I find so many resources on the internet that every so often, I try to return the favour by sharing a little in terms of resources and activities that have worked for me in class. Often, prepping for a lesson can be quite overwhelming, especially if you’re like me and like to have something planned […]
White Socks Only
White Socks Only is a stunning piece of literature and art, a charming book about a curious child eager to find out whether something she’s heard is true. I revisited this book purely for the purpose of teaching it, and there’s just so much to explore! Of course, the obvious choices would be to visit […]
Reading, Reading, and Reading Some More
Yesterday, we came to the end of yet another batch of my reading programme for ages nine and ten. I wrote about our ‘raise hand‘ anecdote, and thinking about that made me realise – again – that the main reason I conduct reading programmes is that I enjoy them so much! Yes, I spread the […]
The Playwriting Module – Reflections and Resources
And just like that, the playwriting module of my creative writing programme is also over! We read two plays, played with props, explored dialogue, imagined the stage, examined the differences between writing scripts for stage and for screen … And I’m exhilarated. As always, the generosity of the community of teachers and writers online is […]
Creative Writing Workshops – Reflections and Resources
I spend hours scouring the internet for creative writing resources. I love those hours, even though sometimes I find myself panicking. There are so many wonderful ideas out there! What can I use? I want to use them all! At those times, I need to step away from my laptop and remind myself that I […]
Playing with Kangaroo Words
When I wrote about using Friends Behind Walls for my online reading programme, the first thing I thought of doing was playing with words. Putti loves breaking words up to make sense of them. Brouhaha = brew+haha, but has nothing to do with brewing tea or being funny. Yesterday, we thought of words like this. […]
A Few More Writing Activities
A few days ago, I posted five writing activities that I created last month; here are a few more. I find that short activities of this sort are wonderful ways both to get started and to wind down. Finishing a workshop with some sort of activity leaves participants feeling energized, rather than exhausted. Quick ones […]
Five Writing Activities for Children (and Adults!)
As I was preparing to launch my online creative writing programme, I posted one writing activity per day on social media, and I loved the responses I received. Writing activities can be so much fun, and not just for children. They work just as well for adults who want to sit down and start writing […]
Using Pratham Books and StoryWeaver in School Libraries
This post first appeared on the StoryWeaver blog on 9 October 2019. As a British Council trainer, I’ve conducted numerous reading workshops and facilitated many interactive sessions for theme-based reading challenges. I’ve worked in schools as well as at the British Library itself, interacting with a range of children, from those who devour books to those who yawn at the sight of a library. So, when […]
Using StoryWeaver in Class
I’ve been resisting writing this post for ever so long because it sounds like some sort of advertising campaign. I promise it’s not. It’s just that I’ve used StoryWeaver so many times during workshops that I really wanted to share how easy it is to bring such wonderful resources into the classroom. Why StoryWeaver? The […]
Working with Poetry
Many children write poetry. Rhyme is fun, having your poem published in the school magazine is even more fun. Teachers and parents encourage children to write poetry, which is good. Of course there’s a ‘but’. People have been writing poetry forever. Forget the ancient languages, in English alone, even those who don’t opt to study […]
Reading and Data
Adults love data. They love graphs and statistics and numbers. During workshops with adults, the moment I put up a graph, I have everyone’s attention as if I’m finally saying something ‘real’. And that’s why I started working with real-time polls through Mentimeter. I show my audience a question and all those with smart phones […]
Making Creative Writing Engaging
Sometimes, I wonder whether secretly, I conduct creative writing workshops more to inspire myself than to inspire the children I work with. Whatever it is, I do know that I enjoy myself tremendously whenever I teach creative writing. I feed off the enthusiasm of the children and I come home ready to write, which is […]
Reading Workshops: Why? What? How?
Many, many parents ask me what a reading workshop is. What happens during a reading workshop? Who should attend a reading workshop and why? What will the outcome of a reading workshop be? This post tries to explain all that. What children read and why Often, at reading workshops I conduct, we talk about books […]
World Read Aloud Day at the Writers’ Club
The Writers’ Club at St. Mary’s School meets only twice a week, so World Read Aloud Day sometimes becomes Writers’ Club Read Aloud Day, but so what? I celebrated it for the first time last year and it was so much fun that I did it again this year. This time, children came forward and […]
Working with Librarians
During the first two weeks of the year, I made lists of books I loved, and more than once, I found myself writing about how reading levels differ so much that it is difficult to associate a level with an age. Thinking about all of this, I decided write about a reading programme I’ve been […]
Fortunately-Unfortunately
Option 1 “I am going to meet a monster today.” “Fortunately, it doesn’t bite.” “Unfortunately, that means it will just gobble you up.” Option 2 “I jumped into the swimming-pool today.” “Fortunately, the pool was heated.” “Unfortunately, I cannot swim.” “Fortunately, it was not deep.” Which beginning do you find more entertaining? I was very […]