School Workshops
Early Years- KS1:
Based on my own stories and characters, these workshops introduce the art of storytelling using early childhood experiences.
Themed Workshops
Using different topics and themes, each workshop incorporates a series of short activities and builds up to writing a short story.
Story skills Workshops
Focusing on a specific storywriting element, each workshop incorprates a variety of activities which link together to build a story.
Poetry & Play Workshops
Centered on play writing and poetry techniques and features, these workshops support and develop skills in these areas.
Early Years- Key Stage 1 Workshops:
"Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities."
Dr. Seuss
The Snuggle Bug:
A delightful, rhyming story introducing the Snuggle Bug; a character who encourages children to stay in their own beds and feel safe in their environment. Counting down the night time hours, the children will join the Snuggle Bug in its job to keep them safe and snug till morning.
Session elements: storytelling, creating and describing a character, size, shapes, textures, telling the time
Extension options: game, poetry, rhyme schemes, drama activities, exploring emotions
The Huggle Bug:
The older sibling of the Snuggle Bug, The Huggle Bug is a charming, rhyming story that follows children through the days of the week, supports them through their school day and encourages them to feel safe in their environment. The children will join the Huggle Bug in its job to offer huggles when they need them the most.
Session elements: storytelling, creating and describing a character, size, shape, texture, days of the week
Extension options: game, poetry, rhyme schemes, drama activities, exploring emotions
Bag O'Rags:
An enchanting, rhyming story introducing Bag O’Rags: an old sock dog who helps children to deal with the imaginary monsters hiding in their bedroom and help them feel safe in their environment. The children will experience the everyday noises that can be frightening at night. But never fear, Sock Dog is here!
Session elements: storytelling, monster language, creating and describing a sock puppet
Extension options: Poetry, rhyme schemes, drama activities, exploring emotions, designing a monster,
Design a Dream:
A fantastical, rhyming story about scary dreams and how we deal with them in the dark. The children will join the Moonlight Magician as he conjures up happy thoughts to help them get back to sleep.
Session elements: storytelling, dream spells, creating an individual Smile Sack
Extension options: maps and world building, poetry, rhyme schemes, drama activities, exploring emotions
Alphabetti Yetti:
Using an Alphabet poem for inspiration, the children will take part in a series of games and activities before choosing a letter from the alphabet bag and designing their own Alphabetti Yetti.
Session elements: storytelling, creating a character, writing a poem, alphabetical ordering
Extension options: write a short narrative, create a character profile
Curiously Quentin:
During Curiously Quentin, the children will use one of Quentin's stories or poems for inspiration before taking part in a variety of drama based exercises and creating a simple story board for one of the characters. The story/poem options are: 1. All Join In, 2. Mr Magnolia, 3. Patrick 4. Mrs Armitage
Session elements and extension options are dependent on story package.
Story Bags, Story Boxes, Story Games:
The three story options can be created with practitioners and/or parents to use in their classrooms or in the home. They can be based around favourite stories or themes and are dependent on your requirements. For example: 1. Going on a Bear Hunt Story Bag 2. Giraffes Can't Dance Story Box 3. Hairy Mclairy Story Game.
Session elements and extension options are dependent on story package.
Please note: All workshops can be tailored to requirements. There are currently numerous stories and workshops under development. Please contact me if there is a particular workshop you would like me to create or for further information on workshops: tizziefrankish@outlook.com
Key stage 1 and 2 Themed Workshops:
"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is YOU. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can."
Neil Gaiman
The Great Dragon Discovery:
Today is the day the children discover their very own dragon. By deciding where it appeared from, they will invent a breed of dragon and complete an official Dragon Document which includes a host of interesting dragon details. They will draw its passport picture and put together an alphabet dragon poem of its favourite things to eat.
Session elements: Creative thinking, generating original ideas, drama, inventing words, creating character, original character profiles, write a poem.
Extension options: Write a short story, creating settings, world building, exploring emotions (how we feel when we meet new people, judging a book by its cover, first impressions)
Seize the Seas:
Today is the day the children set sail on the mighty seas. By using traditional pirates as inspiration, the children will invent their own pirate characters, the language they speak and the objects that are valuable to them. The ship sets sail and the children write a letter home describing their life on ship.
Session elements: Creative thinking, drama, creating character, original character profiles, creating setting, inventing words and language, write a letter
Extension options: Write a short story, world building, exploring emotions (how we feel when we: do things for the first time, are away from home, meet new people, go to new places (new school)
Adventure Venture:
Today is the day the children go on a mission to Mars. The children need plan for the space journey and invent something specific for space travel to keep them entertained on their journey. By using Mars as a model, the children will create a fact file for their own planet for the Precious Planets Encyclopaedia.
Session elements: creative thinking/problem solving skills, drama, inventing words, inventing an object, creating settings, non- fiction text, write a fact file
Extension options: Write a short story, creating characters, world building, exploring emotions (how we can: prepare ourselves for our own new experiences, deal with new environments)
The Monster Mash-up:
Today is the day the children make their very own Monster. By collecting imaginary monster parts, they will cook up a creature and answer monster make-up questions before meeting other monsters on the move. Once happy with their Monster Mash-up, the children will write a recipe for the Magnificent Monster Cook Book.
