Scroll down for FREE powerpoints and photocopiable resources for all my books to support schools and libraries in class and home work and encourage reading and writing for pleasure. (And use them to maximise the benefits before and after an author visit!)
“The stuff available from the your website is fantastic!” Walden School
I have worked with over 5,000 UK and international schools. I am a consultant for the National Literacy Trust and the Reading Agency. I promote Reader Development for the British Council in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia, Australia, Egypt and S Korea
“Guerilla reading motivation at its finest” Jim, National Literacy Trust
Newsletter
Sign up here for my termly newsletter for teachers and librarians with exclusive extracts from forthcoming books, new resources, etc. via my contact form here. Please refer to my Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions for further information.
Poster Pack
Order a free poster pack with signed personalised materials for your school or library or Download online exclusive high resolution poster PDFs to print out for your school or library from here.
“I received the pack that you sent me today. Thank you very much. The books look really interesting. In fact, we have already had some interest from the boys! The posters will really brighten up our displays. ” M Wyatt, Sir Graham Balfour School.
Certificates
I have certificates I can sign for you to present to pupils reading all my History books or the Football Academy, Foul Play, The Squad, Wings, Defenders or Rugby Academy series.
More information here about how to tell me the names of your pupils for me to add onto signed certificates.
“Our boys so love the certificates, we all do. I have put them on the achievement board until the holidays when they can take them home to motivate others to aim for a certificate for themselves.. You cannot beat one which is signed by a real author!” Girvan Academy
Powerpoint
A quick introduction to me and my books.
Download here
Free Reads
First chapters, classroom reads and extra stories to download from here.
Angel of Grasmere Resources
Cover Prediction Worksheet There are no wrong answers so let your imagination go wild. Download here
Playscript download here
Settings Map Worksheet
Identify and colour in the key aspects of physical and human geography of Grasmere village and its Lakeland surroundings where Tarn and her friends live. Download here
A Little Lakeland Nature
Read along, spot me and colour in…
From Herdwick sheep to stiles
Download and print on to 2 sheets, cut and fold and stick to make a minibooklet here
Paper Angels to cut out and decorate with more ideas:
Think of an act of kindness each angel could do to make the world a better place. Write it on the back- Make a display of them against a backdrop of the Lake District’s mountains and lakes or make a display of them where you think your angels are most needed to help the world today
Download here
Herdwick Sheep Craft Activity
Download full instructions here
WW2 Cumbria Quiz download here
More here
Resist Resources
Chapter 1 here
Cover prediction worksheet here 
Resist Playscript 
here
Resist Colouring here
Resist Oranjekrant newsletter (the sort of letter young Edda delivered) includes an original recipe for Nettle Soup from the “Hunger Winter” of 1944-45 here
Arctic Star
Christmas Blackout Poem Challenge here
Includes a how to guide, suggested extracts featuring the King’s speech on Christmas Day, examples and a signed certificate.
More Christmas resources here
Cover prediction worksheets here
Colouring here . Use your imagination to draw and colour the planes in the sky and submarines in the sea below during the Battle of the North Cape or what young naval recruits can see on their lookout.
Y5/Y6 lesson with a focus on inference
School with Scottish Book Trust and a Partner School with Renaissance Accelerated ReaderMore here
After the War
Cover prediction worksheet here
Paper dolls here
Book trailer here
Poetry Blackout challenge here
Films of the settings about research and writing After the War to come
More here
First World War – Armistice Runner Resources
The Armistice Runner Challenge – a running and memory activity for schools Guidelines & certificate
Literacy & Dementia
- powerpoint
- reading comprehension worksheet, answers and teacher’s notes
Literacy & Sport
Literacy & History
- powerpoint
- missing punctuation worksheet, answers and-teacher’s notes
Colouring
Draw a landscape to colour in for the Armistice Runner characters here: Lily (running today) and Ernest (a trench runner in the First World War) here.
Cover Prediction Worksheets including:
- Who, where, what, when, why etc ?
- Predictions and why
- Download here
First World War Over the Line Resources
Posters, Videos, First Chapter, A Short Story, Quiz, Playscripts and Classroom Discussion Guides and support your classwork together with a Signed Certificate here.
More First World War Literacy Resources are gathered here.
D-Day 75th Anniversary Resources :
D-Day Dog cover prediction worksheets
Download here
D-Day Dog Blackout Poem Challenge
Introduction and how to guide to create your own Blackout Poems, including suggested texts, examples and a certificate.
Download here
10 Questions about War for class discussions
Download here
Colouring
What view do you think Jack and his new puppy are looking at?
Can you draw the plane Emile and his dog Glenn are parachuting out or where they might be landing?
Download here
“Tom Palmer is a true reading hero and has been responsible for motivating many thousands of young people to get into books” Booktrust
Colouring Sheets
Colouring sheet of the great RAF planes featured in my children’s series Wings – the Sopwith Camel, Spitfire and Typhoon – to mark this year’s centenary of the RAF. Download here.
Iron Age / Roman / Anglo Saxons / Vikings colouring sheet to accompany my Defenders series. Download here .
Secret FC colouring Download here
Football Acad
emy colouring Download here
Gus the Famous Football Cat colouring sheet download here
Draw a landscape to colour in for the Armistice Runner characters here:
Lily (running today) download here.
Ernest (a trench runner in the First World War) download here.
A picture of Roy of the Rovers for you to colour in and design a new football kit for Melchester Rovers here.
History Quizzes
Anglo Saxon/Viking history quiz based on Defenders: Killing Ground here
Roman Britain history quiz based on Defenders: Dark Arena here
Iron Age history quiz based on Defenders: Pitch Invasion here
Accelerated Reader
Many of my books are quizzed on the Accelerated Reader programme. Books range from an AR level 2.4 (The Penalty) to AR4.9 (Black Op). See here for more.
“The school was busy last autumn incorporating Accelerated Reader into the Library and English department. It is going really well. Reading figures have trebled in one term and you will be pleased to know that you are top of the favourite author and titles lists.” Northwood Prep
Web Quest
A simple way for pupils to learn more about my books and writing by navigating around my website and taking this accessible quiz with teacher’s answers. Photocopiable.
Download here.
Reading Quizzes for my books
- short passages
- six reading comprehension quiz questions
- video links with author reading
- certificates
More info and download from here.
“The video comprehension is a brilliant idea especially with so few male reading role models in primary schools. ” Julie Anderson, Castor CE Primary School
Men’s Rugby World Cup – Sept to Nov 2019
Use my NEW Rugby Academy free accompanying resources to promote reading for pleasure during the forthcoming Rugby World Cup. Posters, literacy pack, etc.
More rugby resources here.
Football Readers Pack to accompany the Football Academy series.
Includes six posters with new ideas to encourage reluctant readers to read for pleasure, featuring real reading boys from across Britain, Ireland and Australia.
Download Football Readers here.
“WOW! It’s brilliant. Our boys will love it” Librarian, QEGS
“I think pupils in the academy will definitely love it “ Librarian, Oldknow Academy
Flyboy Pack – Guided Reading for the classroom, library or at home.
- Introductory Reading Quiz
- Small Group Guided Reading
- Small Group Guided Reading
- Reading Group Questions
- Reading At Home – Questions for parents to ask whilst reading with your child
Download your pack here
Ghost Stadium pack to accompany Ghost Stadium
- poster
- reading comprehension
- class writing activity
- wordsearch & answers
- an author interview with Tom Palmer
- printable first chapter of Ghost Stadium
Download here.
Extended reading comprehension to accompany Football Academy : Boys United
Devised for the Blue Bottles Reading Group, Glasgow Academy Dairsie by Mrs Ali MacLeod (P3) May 2015. Thank you very much for sharing it with us here.
More Football Academy literacy resources here.
The Squad : Spy Pack a writing pack to accompany t
he Squad Series. Includes:
- MISSION 1 : SET UP YOUR SPY RING ( forming a writing group for those who don’t want to be in one)
- MISSION 2 : CREATING A SPY COVER STORY
- MISSION 3 : BUGGING (or, writing interesting dialogue in fiction)
- MISSION 4 : MIND READING FOR SPIES ( how to describe characters to help tell a story)
- MISSION 5 : GARBOLOGY (creating an effective setting by listing the contents of your teacher’s bin)
- MISSION 6 : INTERPRETING SURVEILLANCE PHOTOS (how to piece together an interesting narrative structure)
- FINAL MISSION : THE SPY CHALLENGE; Four real spying missions undertaken by Tom Palmer; Spy phrases you need to know
Download here.
