Year 6 English articles
Pawsitive changes: Animals transforming schools
Primary school headteacher, Matt Revill, explores the transformative impact of animals in educational settings, addressing key questions such as how dogs assist children in reading, the inspirational value of farm visits and the benefits children derive from therapy pets.
Story time with Dad: best books for bonding & development
In today’s fast-paced world, finding quality time to connect with our children can be a challenge. One of the most enriching ways for father-figures to bond with their kids while fostering their development is through shared reading, so here are our top picks for reading with Dad!
Last year's SATs uproar & what to expect in 2024
In 2023, the news was rife with stories about the alarming difficulty of the KS2 SATs reading paper. Matt Revill, seasoned headteacher and educator, dissects the controversy and provides helpful advice for this year's Year 6 children and parents.
5 tips on inspiring your funny child to write jokes
Comedy is often an underrated learning tool. It can encourage your child to be creative, express their individuality and help them engage in reading, writing and performance. Encourage your child’s inner comedian with these tips from stand-up comedian, children’s author and comedy writer Steven Vinacour.
24 fun toys for summer outdoor learning
It's well established that outdoor play is important for young learners and provides opportunities to develop physical, social, fine and gross motor skills. Our editor, Kate Morgan, has put together her top picks of outdoor toys. So get the kids outside, having fun and learning this summer. Let the games begin!
How the daily learning programme works
Whether you're taking your child out of school for a period, setting out on your home education journey or simply looking for extra activities to boost your child's learning, here's why the daily learning programme could be the right fit for you...
Best time travel and travel slip books for children
Time travel is a topic that will never cease to captivate kids' imaginations. Ancient Rome, Victorian Britain, where would you time travel to? We've collected some of our favourite time travelling and time slip novels for children that will keep their noses buried in their books and excited for the next chapter. Enjoy!
Best books for budding young activists
Our children's generation have the opportunity to change the world for the better, becoming guardians of our planet and promoting equity and social justice. Help them understand the role they will play in protecting people and environment and show them that every one of us can make a difference with this selection of inspiring, positive kids' books about activism and activists.
Best biographies and autobiographies for children
Biographies and autobiographies bring the lives of influential people to life for young children, highlighting the role exceptional individuals have played in our shared history. Introduce your child to the world's greatest artists, activists, scientists, inventors and humanitarians with books aimed at every age group. Each biography and autobiography is bursting with anecdotes, imagery and information, sure to inspire young people to follow their own dreams and aspirations.
Best alternate reality books for kids
Who wouldn't want to live in worlds of floating castles, wizards and dragons, talking horses and endless summer nights? Writer Richard Lambert, author of The Wolf Road and Shadow Town, picks his favourite children's books set in an alternate reality to help your child find their own favourite land of magic and enchantment.
Best story retellings for children
Classic literature is reimagined, updated, revisited and reinterpreted in each of these brilliant retellings, which expand on traditional tales or use comic-strip illustrations or modern settings to make brilliant stories accessible to a new generation of readers.
Best graphic novels for children
In the past children were often discouraged from reading graphic novels because they weren’t seen as ‘real’ books but, in fact, the vocabulary, storylines and humour are highly sophisticated and offer reluctant readers a brilliant introduction to the world of books. Children’s book expert and founder of children’s book review platform Toppsta, Georgina Atwell, picks 10 of the best to capture children’s imagination.
Writing spooky stories: a guide for kids
Can you scare your friends silly with a spooky story? Are you a master of suspense and a lover of all things supernatural? Learn how to keep readers on the edge of their seat with a terrifying tale with writing tips from Phil Hickes, author of the spine-tingling Aveline Jones series for readers aged 9+.
Best detective stories for KS2 kids
With plots to uncover, mysteries to solve and codes to break you'll need to work hard to join the best junior detectives and super-smart sleuths in children's literature. Puzzle your way through our pick of the best detective stories for KS2 kids.
Best children's books about the Holocaust
There have been many books written about the Holocaust, both by people who experienced it and other writers. Scott Evans, The Reader Teacher, has selected ten titles suitable for primary school children to give an insight into this period of history.
Why children’s books need more disabled representation
Actor, children’s author and former CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell shares what it was like growing up with a disability, and why children’s books need more disabled characters.
Best poetry home education resources
Do you love poetry, or wish you had more time to explore it? Introduce your family to the delights of the spoken word with this selection of wonderful free poetry resources. Classic poems for children, performance poetry videos, interactive poetry games and kids' poetry podcasts: everything you need to encourage a love of verse is available at the click of a button.
Best literacy resources
Whether your child is just learning to read and print letters or looking for ways to put their creative writing skills to the test, we've rounded up some fantastic resources to help them practise phonics, grammar, story-writing and comic-creating at home. Plus there are loads of different ways to connect with authors and listen to stories.
