Entertain

Educate

Excite

As a former teacher I am keen that both children and adults enjoy writing. Many years ago I published a practical paper on different ways of getting children to write for a purpose. Children need to be motivated to write and see a reason for it. Suggestions of writing workshops include:

·         Working with staff exchanging practical ideas for motivating children to write.

·         Sharing a story with a whole Key Stage to fire ideas and generate enthusiasm so the children want to write their own. This workshop would have an element of scaffolding for the children.

·          Working with a class for one or more sessions on developing writing - this is often done in partnership with the teacher.

·         Writing poetry – I am happy to work with a class writing poems on almost any theme. I have my own poems to share: these vary from a visiting wasp to my own reflection on growing up.

·         Developing challenging themes such as environmental awareness. For example I have written an ecological story involving dinosaurs and I use this to provoke eco- themes. This can be used to encourage children to write poems or their own stories. This enhances environmental projects and would be an exciting event for the whole school.  

·         Encouraging parents and grandparents to write down some of their ideas and experiences, so that they can share these with others.