“Thank you for all the work you put in to the pack. Loads of great ideas” Ruth Shallcross
Reading & Writing Pack to accompany The Squad 
- Tom Palmer interview
- Poland : The setting for Black Op
- Norway : The setting for White Fear
- School And Library Football Reading ACTIVITIES
- Top Ten Tips for Families to use Sport to encourage reading at home
- Reading Comprehensions
- School and library DISPLAY IDEAS
Football shaped Book Review- Characters
- Discussion Topics
- Write Your Own Squad story
- Design Your Own Squad Book Cover
Download here.
“Danny Harte is the Football Detective” a Reading for Pleasure pack to accompany the Foul Play series.
- Anton Holt Interviews Tom Palmer
- Foul Play Discussion Topics
- Foul Play stories
- My Own Foul Play Story
- My Foul Play drawing
- Book Reviews
Download here.
Foul Play 2 : Dead Ball resource
SPAG worksheet here 
with powerpoint here
based on Dead Ball – my Russian children’s thriller (useful for linking to the 2018 men’s football World Cup).
Foul Play 3 : Offside : Fair Play Pack 
- Fair Trade
- Literacy
- Football
Download here.
Writer’s Pack to accompany Foul Play 5: Own Goal 
An insight into how writers write with discussion topics and a writing project.
- Research
- Creating Characters
- Themes
- Writing
- Blurb and Film Trailers
- Certificates
Download here.
“The Own Goal resource is fabulous. Thank you very much for that. We are reading Own Goal as a class reader and the boys love it.” University College School
Setting a story in Leeds to accompany Foul Play series
Download here a handy guide to the real places that inspired scenes in Foul Play with ideas for class discussions.
More Foul Play literacy resources here.
Football Academy & Foul Play Series Reading Challenge
-
- Certificates
- Certificates
- charts
- sticker book
- stickers
- simple guidelines
Email me for more information or to order your pupils’ signed certificates here.
Football Activity Pack
- About Tom
- Prediction game
- Premier League wordsearch
- Fun quiz
- My Own Foul Play story
- Draw Danny Harte
- Foul Play and Football Academy discussion topics
- Book Reviews
- Further reading
Download here.
The Mystery of the Stolen FA Cup Medal
Commissioned by the British Council and Reading Agency’s ‘Chatterbooks’ project. With classroom resources.
Read and listen to the story here.
The Wor
ld Cup activities and story that I developed for the National Literacy Trust were a great success, with thousands of schools using the materials. Thank you! So, we have developed a new pack of stories & activities to be used at any time in the school year.
The Scout
Read here a Year 3-4 short story about how Ronan and Connor from the Football Academy series came to join Premier League United.
Find out more about the National Literacy Trust.
The Character Strikes Back
A five-part Foul Play short story for Years 4, 5 and 6.
“We are reading ‘The Character Strikes Back’ this week, and SO enjoying it! They love the cliffhangers each day and beg me to read on…”
“Reading Tom Palmer’s short story ‘The Character Strikes Back’ to my Y3/4 class was as delightful an experience for me as a teacher as it was for my young listeners, who truly learned the meaning of a ‘cliff-hanger’. Writhing in a delightful agony of suspense and anticipation at the end of each day, their desperation to find out what happened next informed many discussions and some marvellous predictions. Parents even called the school to find where they could buy the book their children couldn’t stop talking about!” Catherine Monaghan, Y3/4 Teacher, Middleham CE VA School
Maybe Football is Exciting – Charlotte’s Diary
Read here a Year 6,7 and 8 short Foul Play story written for the National
Literacy Trust.
“I just finished reading the Danny Harte story online (I read it all at once because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next) I really really enjoyed it!! Thanks” Sophie
Call of Duty
Read my short story Call of Duty about a famous footballer today having to go to war here. (This was written to accompany Over the Line – about a footballer volunteering to fight in the First World War. )
“The best time I remember from my primary school was when our teacher read the Foul Play World Cup Mystery out to us. I’ll never forget us all listening together every morning and worrying about what would happen to Danny if England won!” Kylie
Tour de France Literacy Pack and read aloud Tour De France Story.
“Hoping to use a selection of your ideas, in our Central Library when Le Tour de France comes through Cambridge.” Community Librarian
Buy Books
Signed and dedicated copies are available personalised to order from my local independent children’s bookshop “The Thoughtful Spot” here.
Schools bumper book pack and class set offers here.
Visit my 
bookshop or support your local bookshop HIVE
Overseas : FREE Delivery worldwide from The Book Depository.
Australia: Boomerang
Canada: Amazon Canada
New Zealand: Wheelers
USA : Indigo books
Email me here for more information or use my contact form here to ask me a question.
Thank you.
