Activity Planner KS1–KS4

KS1 Activity Template · Animal Academy

Animal Academy · Key Stage 1 (Years 1–2, ages 5–7) · Follow the learner's pace — Rosie can read anything aloud.

Animal focus

Week beginning

Year group

Learner

Adult leading

English

📖 Phonics & Decoding

Sound focus this week: _______ (e.g. the sound in the animal's name). Find and read words about the animal using this week's sound. Sound out → blend → read. Links to Spelling Practice with Rosie.

Sound/grapheme focus

Tricky words spotted

📚 Reading Fluency & Comprehension

Read a short passage about the animal aloud. Re-read — smoother the second time. Answer in a sentence: What does it eat? Where does it live? Retell to a grown-up in own words.

Adult note — fluency / comprehension observed

✏️ Handwriting & Writing Simple Sentences

Practise letters from the animal's name (correct start point, direction, size). Write a sentence: capital letter, finger spaces, full stop. Y2: add an adjective or use "and" to join ideas.

Sentence the child wrote

Mathematics

🔢 Counting & Number

Count in 1s / 2s / 5s / 10s using animal pictures or features (legs, spots, stripes). Count forwards and backwards.

Count in

From

➕ Arithmetic — Animal Word Problems

Addition: "The animal finds 3 worms, then 4 more. How many altogether?" Subtraction: "8 animals, 3 hide. How many left?" Y2: multiplication/division — "4 animals, 2 ears each. Total?"

Problems tried & results

📐 Shape, Measure & Comparing

Find shapes in the animal's home or body (circle eyes, triangle ears). Compare: bigger / smaller / heavier / longer. Y2: measure with a ruler or cubes.

Adult note

Science & Foundation Subjects

🔬 Science — Animals & Living Things

What group is the animal in? (Fish, amphibian, reptile, bird or mammal.) What does it eat? (Carnivore, herbivore or omnivore.) What does it need to survive? (Food, water, air, a suitable home.) Links to Animal Classifier, Build-a-Home, Habitat Sort.

Adult note

🌍 History & Geography

Where in the world does the animal live? Hot or cold? Find on a map. How have people kept or used this animal? "Long ago… Today…"

💻 Computing, PE & Art

Use Animal Academy safely to find a fact. Move like the animal (Animal Moves). Draw or collage it (Draw & Share). E-safety: what do we do if something worries us online?

Reflection & Next Steps

Something I'm proud of

Something I found tricky

Adult note / next steps

Reward earned

KS2 Activity Template · Animal Academy

Animal Academy · Key Stage 2 (Years 3–6, ages 7–11) · Work independently where you can — Rosie reads anything aloud, no rush.

Animal focus

Week beginning

Year group (circle)

Learner

English

📖 Reading Comprehension

Read the passage closely. Retrieval: find and copy a fact. Inference: "Why do you think the animal behaves this way? Use evidence — I think this because…" Vocabulary: what does "___" mean? Y5/6: comment on a word choice the writer made.

Inference / vocabulary response

✏️ Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling

This week's GPS focus (fronted adverbials / expanded noun phrases / relative clauses / parenthesis / modal verbs — circle to year group). Find or write two sentences about the animal using this week's focus. Spelling pattern/rule: _______.

GPS focus this week

Spelling words practised

🖊️ Creative / Extended Writing

This week's outcome: description of the animal · story with animal as character · non-chronological report · persuasive piece ("Why this animal needs protecting"). Plan → draft → edit and improve. Y3/4: 1 paragraph. Y5/6: multiple paragraphs, varied sentence openers, ambitious vocabulary.

Form chosen & adult note

Mathematics

🔢 Fractions, Decimals & Percentages

Animal-themed problems: "⅓ of the animals are asleep. There are 12. How many are awake?" Convert fractions / decimals / (Y5/6) percentages. Y3/4: tenths, simple fractions. Y5/6: equivalents, % and decimals to 3 places.

Problems attempted & score

⚡ Mental Arithmetic & Times Tables

Quick-fire animal number facts, times tables, number bonds, doubling / halving. Links to Times Tables with Mimi.

📐 Written Methods & Geometry

Column addition / subtraction, short/long multiplication (Y5/6). "Share 156 mealworms between 12 animals." Identify angles, symmetry, 2D/3D shapes in the animal's habitat. Y5/6: area, perimeter, coordinates.

Science & Humanities

🔬 Science (Working Scientifically)

This week's link (circle): living things & classification · animals inc. humans (digestion, teeth, circulation) · food chains · life cycles · adaptation & evolution. Ask a question, predict, investigate, record findings.

Topic covered

Investigation question

Findings / conclusion

🏛️ History

Link the animal to a period (Romans, Egyptians, Ancient Greeks). How was this animal used or viewed? Use and evaluate historical sources.

🌍 Geography & Languages

Map the animal's range — continents, climate zones, grid references, compass directions. MFL: animal name + 3–5 related words in French/Spanish. "J'aime les ___"

Reflection & Assessment

What I learned about the animal this week

My best piece of work was

Something I want to get better at

Adult note / next steps

Reward earned

KS3 Activity Template · Animal Academy

Animal Academy · Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9, ages 11–14) · [Animal] as focus or context across subjects. Rosie reads aloud on request.

