Duration: 2 hours Schools/3 hours Community Group*
Age: 7 – 11
Location: School Classroom or Bournemouth University
Suitable Group Numbers: School Class 30/Community Group 20 max.
Staff to Child Ratio: 1:5
Participants are encouraged to use their imagination to write a story together, in response to prompts given by the session leader. As they come up with ideas, the story takes shape on a large screen in front of them and the class can watch as an illustrator creates live artwork to accompany it.
In the second half of the session, the children work in small groups, aided by a writing mentor, to write and complete the second half of the story. They are also encouraged to add pictures to their story which, when completed, they share with the class. Each child goes away with a printed booklet of their story and illustrations – and their picture, as author, on the back cover.
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Age: 7 – 18
Location: School Classroom/Bournemouth University
Suitable Group Numbers: School Class of 30/Community Group 20 max.
Staff to Child Ratio: 1:5
Chapter one – ‘The animal hybrid design’ section
The children think of a minimum of three animals, to combine into a hybrid creature, and illustrate how they would look like.
Chapter two – ‘Inspiration and what makes a good character?’ section
We show examples of cool characters and explain what makes them so well-designed. E.g. This character has a unique silhouette and can easily be recognised as only a filled in shape. We play a quick game of ‘who is this character’ and show some iconic character silhouettes for them to guess. Like Sonic or Pikachu or something.
Chapter three – ‘Design your character’ section
The children fill out a pre-printed prompt sheet to help them think about their character. Once they’ve finished their prompt sheet, the children can begin to illustrate their characters! The session ends with each child showing their character to everyone.
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Age: 7 – 18
Location: School Classroom/Bournemouth University
Suitable Group Numbers: School Class of 30/Community Group 20 max.
Staff to Child Ratio: 1:5
Chapter one – ‘explanation and inspiration’ section
We explain what we’re doing and show inspirational examples of comics and the different forms they can take on. With a run through of the basic design principles of comics, e.g. comic panel structure, camera angles, stories.
Chapter two – ‘mini comic challenge’ section
We give them hand-outs of pre-printed pieces of paper that have three comic box squares. The challenge is that they have to create a story, a sequence of three images that show something happening.
Chapter three – ‘Character, scene, story’ section
The children come up with a character, a scene, and a short story that can easily be condensed into a couple of sentences. This could also just be character speech.
Chapter four – ‘Creating the comic’ section
The children create their comic, beginning with the comic panel structure and from there they can illustrate their stories using their pre-written couple of sentences or character speech. The session ends with each child sharing their comic
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Age: 12 – 18
Location: School Classroom/Bournemouth University
Suitable Group Numbers: School Class of 30/Community Group 20 max.
Staff to Child Ratio: 1:5
Chapter one – ‘The brief’ section
We explain the client brief to the children. (In this example I’m going to use ‘Cereal packaging re-design’ but this could be interchangeable with endless things, e.g. re-design the cover of your favourite book, or fizzy drink can, or design a poster for an event etc). We could establish that the client would like specific things, like there needs to be a character mascot, or for certain colours to be used etc.
Chapter two – ‘Packaging re-design ideas’ section
The children pick their favourite cereal, and come up with ideas for how they could represent it, what colours they might use, should they have a character mascot etc. Lots of doodling and sketching out of these ideas. They could also work together in small groups if they would like to do the same cereal or collaborate.
Chapter three – ‘The final design’ section
They illustrate their final designs. Option for older children – the designs are illustrated on pre-printed unwrapped shape templates, that can be assembled with scissors and a glue stick into a 3D standing box, so that it looks more professional.
The session ends with each child showing their design.
Duration: 2 hours
Age: 7 – 18
Location: School Classroom/Bournemouth University
Suitable Group Numbers: School Class of 30/Community Group 20 max.