Best kids' activity packs to download
Top up the resource bank and keep the kids busy at home with reading, puzzles, crafting, science and other screen-free activities. They're all available to download for free and you won't need any special equipment, so head off the "I'm bored!" moans and buy yourself a few moments of peace so you can get some of your own work done!
60 reading challenges for primary school kids
Great ideas for keeping your child engaged with reading and broadening their taste in books.
Best YouTube channels for home education
Whether you want your child to learn about maths, geography, science or history, they'll be happy to watch a video about it – and these YouTube channels introduce topics through songs, animations, experiments, skits and riddles. From phonics for new readers to physics for keen scientists, these are the educational channels to subscribe to.
4 things parents need to know about 'reading barriers' and how to overcome them
Learning to read is a complex task and it's common for children to come up against "reading barriers". Parent and teacher Alex Quigley, author of Closing the Reading Gap, suggests ways you can help your child overcome difficulties at home.
Interviewing to write a biography
Writing an in-depth profile of a grandparent or family friend will help your child develop interview skills, learn to write up notes and introduce them to family heritage, stories and legends that they might never have heard! Use our suggested questions to help set up a conversation to remember.
Year 6 maths and English key topics for home education
If you've decided to home educate your Y6 child or spend more time supporting their learning from home, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed because your (not so) little person is set to start secondary school in September and you want to make sure they’re in a really good place academically. Don't panic! Phoebe Duffy (mum, teacher and education writer), shares her advice for home-schoolers.
50 of the best virtual trips and educational experiences for families
In this day and age, we may be spending more time indoors but thanks to our laptops and devices we can let the world come to us instead – take a trip round Frida Kahlo’s kitchen, share some chocolate cake with Michael Rosen and journey to the International Space Station with our pick of 50 of the best virtual trips and educational experiences. By Hetty Walton
20 of the best live streams for kids
Help your primary-age child stay educated and entertained with our round-up of the best live streams for kids.
How to teach your child to use a dictionary
Learning to use a dictionary is an important curriculum skill and will help your child expand their vocabulary. Here's how to help them find their way around it.
What is oracy?
Speaking and listening may not be formally assessed in primary schools, but they’re vital skills for every child. Here’s why – and how to encourage oracy.
What is an exclamation mark?
Understand how to punctuate exclamation sentences and how to communicate sudden and strong emotion in writing with our parents' guide to exclamation marks.
What is a full stop?
Children start learning about punctuation in Reception and Year 1 when they are introduced to full stops and their use. Understand how and when your child learns to use full stops correctly with our parents' punctuation guide.
What are imperative verbs?
Do you know how imperative or "bossy" verbs are used in instruction texts? We explain how children are introduced to imperatives from Year 2 onwards, with examples of how they are taught in the primary classroom.
Best activity books for children
Whether you're on the move or at home, a great activity book offers hours of screen-free learning and fun. Crosswords, maths challenges, mystery solving and code writing are all covered in our best activity books for kids picks. We can't guarantee you won't want to help out with the puzzling, though!
Best books for ten year olds
Beautiful picture books, an evil Ice Queen, an adventure in the jungle and an evocative journey back in time make these books the perfect reading selection for ten year olds who are exploring the world around them (and the world within themselves too).
Best modern classics for KS2 children
Ancient secret societies, a Stone Age boy and an Edwardian girl, a planet terrorised by jelly-like creatures and a 'practically perfect' nanny make these books the ideal twentieth-century classic reading choices for children in Key Stage 2.
Best spelling apps for kids
Help your child get to grips with spelling with our round-up of the best spelling apps for primary-school kids.
Best poetry books for children
We could tell you that reading and – even better – learning poetry by heart, will do wonders for your child’s memory, vocabulary and writing. We could tell you that reading and reciting poetry is now a key part of the National Curriculum. Or we could simply say that reading a brilliant poem might give your child a great deal of pleasure. Here are some of the best children’s collections out there, chosen by poet Emma Harding.
Inspiring children to read
When it comes to encouraging children's love of books and reading, teachers (and librarians!) are the experts. We asked Ashley Booth – reader, Year 6 teacher and passionate advocate of children's books – to share his tips for teachers (and for parents!) on igniting a love of reading in primary-school children.
What are singular and plural?
Singular and plural nouns and how they're taught in primary school, plus how KS1 and KS2 children learn about the formation of irregular plurals and how to use possessive apostrophes.
Best children's books about the Anglo Saxons
Travel back in time to the dawn of England and find out more about the Anglo Saxons, their stories and their lives. Teacher and literacy expert Ashley Booth shares his pick of the best historical fiction set in the time of King Alfred, including different retellings of the epic Anglo Saxon poem Beowulf.
Best children's books about the Great Fire of London and the Plague
Make the events of 1665 and 1666 come to life for children (and for you!) with teacher Ashley Booth's pick of the best children's fiction about the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. From KS1 early readers to chapter books, there's a historical fiction option for all ages.