Fiona, of Teachers Telling Tales, has taught in the UK and international schools, trained teachers, worked as environmental educator, in a range of learning support roles and she is currently a tutor.
Through Teachers Telling Tales she aspires to share this experience through creating high quality and affordable resources. While most are targeted at the primary age range, the aim is to provide versatile and adaptable resources to suit a range of ages and abilities.
Fiona, of Teachers Telling Tales, has taught in the UK and international schools, trained teachers, worked as environmental educator, in a range of learning support roles and she is currently a tutor.
Through Teachers Telling Tales she aspires to share this experience through creating high quality and affordable resources. While most are targeted at the primary age range, the aim is to provide versatile and adaptable resources to suit a range of ages and abilities.
Develop phonics, reading and spelling skills with this Bingo game. Featuring 28 ‘ar’ words, there is a clue for each, for example, “The opposite of blunt”. There are 6 colour coded game boards, each with 16 words. Players must try to get 4 in a row.
Good for listening skills and consolidating vocabulary with English learners.
Updates: This pack was developed further in may 2025 to include sets of word and picture cards for matching games and a set of loop cards. A guide for educators includes instructions.
For more fun with the ‘ar’ sound, check out the board game:
/teaching-resource/ar-talk-like-a-pirate-phonics-board-game-12403169
Teachers Telling Tales also have Pirate phonics packs with the long ‘o’ sound. Pirate fans, check out the pack with position activities, mazes, anagrams and sudoku. /teaching-resource/pirates-pack-12183976
A pirate-themed board game to learn the ‘ar’ sound and have fun talking like a pirate! Good for phonics, vocabulary, pirate topics.
Contents:
Game board (A4 size will work for 2 players, enlarge for more)
20 Clue cards with short riddles to answer, e.g. “the opposite of near”.
Answer sheet
Guide with instructions
Colour or ink-saving versions.
As well as phonics this game is good for vocabulary with English learners. Talk like a Pirate ‘ar’ bingo is also available. This board game can be purchased as part of a bundle with ‘Yo ho ho’ pirate resources with a focus on the long ‘o’ sound.
International Sudoku Day is September 9th, but any day of the year is a great time to use logic and reasoning skills to complete these puzzles!
Children also develop language skills with this pack through using a range of themes including:
colour (primary, secondary, rainbow, black, grey, white)
directions (left, right, up, down or North, South, East, West if you prefer!)
stars with differing numbers of points
playing cards (heart, diamond, club, spade)
shapes (simple: circle, square, rectangle and triangle and quadrilaterals)
dice (dots representing numbers 1-6)
The pack has a range of challenges including 3 x 3, 4 x 4, 6 x 6, 7 x 7 and 9 x 9 grids with different amounts of squares missing.
Answer sheets included.
If your children enjoyed these check out these other sudoku packs from Teachers Telling Tales:
Minibeasts www.tes.com/teaching-resource/minibeasts-patterns-sudoku-and-sequences-12340235
Pirates www.tes.com/teaching-resource/pirate-sudoku-games-12322372
(Note, updated April 2025 with additional sheets, improved clarity and all compiled in one pack with a guide and contents list.
Socks Rock! They are perfect for exploring creative ideas and mathematical concepts, plus, they feature in lots of spirit and awareness days. With this super bundle there are design challenges, templates, matching games, pattern activities and worksheets and colouring pages.
Activities suitable for a range of abilities in class or assigning for home learning.
This pack includes
Design Task Cards
Footwear outlines templates
Teacher’s guides with instructions and activity descriptions and ideas.
Design Task Cards (2 versions: A4 size UK spelling and letter with US spelling)
These cards are designed to spark ideas, with suggestions while being open ended for interpretation and exploration. Themes: Characters, friends and Family, Superheroes, Animals, My Hero, Occupations, Stories, Celebrations. The cards can be used for individual or collaborative tasks.
The cards could be used for other items of clothing such as hats or T shirts, homes, vehicles or anything else you can think of!
Templates
Outlines of footwear. Includes a range of socks, tights, leggings, shoes, sandals, boots.
These resources are great for awareness days:
#oddsocksday November 16th (part of Anti-bullying Week)
#LotsOfSocksDay 21st March (World Down Syndrome Day)
Related resources are available from Teachers Telling Tales, including an Odd Socks pack, sock-themed repeat patterns and Sock-topus and Friends’ animals love socks counting activities. Available as a bundle at a dis counted price.
