Cover Lessons
Cover lesson ideas that practise literacy and numeracy, linked to the Literacy and Numeracy Framework (LNF), for a range of subjects.
Clapping the Beats in Instrument Names
Literacy: Phonological and phonemic awareness
Literacy in Expressive Arts: syllables, rhyme and first sounds through rhythm. Pupils clap their names and instrument names, one clap for each beat, and colour a box for each beat under 12 instrument pictures. They sort the words into 1, 2 and 3 beats, match rhyming pictures such as drum and thumb, circle the first sound of instrument names and trace a word, then make a 4-word rhythm from instrument names to clap with a partner.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Clapping the Beats in Instrument Names
- Worked example and answer key: beat boxes, sorting, rhymes, first sounds and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Counting Claps and Drum Beats
Numeracy: The number system
Numeracy in Expressive Arts: counting and ordering numbers. Pupils count claps and drum beats aloud in English and in Welsh, listen and write how many claps the cover teacher makes, count rows of drums, colour a given number of beats, fill in missing numbers on a drum track forwards and backwards, order the numbers of beats three invented drummers played, and count back from 10 to 0 before freezing like a statue.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Counting Claps and Drum Beats
- Worked example and answer key: counts, number tracks, ordering and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Following a Dance with Arrow Cards
Numeracy: Position
Pupils are robot dancers. After a warm-up where the cover teacher points to up and right arrows on the board and the class steps beside their chairs, pupils follow arrow instructions across a picture dance floor of a castle, harp, drum, daffodil, sheep and dragon, circling where the dancer stops and counting the steps. They circle the pictures above, below and next to a given square, find and fix the one wrong arrow in Gwen's dance (debugging), then write their own arrow dance with a finishing move for a partner to perform. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Following a Dance with Arrow Cards
- Worked example and answer key: a finished pupil page with routes, circled stops, the fixed arrow and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Making a Castle Picture from Shapes
Numeracy: Shape and space
Numeracy in Expressive Arts: shape. Pupils look at a castle picture made only of circles, triangles, squares and rectangles, colour each shape by a key and count how many of each. They count the sides and corners of each shape, find the odd one out (learning that a triangle turned round is still a triangle), then make their own shape picture and count the shapes they used.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Making a Castle Picture from Shapes
- Worked example and answer key: shape counts, sides and corners and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
- Ruler
Software / weblinks
Putting Your Name on Your Art
Literacy: Vocabulary, spelling, grammar
Pupils visit a pretend online art gallery for an invented Year 1 class and learn that every picture belongs to the person who made it. They circle who made each painting, decide the kind and honest thing to do about a picture with no name, then draw their own picture on a pretend paint app screen and add their name, with a capital letter, and a short title copied from a picture word bank. A partner checks the name and title are there. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Putting Your Name on Your Art
- Stimulus: a pretend online art gallery page for an invented Year 1 class
- Worked example and answer key: a finished pupil page with a named, titled picture and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Adding Fruit on a Fruit Kebab
Numeracy: Calculation
A teacher-led Year 1 number lesson built around fruit kebabs, a healthy snack. After counting to 10 in English and Welsh, pupils count strawberries and grapes on picture kebabs and write how many altogether as a number sentence (3 + 2 = 5), draw 1 more and cross out 1 to find one more and one less, colour empty 10-piece kebabs red and green in 4 different ways and write each fact that makes 10, and cross out fruit that has been eaten to find how many are left. The lesson ends with the class collecting every way to make 10 on the board. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Adding Fruit on a Fruit Kebab
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with the answers and what to look for
- Counters or cubes, about 10 per pupil (optional)
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Building a Healthy Snack Picture with Shape Tools
Numeracy: Shape and space
A teacher-led Year 1 lesson that uses a pretend drawing app on paper to make a picture of a healthy snack. Pupils trace the names of the 4 shape tools (circle, square, triangle, rectangle) and count their straight sides and corners. They follow Tedi the teddy's clicks (shape, then colour, then big or small) to pick out the picture he made, then plan and draw their own healthy snack on a pretend screen using only the shape tools, with big and small shapes, chosen colours and a label added with the text tool. Finally they count how many of each shape they used, find the one they used most and the total. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Building a Healthy Snack Picture with Shape Tools
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with the answers and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
- Ruler
Software / weblinks
Hearing First Sounds in Healthy Food Words
Literacy: Phonological and phonemic awareness
