Introduction
Story making in the Primary Classroom
Story writing is a complex process that requires an understanding of narrative structure, causality, as well as all the choices of vocabulary, voice, style, genre, and so on. It is no wonder that children can find it tricky when they enjoy using their imaginations to create new stories.
Using Role-play to create stories is an excellent way of getting inside the creative process. In this demonstration film you will see some simple, easy to make, “random story maker kits” in action that really encourage the use of oral approach to creating exciting and well crafted new stories.
The materials used in this film can be downloaded from my website www.christhompson.info
Chris Thompson
Functional writing in the Primary Classroom
Giving children plenty of opportunities to explore functional writing is just as important as encouraging creative writing but it can be difficult to come up with imaginative and engaging approaches. Drama and Role play can be a huge help.
Encouraging a creative collaborative atmosphere with plenty of oral exploration and presentation keeps functional writing practical, effective and vibrant.
This film follows the path of one particular programme on the theme of Inventions. It begins with an amusing poem but leads into the creation team based design tasks, reports, interviews, phone calls and even formal letter writing. The materisals used in this programme plus ideas for other creative approaches to functional writing can be found on my website www.christhompson.info
Chris Thompson
Poetry making in the Primary Classroom
I am often asked why I choose place poetry in a separate category of creative writing.
Poetry is not only individual and reflective. When we choose to write poetry rather than prose it is often because we want to create a picture postcard or snapshot of a moment or a feeling that will have immediate impact.
Poetry is also playful and experimental .It is an opportunity to experiment with language, painting pictures with words. This makes is an ideal writing style for group collaboration and oral performance.
Poetry has another useful function for teachers. Because of its close attention to language, it offers wonderful opportunities for the teaching of specific aspects of grammar or parts of speech. Look out for this in the film.
Once again, poems used as a starting point in the film as well as further downloadable materials will be available on my website www.christhompson.info
Chris Thompson
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