Also see the blog post https://teacherstellingtales.com/socks-rock/
Skills: These activities are good for counting with 1-1 correspondence, beginning to count in twos, beginning to notice patterns (doubles and halves). Pointing to each foot or sock will help with accuracy and children can also circle or cross off objects when they count to help keep track.
Contents:
Worksheets
worksheets ‘Animals Love Socks’ and ‘If Minibeasts Wore Socks’ (colour and ink saving versions included)
Colouring pages, sock-topus and incey wincey spider for designing socks.
Teacher’s Guide
These resources are great for awareness days:
#oddsocksday November 16th (part of Anti-bullying Week)
#LotsOfSocksDay 21st March (World Down Syndrome Day)
Related resources are available from Teachers Telling Tales, including an Odd Socks pack, sock-themed repeat patterns and Fantastic Footwear which includes templates for socks and a variety of shoes and themed design challenge task cards.
You can purchase a bundle at a discounted price.
Contents:
Spots and Stripes worksheets and printable socks for games, templates for colouring.
Cute patterned socks matching pairs card game.
Teacher’s guide with instructions for games and ideas for activities.
These resources are great for awareness days:
#oddsocksday November 16th (part of Anti-bullying Week)
#LotsOfSocksDay 21st March (World Down Syndrome Day)
Read more ideas for sock topics here https://teacherstellingtales.com/socks-rock/
Related resources are available from Teachers Telling Tales, including sock-topus counting activities, repeat patterns and Fantastic Footwear which includes templates for socks and a variety of shoes and themed design challenge task cards.
Get them all in a bundle at a discounted price.
Socks are a great topic for exploring patterns. This pack contains resources to explore repeat patterns.
Contents:
Complete the stripes.
There are striped socks to complete, two short and two long with a 2 colour AB pattern and two short and two long with a 3 colour ABC patterns to complete. There are completed examples and blank socks included for pattern creation.
Complete the sock sequence.
Pairs of socks repeated with a range of colour patterns. Includes a blank line for pattern creation. With answer sheet for teacher / self assessment.
A teacher’s guide
Read more ideas for sock topics here https://teacherstellingtales.com/socks-rock/
Related resources are available from Teachers Telling Tales, including an Odd Socks pack, sock-topus counting activities and Fantastic Footwear which includes templates for socks and a variety of shoes and themed design challenge task cards.
These resources are great for awareness days:
#oddsocksday November 16th (part of Anti-bullying Week)
#LotsOfSocksDay 21st March (World Down Syndrome Day)
Pack updated June 2025:
short socks added for students who find lots of colouring too much
completed examples for explanation
higher contrast on worksheet
answer sheet added
compiled in one document for ease of use
links to other resources provided.
A cool collection of ice lolly and ice cream themed activities. Includes craft, colouring and design. Inspire creative ideas and develop vocabulary related to flavours, colours, toppings and discussion of preferences and opinions. Explore symmetry through completing pictures and creating designs.
Perfect for summer, holiday and food topics, parties or play dates.
A cool creative pack of ice cream goodies, ideal for summer topics or parties. Contains 3 activities:
Ice cream cone symmetry. complete the pictures so the delicious dessert is the same on both sides (3 designs).
‘I dream of ice cream’ design your perfect ice cream template, single and double cone versions.
Ice cream creative colouring sheets (4 designs).
Great for talking about colours, flavours, toppings, preferences.
There are similar symmetry resources featuring ice lollies in the Teachers Telling Tales shop: /teaching-resource/ice-lolly-symmetry-12355898
You can also purchase this resource with other ice lolly resources as part of the ‘Ice Ice Bundle’.
Creating these cute ice lolly characters is a fun activity for learning about symmetry. The challenge is to draw the missing side of the picture so it is the same on both sides. A grid over the image helps with drawing shapes and placing details in the correct place. You could also use a mirror, place it along the middle line to check in the reflection. There are 3 character designs to complete, two ice lolly shapes with no detail and a blank grid for creating your own designs. Colour and ink saving versions included.
Children love to create a name for their finished lolly and for an extra challenge can design the wrapper using the blank grid.
Check out the ice cream symmetry resources and other ice lolly activities by Teachers Telling Tales for summer topics or parties.
This resource can also be purchased as part of the ‘Ice Ice Bundle’.
Get creative colouring these cool ice lollies. There are 4 character designs and 6 outlines of different shaped lollies to colour. Great for talking about flavours, colours, patterns and preferences.
As a challenge, children could think up a name for their ice lolly and maybe even design the packaging too.