A teacher-led Year 1 phonics lesson using the names of healthy food and drink. After a game of I spy, pupils say each food word and circle its first sound (apple, banana, carrot, egg, milk, pear, sweetcorn, tomato), join pictures of grapes, water, an orange and a strawberry to their first letters, and blend sounds the cover teacher says (c, u, p) to find a picture and write one letter per sound in sound boxes. They finish by joining rhyming pairs such as pear and chair and fig and pig, and making up silly alliterative snacks. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Hearing First Sounds in Healthy Food Words
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with the answers and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Ordering the Steps to Wash My Hands
Numeracy: Measurement
A teacher-led Year 1 lesson that treats hand washing as a simple algorithm. The cover teacher reads a script while pupils act out the 5 steps (wet, soap, rub, rinse, dry) at their tables, then cut and stick picture cards in order. They debug Tedi the teddy's muddled instructions, where he dries his hands before he rinses them. For the numeracy, pupils circle 'before' or 'after' for steps and for daily routines (before we eat, after the toilet), count to 20 while they pretend to scrub (the NHS says about 20 seconds, as long as singing Happy Birthday twice), and tick which everyday job takes longer. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Ordering the Steps to Wash My Hands
- Stimulus: hand washing picture cards to cut out (wet, soap, rub, rinse, dry)
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Scissors and glue
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Saying How I Feel with Feelings Faces
Literacy: Purpose
A teacher-led Year 1 speaking lesson about feelings. It starts with a 'Sut wyt ti?' circle where pupils answer in Welsh or English, then the cover teacher shows 5 feelings faces (happy, sad, cross, worried, excited) for pupils to copy and talk about. Pupils trace the feelings words, draw something that makes them happy and tell a partner what happened, colour thumbs up or down for 6 activities and explain their likes and dislikes with 'because', and choose a calming strategy after trying slow breathing together. The cover teacher fills in a simple listening record for at least 6 pupils. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Saying How I Feel with Feelings Faces
- Stimulus: feelings faces cards to hold up (happy, sad, cross, worried, excited)
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet and listening record with what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Finding Our Conwy Castle Photos in the Camera Roll
Numeracy: The number system
Pupils look at a pretend tablet camera roll from an invented class trip to Conwy Castle and learn which icons take, save and find photos. Because the camera roll numbers each photo in the order it was taken, they find photos by number, count forwards and backwards to fill in missing numbers, compare numbers to say which photo came first, and save a photo of their own with the next number and a name. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Finding Our Conwy Castle Photos in the Camera Roll
- Stimulus: Conwy trip pretend camera roll
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Making a Class Slideshow about Cardiff Together
Numeracy: Calculation
Pupils work in pairs, sharing the jobs of picture maker and word writer, to make one paper slide about a real place in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The slides are joined on a slide sorter strip to make one class slideshow of 10 slides. Pupils add the slides from 2 tables, work out how many more are needed to make 10, find other ways to make 10 and say what happens when a slide is deleted. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Making a Class Slideshow about Cardiff Together
- Stimulus: Cardiff picture cards, paper slide template and slide sorter strip
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
- Paper slide templates cut in half, 1 slide per pair
- Slide sorter strip taped together on the board, with sticky tack
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils
- Scissors
Software / weblinks
People We Know and People We Have Never Met
Literacy: Vocabulary, spelling, grammar
Pupils sort picture cards of people in their community and people online into those they know and those they have never met, and choose the safe thing to do when someone they have never met sends a message. They draw and label people they know and copy the rule I tell a grown-up. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: People We Know and People We Have Never Met
- Stimulus: people in my community and online picture cards, with pretend tablet screens
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Putting Elin's Life in Order on a Timeline
Numeracy: Measurement
Pupils hear about Elin, an invented 6 year old from Bangor, and build a timeline of her life from baby to Year 1. They number pictures in time order, choose before or after, count the years between events, put a school day in order, say which everyday things take longer and draw something they could do when they are older. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Putting Elin's Life in Order on a Timeline
- Stimulus: Elin's story, timeline picture cards and age cards
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
- Elin's picture cards and age cards 0 to 6, cut out, one set for the class
- Pegs and string, or sticky tack, for a class timeline
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Retelling the Story of Dewi Sant
Literacy: Understanding, response and analysis
The cover teacher reads a short picture story of Dewi Sant, the patron saint of Wales. Pupils put the story pictures in order, ring the answers to questions about what happened, share what they thought of the story and draw one little kind thing they could do. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Retelling the Story of Dewi Sant
- Stimulus: the story of Dewi Sant in 6 parts with pictures, for the teacher to read aloud
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils