvious
elements of map
pictures to lower
achieving pupils
PowerPoint - Map images
Ensure lower achieving
children ask and
answer the more
concrete questions “who and what” rather
than more abstract
“why” question
Printed images from the slideshow,
photocopied maps - cut into jigsaw
pieces
Camera
Structured discussion - how do I know what this map is of? Who might need this map?
Why would they need this map?
Children re-gather to report back on 3 things they have found out - what, who, why.
Plenary / Assessment for learning:
 What have we learned?
 What are the common features of all the maps (symbols, signs, route marking, key)?
 What else do we need to learn to do with maps?
 ‘Tell your neighbour’ - Class teacher to display one of the words from vocabulary list
and children to tell their neighbour a sentence or piece of information which includes
this word. Share some examples with the class.
Homework: Find an old map or leaflet with a map. Make your own map jigsaw or draw a route map of your journey to school. Give your mum/dad/carer
directions to follow on how to get to school.
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Lesson objectives:
To explore the effect of the fire on
people in London
Date:
Previous learning:
 To have listened to recounts of the Fire
 To have seen images of the Fire; to have understood
that the fire occurred long in the past
Activity
Starter:
What do we know already? Speedy think - one minute to think of something you know already
about the Fire. Then share that idea with your partner and any other things you can remember.
Structure thinking - ask children to think about when was it, what happened, where
Revisit key vocabulary
Vocabulary: Emotions vocabulary, flames, destroy, loss
Teach vocabulary using strategies and materials suggested in the activity template pack
Main:
 Tell children that today we will be thinking about the people who were involved in the fire.
How did it affect them? How did they feel?
 Use TES PowerPoint presentation to re-tell the sequence of events - encourage children to
actively think about how it might feel to be in London at the time of the fire, how people were
affected.
Round Robin - collecting ideas on feelings and how affected
Lesson: History – The Great Fire
Speaking and listening objective:
Work in role in small or large groups. Pupils can improvise
and respond to a variety of actions and situations.
Differentiation
Use pictures of the
fire of London for
target children to
promote thinking
Resource
Emotions icons (from
SEAL resources)
http://teachfind.com/n
ationalstrategies/sealresource-sheetwords-core-feelings
Eye witness accounts and
background detail
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.u
k/education/lesson47.htm
PowerPoint presentation
http://www.tes.co.uk/teachingresource/Y2-GREAT-FIRE-1-2Term-Plan-Lessons-Resources6086407/
Support questioning
Hot seating  Select key characters/ people from the event – Pepys, King, Thomas Farrinor (baker), a child with question cue
Other sources card, e.g. what,
and a home owner. In groups, assign a character to each group.
http://www.fireoflondon.org.uk/
 Remind children of being ‘in role’ - e.g. talking in first person, speaking from the point of view where, who
Question cards available in the
of another person etc.
I CAN Communication Cookbook
 What questions do I want to ask this person?
www.ican.org.uk/cookbook
 One child in hot seat, others to interview in role – what did you see, what happened to you,
Digiblue and / or Easi Speak
how did you feel, what will you do now?
microphones to record outcomes
 Record or video interviews
Plenary:
What did we learn? - each group say one effect the fire had on people in London
Ask a specific child (good example) to repeat being ‘hot seated’ - draw attention to their use of
tone of voice, stress on words and gestures. If not present, then model how they could be
included to enhance the performance.
Assessment for learning: use traffic lights to say how well they worked in Homework: Find out what you should do if you see a fire starting
groups
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Lesson objectives:
 Collect and record data
 Read data and generate questions
Date:
Previous learning:
 Tallying
 Recording data in a variety of forms
Activity
Starter:
20 questions - I’m thinking of a number between..........’
Vocabulary - higher, lower, 2 digit, 1 digit, odd, even
Vocabulary: Higher, lower, 2 digit, 1 digit, odd, even, tally, data, more, less
Teach vocabulary using strategies and materials suggested in the activity template pack
Main:
Problem solving
 Introduce the idea of a class survey of 5 pets - but remind children that it is ‘no pens’
day’ so we cannot write numbers or use a tally chart!
 How else could we record what children like with some of the maths resources we
have in the classroom?
 Show an assortment of concrete counting materials – elicit ideas as to how they could
be used e.g. a Sumthing string for each animal, a Unifix tower for each animal, same
colour beads/counters for a particular animal.
Class survey
 Assign children to 3 groups with a set of concrete apparatus per group
 Each group creates their own tally chart based on their own preferences.
What do we know?
 Children discuss what they know from their data and create their own questions to
ask and record them on Talking Tins
 Remind children of possible question words - what type of answers would you expect
to get from this type of question word (include open and closed questions)?
Answer my question
 Leaving the tallies (whatever form) and the Talking Tins, rotate the groups
 Each group visits the other tally charts, listens to questions on the Talking Tins and
answers them from the data.
Plenary:
What did we learn? - was it easy to understand what the data meant? We can record
data in different ways.
