Get into the festive spirit with our selection of resources to promote essential reading, writing and oracy skills:

• Festive Showcase: Count down to Christmas with Poetry by Heart’s Festive Showcase, a selection of 24 festive poems to read, share and learn by heart. This digital anthology of classics and contemporary poems is FREE to enjoy with pupils of all ages. An easy and fun way to introduce more poetry into your classroom.
• Virtual Author Advent Calendar: Put books and reading at the heart of your class Christmas celebrations with Reading Rocks’ Author Advent Calendar. Every day from 2nd to 20th December, primary schools will be able to ‘open a window’ and receive a festive message from a well-loved author or illustrator. Free with registration.
• Virtual Author Events: Don’t miss out on the last few FREE online author events coming up before the end of term, including a BBC Live Lesson based on Quentin Blake’s iconic picture book Zagazoo.
• Winter Wonderland: Find read aloud recommendations for pupils aged 3-14,  ideas to inspire writing, and storytelling and poetry activities to promote speaking and listening in the National Literacy Trust’s Winter Wonderland resource.  Free to download with registration.
• The Christmas Shed: Explore the Literacy Shed’s selection of seasonal film clips as a prompt for writing. Free to access.
• Christmas booklists: Find the perfect Christmas storytime book to share with younger children or some fun festive reads  to inspire KS2 pupils in these seasonal booklists from the experts at Books for Topics.
• Christmas Gift Guides: Books for Topics have created lists of recommended books that can be shared with parents and carers who are looking for Christmas gift ideas. The booklists cover a range of genres and reading interests for children aged 3-11.