Print or stick on card for creating textured lollies using collage with sequins, beads etc.
Check out the other ice lolly and ice cream resources by Teachers Telling Tales. This resource is included in the ‘Ice Ice Bundle’.
Chill out this summer by making cool ice lollies! Outlines to print, colour or decorate using collage. Fold in half and paste with a lollipop stick (real or made from the template). Ten designs.
Ideas for use:
Design your own lolly - choose your shape, colour, pattern, flavour, toppings etc. Great as a stimulus for speaking or writing.
Use for role play, (no dripping unless you use a lot of glue!)
Use beads, sequins, pom poms etc. for sprinkles.
Create a cool character. Add eyes, arms, cool sunglasses etc. Googly eyes and pipe cleaners are great for this!
Make a puppet show with your characters.
At home: a great craft activity for a party or play date.
At school or play scheme: these make a fantastic display.
This is a good way to keep children occupied after making real ice lollies and waiting for them to freeze.
Check out the other ice lolly and ice cream resources by Teachers Telling Tales. You can also purchase this resources as part of the ‘Ice Ice Bundle’.
A massive minibeasts collection! Perfect for a topic on creepy crawlies and their flying friends. A range of activities from movement, board games, sudoku puzzles, mazes, Who Am I? quiz, book making, fine motor and cutting skills.
Good for mixed ability classes, students learning English and anyone who loves these little critters!
Logic and reasoning skills with a minibeasts theme. Featuring cute cartoon creepy crawlies, these activities are a fun way to develop thinking skills. Students cut and paste pictures to complete the sequences and sudoku squares.
Easy, medium and hard versions for different levels of challenge.
Ink saving variations included (different puzzles to the colour ones).
Perfect for a minibeasts topic, a challenge for early finishers or a discrete lesson in problem solving.
For related minibeasts resources, check out the Teachers Telling Tales shop, there are bundle and save options.
Guess the minibeasts in a quiz (PowerPoint presentation), make up your own quiz then create a mini book.
Through describing and guessing, children develop their knowledge about minibeasts and vocabulary related to colours, patterns, parts of the body, ways of moving, prepositions, habitats.
For more of a challenge students can engage in research to find out more (links to suggested websites included).
Instructions and templates for differing abilities are included for making origami books, a ‘mini mystery minibeast’ book!
The teacher’s guide has all the information, the quiz questions and screenshots for easy reference.
Check out the other minibeasts themed resources in the Teachers Telling Tales shop with bundle and save options.
Updated March 2025 to two files (presentation and pack with printables)
Lots of fun activities to explore where minibeasts are found. Good for learning new vocabulary related to insects and small creatures, the natural world and prepositions. Can be used for games and classroom display.
Contains
a set of habitat cards and minibeast cards for sorting and matching activities.
which way home activity, choose and follow the lines
tracing lines, great for emerging writing and fine motor skills
mazes for more of a challenge
The minibeasts cards are perfect for creating class pictographs, of favourite minibeasts.
Try sorting minibeasts into groups, e.g. things that fly, nocturnal, etc.
Check out the other minbeasts resources in the Teachers Telling Tales shop, you can bundle and save.
Updated March 2025 to one file with added educator guide and poetry activity.
This resource pack features a board game and a set of cards with ten minibeasts and corresponding movements.
The cards are great for brain breaks and circle times.
With the board game children perform the action when they land on the minibeast, for example, spin when they land on a spider.
There are variation prompts on the game such as saying a fact about the animal, saying how many legs it has or saying where it lives. The board also features pictures of where minibeasts are commonly found, for example, logs, flowers, a pond.
There are minibeast habitats resources (as well as a range of other minibeast activities) in the Teachers Telling Tales shop.
Updated March 2025 to one file with improved resolution and links to similar resources.
Improve cutting skills by cutting along the lines. Test skills with zig zag (straight) and wavy lines. Cute cartoon minibeasts at the end of each dotted line.
Check out the other minibeasts resources in the Teachers Telling Tales shop.
Updated March 2025 with a third sheet and links to similar resources.
Sudoku is a fun way to develop concentration and reasoning skills. The challenge is to enter numbers (or in this case pictures) into grids so none are repeated in each row or column. These games feature pirate themed pictures, students cut and paste to complete the grids. This gives them the option of moving the pictures around before sticking them down.
There are 3 by 3 and 4 by 4 grids and three levels of challenge: easy, tricky and deadly. As well as improving thinking skills, the games are good for consolidating pirate topic vocabulary.
Updated April 2025 with all puzzles in one pack.