Interest
Increase children's interest in books and help them understand how books are produced.
07515338798
Author Visits
Engaging and educational experiences for schools and pupils through author visits.
A typical day starts with a whole school assembly in which I will introduce myself and read some of the funny extracts from my books, especially Terrible Teacher, with the children looking around the hall for teachers who match my descriptions. This is followed by workshops which can range from character profiles, poetry, wellbeing or story sacks (the full list is below). These workshops will be adapted to fit your school, whether you are a small school or three-form entry. Some schools like another assembly at the end of the day to show the work they have done and often I then sign books for the children which I will have on sale. Having been a teacher for over twenty years I am very flexible and know how a school day can change.
Objectives
Excitement
Make reading exciting showing stories are more than printed words: they are portals into other worlds that don’t just begin and end between the covers.
Practise
Show the importance of drafting and resilience as no stories come out fully formed the first time. Drafting and redrafting in response to the editor’s comments is all part of the process.
Inspire
Boost children’s writing confidence (especially the boys) by showing the children that authors are real people who live and work today, not just names on a cover. They started out learning to write at primary school, just like your pupils. Children will participate in writing exercises to hone their skills.
Sessions
A half-day could include two workshop sessions, an assembly talk and a book signing session at lunch-time or at the end of the day.
A single session could be a longer assembly talk, or a single workshop session.
Educational Content
What will work best for your school depends on what you would most like to get from the author visit, how much preparation you would like to do with classes in advance, and how many children you would like me to work with.
Personalised Approach
I am happy to adjust my visit to the needs of your school, for example spending less time doing class workshops in order to deliver a longer talk in assembly. It is possible for me to visit as many as seven classes in one day, although this limits the time with each group and can be less effective.