Assessment for learning: Children to use number cards (1-5) and rate how well they felt
they did. Comment on how they managed to generate questions. Discuss and evaluate
Lesson: Maths - Data
Speaking and listening objective:
Ask questions using appropriate question words
Differentiation
Narrow range of numbers for
lower achieving children; visual
representation
Give sentence starter to support
questioning
“Who has a .....”
“How many...”
Give specific roles in groups to
lower achieving pupils
Give examples of how tallies can
be represented
Resource
Number cards
Pets pictures - dog, cat,
rabbit, guinea pig, fish
Sumthing beads
Counters and pots
Beads and laces
Unifix cubes
Numicon
Each group - a set of pet
picture cards and one set of
concrete apparatus
Cue cards - altogether, most,
least, how many
Talking Tins or other voice
recorders
Homework: Think of a way of doing a traffic survey past your
house or on your journey home - without writing anything down!
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Date:
Lesson objective:
Previous learning:
Children will know what they are good at (strengths) Children will have had experience of
and be able to talk about things they want to get
talking about themselves
better at
Activity
Starter:
Swaps – all the children sit in a circle. The teacher explains that the children must find a new
place if what s/he says applies to them. e.g. ‘Find a new place if...’
 you like cheese and onion crisps
 you like splashing in puddles
 you enjoy helping other people
 you like reading
 your favourite colour is green
 you don’t like bananas
 you have 2 brothers
Vocabulary: Good / better, because
Main:
 Structured pair activity - think / pair/share. Think alone for 1 minute; talk to your partner
about your idea, some children chosen to share. Pass round a ‘big mike’ for children to
share ideas about what they are good at/would like to get better at.
 Remind children of the use of the word ‘because’ - encourage children to think of a reason
why they would like to get better at certain things or reasons why they are good at certain
things. Highlight how ‘because’ adds detail/reason to a sentence/explanation. Model if
necessary; “I’d like to be better at cooking because I like eating delicious food”
 In pairs - structured talking task - 1st child says something they are good at and
something they want/need to get better at. 2nd child then says another thing the child is
good at and another thing they need to work at. Swap roles.
 Change partners. Repeat exercise with new partner. Change partner. Repeat exercise.
Plenary:
Thumbs down, thumbs up - teacher begins by saying one thing s/he wants to get better at
(thumbs down) and one thing they are good at (thumbs up) then names child to do the same,
who names another child and so on.
Assessment for learning: What do pupils think about this activity, how easy or difficult was it
to identify things they are good/not so good at?
Lesson: PSHE – Good to be me
Speaking and listening objective:
Join phrases with words such as if, so, because, etc.
Differentiation
Resource
Big microphone
More able children to
use ‘strengths’ instead
of good at
Use visual prompts /
forced alternatives for
lower achieving pupils
Optional - Big foam thumb prop
http://wavyhands.net/acatalog/Blan
k_Hands.html
Homework: practise one of the things you would like to get
better at; ask Mum and Dad to help you.
Year 2 Lesson Plans
Class:
Teacher:
Lesson objective:
To compare and contrast – similarities
and differences between animal life
Date:
Lesson: Science - Living things: similarities and differences
Previous learning:
Speaking and listening objective:
Identifying and classifying animals and their key
Use newly learnt words in a specific and appropriate way
features
Activity
Starter:
Riddles - clues are given to the children about an animal/bird/fish; children guess the
creature.
Vocabulary: Category, same, different, fur, hair, feathers, scales, beak, claws
Teach vocabulary using strategies and materials suggested in the activity template pack
Main:
 Display and discuss vocab. (Other words to be added throughout the lesson if children
think of more). Encourage the children to use these words where appropriate to help
them achieve the lesson objective.
 Describe it - circle activity. Children take a turn at describing a creature they can think of
(or pick from a selection). Model or encourage children to use animal categories,
descriptive vocabulary etc. Other children must guess the creature being described.
Encourage children to ask questions if they cannot guess straight away.
 What do you need to know? – What does it look like/sound like, what does it eat, where
does it live?
 Remind children of the vocabulary for describing properties of creatures
Differentiation
Resource
www.meddybemps.com/riddles for
examples of riddles with picture answers
that could be displayed through IWB
Words printed on cards
Picture selection /
use objects rather
than pictures
Communication activity
 Give each child a picture card from a range of different creatures. Children move around
the room, talking to each other about their creature.
 Encourage children to discuss their creatures’ characteristics and compare with the other
children.
 Find a partner who has an animal that shares characteristics - e.g. lion and dog both eat
meat, worm and mole both live underground.
Plenary / Assessment for learning:
 What did we learn? Re-group as a class - each pair tells the group why they paired up.
Make a recording (‘we go together because.....’) or take a photo to record what children
have learned.
 Rest of class to identify the newly learnt words when used in explanations. In pairs
children pull out one of the new vocabulary words and put it into a sentence; all judge
whether it makes sense.
Homework: Make a PowerPoint collage of ‘creatures that live in the sea’ or ‘animals that eat meat’
Picture selection
Templates for teaching new vocabulary in
the “activity templates” pack attached
Colorcards – Animals
http://www.speechmark.net/topic/speechlanguage-therapy
Voice recorder, camera