School Workshops
Exploring The Wonder
Of The Written Word
Contents
- Introduction
- What Can A Workshop Do For You?
- Prices
- Testimonials
- Contact Details
Introduction
There is more to children’s imagination than painting and colouring
There is more to children’s talent than singing, playing an instrument and drama
Most children enjoy reading for pleasure but have you ever wondered whether your school children can write short stories or even books of their own? If they expressed an interest in the subject, do you know who to turn to?
Let me introduce you to creative writing Workshops. In this leaflet, you will find details of a number of practical exercises and workshops specifically designed for young people. These workshops will help young people discover the wonder of the written word and how fun it can be to write novels of their own.
I am a published author. It was through a chance meeting that I was invited to deliver a workshop on the subject of book writing. Being a visually impaired person, the workshop delivered an added bonus namely in the form of disability awareness. The workshop was extremely successful and I was invited to return to the same school for annual workshops.
What Can A Workshop Do For You?
A workshop typically begins with an Assembly with the students in one particular year or all students depending on the size of the school. This is then followed by a number of workshops aimed at either a particular age group or all ages, again depending on the size of the school.
During the Assembly, I begin with a brief introduction of my background and association with books. I then read an extract from one of my books and finish with the question and answer session.
Each workshop typically consists of:
- discussion on the type of books that the children would read. I have read, and continue to read books aimed at various ages and can easily draw a programme to suit.
- picking on a particular favourite book or author, discussing the style and what made the book successful
- engage with the students to create a new story of their choice. This is often the most enjoyable part of the workshop. Before long, there is almost 100% participation by the class.
- For those interested, advice can be given on publishing and agents.
The workshop therefore presents the students with an opportunity to discover a new outlet for their imagination and natural ability; it adds another dimension to reading and the love of books and encourages those with a particular talent or desire to consider perhaps a career that they never thought of before.
As stated in the Introduction, having a visually impaired guest speaker produces the added benefit of Disability awareness. Different reading formats such as Braille and audio, and the use of a computer with speech software allows children to consider reading and writing from an entirely different perspective and has generated a good deal of interest.
These workshops can also bring financial benefit to schools and colleges designated as Specialist Technology Schools. This provides the school with the opportunity to draw down fixed capital sums providing they can find match funding locally. Workshops such as mine carry a fixed ‘in-kind’ costs which enables the school to apply for capital funds.
Prices
- Meet the Author Session
This to include a brief introduction, reading from a book and time for questions and answers.
1 Hour – £25 - Workshop
Half day workshop – £80
Full day workshop – £150
All prices exclude travel which is charged at cost.
Testimonials
“Inspiration, amazing experience and very fluent.”
“Who said boys don’t engage with reading?”
“The day was a great success! All pupils engaged with the activities and interacted well.”
“The sessions were incredibly productive, with all members of the groups participating with the story-writing activity. The pupils came up with a broad range of ideas and each comment was discussed thoughtfully allowing the pupils to see what it is like to plan and edit their work.”
“The day was designed to be full of opportunities to learn something new and have fun – for both pupils and teachers! – and it certainly didn’t disappoint.”
“Today was World Book Day and each class spent sometime in school looking at their favourite books and completing different book related activities. Year 5 were lucky to have a visit from Nadia Bashoo who is a local author.”
“Nadia came into school and read from her book and spent the afternoon working with Year Five. Nadia is blind so read her book using Braille and the children were given the opportunity to have a go too!”
Contact Details
Should you require further details then please contact me.