Animal / theme

Week beginning

Year (circle)

Learner

English (inc. Literature)

📖 Reading & Analysis

Analyse a challenging text — extract, poem, or Shakespeare passage. Where animals appear in literature (Shakespeare's animal imagery), use the animal as a route into figurative language. Identify a technique (metaphor, personification, pathetic fallacy) and explain its effect: "The writer describes… which makes the reader feel…"

Text / technique / analytical response

🖊️ Writing & Spoken Language

Descriptive, narrative or analytical writing. Y9 extension: sustained analytical paragraph with embedded quotation (PETAL). Spoken language: present or debate a point (links to Citizenship).

Outcome / adult note

Mathematics

📐 Algebra & Data Handling

Algebra: form and solve equations from animal contexts. "A vivarium costs £x. Three cost £y. Form an equation." Simplify, substitute, solve linear equations. Data: population / care data — mean, median, mode, range; bar charts, pie charts, scatter graphs. Y8/9: sequences, graphs (y = mx + c), probability.

Algebra topic

Data topic

Adult note

Science — Three Separate Disciplines

🧬 Biology (genuine animal content)

Cell structure · body systems (digestion, gas exchange, circulation) · reproduction · classification · ecosystems and food webs · variation and evolution. Working scientifically: plan an investigation, identify variables, draw conclusions.

Biology topic / investigation

⚗️ Chemistry (animal as context)

e.g. pH of aquarium water (acids/alkalis), states of matter in the animal's environment, particle model. Chemistry is the learning; animal sets the scene.

⚡ Physics (animal as context)

e.g. heat transfer in keeping a reptile warm (conduction / convection / radiation — links to real husbandry!), light/sound (how the animal sees or hears), forces.

Broad Curriculum

🌍 History & Geography

Animals across a KS3 period. Biome / ecosystem / human impact / conservation. GIS / data maps. Compare regions.

🗣️ MFL & RE

Describe the animal in the target language with adjective agreement. Y8/9: use a tense. RE: stewardship (Christianity), ahimsa (Hinduism/Jainism), animals in creation stories — form a reasoned response.

🛠️ D&T & Computing

Design brief: design an enclosure, feeder or enrichment item. Research → design → materials → evaluate. Computing: build a spreadsheet / algorithm / flowchart for the animal's care routine. Introductory Python.

⚖️ Citizenship

Animal welfare and the law: Animal Welfare Act. Should animals have legal protections? Structure an argument, consider counter-views.

Reflection & Assessment

Strongest subject this week

Concept to revisit

Where the animal link worked / felt forced (honest note)

Adult note / next steps / assessment level

KS4 (GCSE) Study & Revision Tracker

Animal Academy · Years 10–11 · At GCSE, this template tracks real exam-spec mastery. Rosie read-aloud and calm-mode available throughout.

Learner

Year (circle)

Exam series

Week beginning

Compulsory Core

📖 English Language & Literature

Exam board

Spec code

This week's spec area

Language practice / Literature text & theme this week

Past paper / question attempted

Mark / grade awarded

🔢 Mathematics

Board & tier

Topic this week

Past-paper score

Weakest area to revisit

🔬 Science — Combined or Triple (circle)

Board & type

Biology topic

Required practical

Chemistry topic

Physics topic

Past-paper questions / mark

Optional Subjects (fill in the learner's actual options)

Subject	Board	This week's spec area	Practice done	Mark / grade

Exam Technique Focus This Week

This "how marks are awarded" focus is what actually lifts grades. Pick one exam skill: reading the command word · timing · showing working · model-answer structure · embedding quotations · exam-language conventions.

Skill practised

How marks are won here

Wellbeing & Revision Health

Exam pressure is where anxious and SEND learners struggle most. This section is deliberate — not decoration.

Revision this week felt

😌 Manageable

😐 Okay

😰 Overwhelming

A calm technique used (Animal Breathing / a break / Calm Corner)

Note to self / adult

Reflection & Next Steps

Best progress this week

Topic to prioritise next week

Adult / tutor note — predicted vs target grade

KS5 (Post-16) Study & Progress Template

Animal Academy · Years 12–13 · Route: A-Level / T-Level / VTQ-BTEC. Rosie read-aloud, Calm Corner and wellbeing support available throughout.

Learner

Year (circle)

Route (circle)

Week beginning

Route A — A-Levels (3–4 academic subjects)

📚 Subjects this week

Subject	Board	Spec code	This week's spec area	Practice done	Mark/grade

🎯 Depth Focus

The A-Level jump is analysis and evaluation — not more content. Note the higher-order skill practised this week: synthesis · critical evaluation · extended argument · independent research.

Higher-order skill practised

Essay / problem set topic

📖 Independent Study / Wider Reading

EPQ / wider reading / independent research this week

Route B — T-Levels (classroom + substantial industry placement)

📋 Core & Specialism

T-Level pathway

Provider / board

Core knowledge this week

🏢 Industry Placement (the defining feature — ~315 hrs)

Employer

Hours this week

Running total

Skills demonstrated / supervisor feedback

Route C — VTQs / BTECs (practical, coursework-led)

Qualification & level

Awarding body

Current unit

Assignment / brief & deadline

Portfolio evidence added this week

Competency signed off

Grade tracking

Progression & Next Steps — All Routes

Ties to the Animal Careers Explorer on Animal Academy — real routes, real entry requirements, real pay.

Post-18 goal

Careers link

UCAS / application / interview prep this week

Wellbeing Under Pressure — All Routes

Post-16 pressure is where anxious and SEND learners most need support. This section is deliberate, not decoration.

This week felt

😌 Manageable

😐 Okay

😰 Overwhelming

Calm technique used (Animal Breathing / Calm Corner / a break)

Tutor / mentor note

Reflection

Best progress this week

Topic to prioritise next week