School Workshops

“Loads of historical knowledge. Great movement and activity. The children had an amazing time”  YR 4 English teacher, Dunkirk School Primary School, Nottingham (See more reviews below)

I work primarily with KS2 but deliver writing workshops up to age 25! I’ll tailor the workshop to suit your class texts and your needs. Please get in touch: sarabodinar@gmail.com

Love teaching KS2 English, but hate teaching writing?

I currently offer four writing workshops that will compliment your classes. Each workshop will utilise ‘drama for writing’ techniques and be tailored to your class themes and texts. The content will be in line with KS2 English learning objectives and most importantly will captivate and entertain your pupils.

Using a combination of interactive drama games, role-play, performance activities and writing exercises I aim to improve listening skills, language development, team building and concentration. The workshops are also designed to be confidence-boosting, as well improve concentration in a collaborative setting

The overall goal of each workshop is to promote a deeper understanding of how stories are put together and the toolbox needed to do that.

1. Creative writing workshop

Using a combination of drama games and writing exercises, the class will ultimately create a new story, using the tools they’ve been given. It’s designed to give the class a greater, more visual insight into how to make their own creative writing work more compelling.

• Uses imagination
• The importance of themes in writing
• Looking at character thoughts, feelings and motivations
• Developing creative ideas
• Prepare and participate in a play to be performed

2. Critical writing workshop

Helping children judge the strengths and weaknesses of a text, by questioning the information and opinions with which they are presented. They will be given the tools needed to write an evaluation, or review of the text studied (which can then be done as a follow-up exercise)

• Promotes empathy
• Helps children edit their own creative writing
• Making comparisons
• Summarising the main ideas
• Justifying one’s own viewpoint

3. Writing with an angle

Need your class to write a journalistic piece, a diary entry, or prose within a particular literary category? This workshop will use short writing exercises and drama games to help children understand better what is expected of them.

• Use of language
• Differing text structure
• Fact vs opinion
• Formal versus informal
• Consider and evaluate different viewpoints

4. Bringing the texts to life

Using drama games and role-play to give children a deeper comprehension of their class texts, as well as provoke more interest in thinking about stories critically.

• Asking questions to improve understanding
• Building vocabulary
• Predicting what might happen
• Exploring setting, plot, characters, pace and atmosphere
• Participation in an improvisation

Why me?

• I’m an experienced professional screenwriter, playwright, author and editor (of films, plays and books aimed at children, as well as adults).
• I currently give regular writing workshops for young people at Nottingham Playhouse Theatre, Urban Young Actors and Primary Schools around the country.
• Fully DBS checked (enhanced)
• A member of the Standing 8 Theatre Company
• Used to working with children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Half day (£150) and full day (£250) sessions available. Up to 35 pupils per session. 50% off these prices January 2020

These workshops can help support the reading of class texts, by helping children develop their knowledge of their topic. Each session will be carefully prepared in line with the needs of your class and structured with a clear, relevant learning objective in mind.

Nothing needs to be provided. If props would be helpful, I’ll bring them.

Happy to chat on the phone, but please email me in the first instance: sarabodinar@gmail.com

Reviews

“A great way to gently ease the class into the text”

“The workshops were a fantastic way for the children to explore a book. The children used their voices to explore the setting of the book which helped them to become immersed in the world of the book. They explored the different characters which they really enjoyed and it gave them a better understanding of these characters when it came to reading the book in more depth. As a teacher it gave me lots of ideas for exploring settings and characters in the future and I’ll definitely be using them in the future! ”

“The children really enjoyed the session, and it helped them to understand the book when we worked on it in class”