Session elements: generating original ideas, creative thinking, parts of the body, drama, inventing words, creating characters, character profile, non fiction text, write a short description and a recipe
Extension options: Write a story, create settings, world building, exploring emotions (how we can: be good citizens, make positive friendships, be good role models)
Time Travellers:
Today is the day the children fast forward to the future. By thinking about modern day modes of transport, the children will add a dash of zap and a dollop of zing to create a time machine which zips them into the future. When they have explored this foreign land they will write an atmospheric piece detailing what they see, hear, touch, taste, feel.
Session elements: generating original ideas, drama, inventing words, creative thinking, creating contraptions, creating settings, using 5 senses, write an atmospheric description
Extension options: Create characters, world building, exploring emotions (how we can: build better futures, realise our hopes and dreams)
Fantastical Animals:
Today is the day the children create their very own Fanstastical Animal. By looking at real life animals, their characteristics and the possibilities of how their physical traits developed, the children will create their own creature. They will draw its profile picture, develop a fantastic fact file and write about it for the Fantasists Book of Fantastical Animals.
Session elements: Generating original ideas, creative thinking, drama, inventing words, creating character, character profiles, write text in the style of Observer's book of...
Extension options: Write a story, create settings, world building, exploring emotions (how we can: be who we want to be, change our behaviours)
Fun with Fairytales:
Today is the day children have fun with fairytales. Many of the Grimm fairy tales share the same characters and incidents. The children will put together their own fairy tales by choosing the ingredients (objects, character, location) through a series of activities. They will decide on the ending as a group before writing their individual fairy tale.
Session elements: creative thinking, generating original ideas, drama, write a narrative – setting/character/plot
Extension options: Exploring emotions (how we react and deal with the things that happen to us)
A Date with Dahl:
During a Date with Dahl the children will use one of Roald Dahl's stories for inspiration before completing a series of activities and producing a piece of writing. The story options are: 1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
2. James and the Giant Peach 3. Georges Marvellous Medicine 4. The BFG
Session elements and extension options are dependent on story package.
Anthology Option:
Projects can be tailored to produce a published anthology of children's work. This can be base on the themed workshops, story skills workshops or a topic/theme of your choosing. The length of the project can be adapted to suit requirements, but will include an agreed amount of visits, guidance and feeback on childrens work. Price on application
Please note: All workshops can be tailored to requirements. There are currently numerous themed workshops under development. Please contact me if there is a particular workshop you would like me to create or for further information on current workshops: tizziefrankish@outlook.com
Story Skills Workshops:
"The objective of fiction isn’t grammatical correctness but to make the reader welcome and then tell a story …to make him/her forget, whenever possible, that he/she is reading a story at all."
Stephen King
12 week Writing Programme:
This programme supports the children through a step by step process to create a short story. Sessions focus on a particular story writing skill and include a variety of games, activities and exercises leading to a piece of writing at the end of the session.
The story skills components are:
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Ingenious Ideas
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Word Wizards
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Creating Colourful Characters
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Splendid Settings
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Wonderful Worlds
I work collaboratively with the children and share my own enthusiasm, experiences, and extracts of my own work. I refer my own writing process and techniques which touch on:
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Showing not Telling
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What if?
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In Media Res
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Action and Dialogue
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Structuring your story and Plot Development
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Editing and Rewriting
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Opening lines
By the end of the 12 weeks the young writers will have written a story by linking together the pieces of writing they've completed in the individual sessions.
"Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." Anton Chekhov
Anthology Option:
Projects can be tailored to produce a published anthology of children's work. This can be base on the themed workshops, story skills workshops or a topic/theme of your choosing. The length of the project can be adapted to suit requirements, but will include an agreed amount of visits, guidance and feedback on children's work. Price on application.
Please note: All workshops can be tailored to requirements and the Story Skills Workshops can be run as standalone workshops if required. Please contact me for further information: tizziefrankish@outlook.com
Poetry and Play Workshops:
"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."
William Wordsworth
A Play in a Day:
This programme supports children in a step by step process to create a Play in a Day. The children take part in a series of activities and exercises throughout the day each culminating in a short piece of writing.
I work collaboratively with the children and share my own experience of writing A Play in a Day and support and encourage them through the activities, which cover:
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Characters
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Structure
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Plot
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Dialogue and Stage Directions
By the end of the day the children will have written a short two person play based on the work from the activities.
There are extension opportunities to:
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Rewrite and Edit
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Bring the play to life
Please note: The Play in a Day workshop can be tailored to requirements and run as short standalone workshops if required. Please contact me for further information: tizziefrankish@outlook.com
Performance Poetry:
The children will learn a poem that's easy to remember and perfect to say out loud and add actions to. A variety of topics are available and where possible will be accompanied by a creative/ craft activity to support learning the poem off by heart and make the process fun and enjoyable. All poems are age appropriate and vary in length and complexity.