English Resources for Key Stage 1 Children

Since lockdown began, I have been making use of some of the incredible English resources on offer for my daughter who is in Key Stage 1. It took me a while to discover which sites had relevant and engaging resources to keep my 6-year-old daughter, Aurelia interested. I now feel I have compiled the ultimate list!

The World of David Walliams

At the beginning of lockdown, I introduced Aurelia to David Walliams. My eldest daughter who is now 18 enjoyed David Walliams books when she was a child. Over the past 10 years or so, Walliams’s collection of books has exploded.

I introduced Aurelia to the literary world of Walliams via his audiobooks. Each day Walliams reads a selection of chapters from one of his books. He calls this ‘elevenses’ (these can be found here). Aurelia really enjoyed her daily instalment of reading from ‘The World’s Worst Children’.

David Walliams also reads sections from some of his other books, such as ‘Billionaire Boy’ and ‘Bad Dad’. We tend to play these audiobooks while doing other activities such as colouring or playing with her toys.

Since Aurelia enjoyed the audiobooks so much, I’ve purchased a range of Walliams’ books. She is currently reading ‘Gangsta Granny’ and next on her reading list is ‘Mr Stink’.

The World of David Walliams website also contains lots of activities for children which are based on his books. These activities include word searches, spot the difference, how to create illustrations and also resource packs based on individual books. Aurelia has the Gangsta Granny pack which she has been completing as she works through the book.

I’ve found David Walliams’ books, audiobooks and resources extremely valuable during ‘homeschooling’.

BBC Bitesize Daily Lessons

Sometimes the lessons set by Aurelia’s school are too easy for her. Or she finds them boring and simply won’t engage. When I struggle, I head to BBC Bitesize Daily Lessons for help.

The sheer amount of lessons uploaded to this site is impressive. The lessons are categorized according to age group and the website is really easy to navigate. Not only will you find English lessons but also maths, history, languages, art and design and geography.

The lessons include videos and interactive activities which really engage my daughter.

BBC Bitesize also offer lots of educational games for young children. Aurelia really enjoys playing these games. She doesn’t realise that she is actually learning something too!

Planbee

I have only come across Planbee very recently. It has quickly become one of my most favourite sites for finding English resources for my daughter. Due to the COVID pandemic, the site is offering a large number of free downloads. These range from learning packs to individual activities.

Aurelia really enjoys the activities we have downloaded. One of my favourite resources are the film activity sheets. Planbee has created a good number of these from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Frozen. The activity sheets ask children to think about the movie they are watching or have watched. We find this incorporates some much-needed English activities into our day and yet makes learning incredibly fun.

Oak National Academy

If your child’s school hasn’t used Oak National Academy for their online lessons, you should really check out their website. Oak National Academy offers English and maths lessons for KS1 children. Each lesson is given by a teacher. The lessons are usually approximately 20 minutes long. The children are asked to complete activities similar to those they would complete in the classroom, e.g. writing a story with the teacher, working on phonics and sentence structure.

Children who are struggling with homeschooling will really benefit from these short lessons. Aurelia says she enjoys them because they feel like school. The lessons are delivered by real Key Stage 1 teachers who know precisely how to address the children.

Oxford Owl

We haven’t used Oxford Owl as much as we ought to have done. But from next week, this wonderful resource will be used every day in our home. Not only does the site offer some amazing resources, but they also provide some really useful guides for parents. For instance, how to help your child with their reading and how to develop their vocabulary at home.

Oxford Owl have made their ebooks free to access. These books are categorised into age groups and reading levels. Aurelia reads these books at school and she has been enjoying them at home too!

Winnie the Witch is one of those characters that both of my daughters have enjoyed. I have loved reading of Winnie and Wilbur’s adventures over the years! Oxford Owl has provided a free Winnie the Witch ebook along with a range of Winnie-themed activities. These are suitable for Key Stage 1 children. If you’re not familiar with the adventures of Winnie and Wilbur, then I can highly recommend heading over to Oxford Owl and introducing your children to these delightful stories.

Read Write Inc.

Aurelia’s school use Ruth Miskin‘s Phonics Training in Early Years and Key Stage 1. The class have daily phonics lessons which we have been able to continue at home thanks to the daily uploaded lessons which are available on the Ruth Miskin Youtube Channel.

The Read Write Inc programme really does make learning English incredibly simple by using phonetic sounds. This then helps children to spell as they move through Key Stage 1. It does not matter if your child’s school is signed up to the programme or not, Read Write Inc. is an incredibly useful programme.

Mrs Mactivity

One of my favourite sites for all learning resources is Mrs Mactivity. Their site includes some fantastic resources for Key Stage 1 English lessons. This website is constantly updated. There are hundreds of different activities that will keep children engaged. From comprehension to poetry, and Fortnite-themed English activities.

Mrs Mactivity also offers activities in all different subjects too. Aurelia really enjoys the maths games the site offers in particular! The developers recently added a Minecraft comprehension activity and other Minecraft-themed activities. These have been extremely popular in our home!

We hope this list has been of some use. Can you recommend any other sites offering Key Stage 1 English resources?

For similar posts, see our Parenting Category.