Staff to Child Ratio: 1:5
Chapter one – ‘explanation and inspiration’ section
We explain what we’re doing, and show lots of inspirational imagery, mood boards etc in order to fuel some creativity
Chapter two – ‘Doodling ideas’ section
The children brainstorm what they’d like on their tote bag. We can help them by asking questions about their favourite things, or what they feel would be fun to represent them. Lots of sketching and doodling down these ideas on paper.
Chapter three – ‘The final design’ section
The children come up with their final design on paper, and then illustrate it on the tote bag itself. The session ends with each child showing what they’ve created and best of all they have something to take home at the end of the day!
Duration: 3 hours
Age: 7 – 11
Location: School Classroom/Bournemouth University
Suitable Group Numbers: School Class of 30/Community Group 20 max.
Staff to Child Ratio: 1:5
Led by Rick Broadbent, a journalist for The Times and award-winning author, this session introduces children to the art of sports-writing. Rick will read stories from his new ‘Sports Legends’ book and tell stories about some of the stars he has met, such as Adam Peaty, Usain Bolt, Serena Williams and Lionel Messi. The group will discuss their favourite sports stars and what makes them great. The group then breaks into small groups and we do the ‘Legend Challenge’ where groups have to come up with adjectives or similes to describe a designated sports star. The main focus of the session is to report on an event so, with the help of Rick and writing mentors, they will watch a live event on a big screen and then write a report on this. This will involve writing notes and using observation skills. They will also be encouraged to put a headline on their report and illustrate it. Everyone gets the chance to read their report out and take it home in a printed booklet. There may also be time to report on the group’s own penalty shootout!
Duration: 3 hours
Age: 7 – 18
Location: School Classroom/Bournemouth University
Suitable Group Numbers: School Class of 30/Community Group 20 max.
Staff to Child Ratio: 1:5
This is a workshop about songs and stories. The aim is to write your own song in whatever genre you like – hip-hop, rap, pop, rock etc. It starts with the workshop leader brainstorming and asking for the children’s favourite songs and lines from them. These are written on a big screen. Then more titles are shown with a word missing. The children guess at the missing word. The next part involves showing images of some of the most famous pop and rock stars of all. The children are then encouraged to create a fictional star of their own, with mentors encouraging them to be as outlandish as possible. An illustrator will draw these as we go along. After a break the children split into pairs and are encouraged to make up their own rhymes/songs, using lines of some of the songs they have previously discussed as their starting point. They can change the titles to be as funny as they want. For example, ‘Oops I did it again’ could become “Oops I spilled the paint again.” If brave enough the children can read or sing or rap their songs while others play assorted instruments such as bongos and shakers. Finally, they get to take their completed song/rhyme home in booklet form.
Duration: 3 hours
Age: 7 – 18
Location: School Classroom/Bournemouth University
Suitable Group Numbers: School Class of 30/Community Group 20 max.
Staff to Child Ratio: 1:5
This is a fun workshop that plays with the idea of time. Most stories have a beginning, middle and end, but this group starts with a discussion about what would happen if it was the other way around. So, the children are asked to think of famous stories and begin at the end and discuss how the story would work backwards. The children then do an exercise called ‘Scramble’ in which everyone writes a sentence beginning with the word “And then”. The children then read the lines out and a fabulous, ridiculous story emerges. After being warmed up the children will then get to write their own story about Time Travel. Lots of props and photographs will be on hand to spark the imagination. The workshop leader will then start a debate by asking them what they would change if they could go back in history. What item from the present would be most useful in the past? What knowledge that we have now would be useful back then? The children are then helped to write their story that appears on the screen as they go and will get to take it away in a printed booklet. They can also add vintage illustrations of their own.
Duration: 3 hours
Age: 7 – 11
Location: School Classroom/Bournemouth University
Suitable Group Numbers: School Class of 30/Community Group 20 max.
Staff to Child Ratio: 1:5
The idea of this workshop is to get children buzzing about their own ideas. The workshop leader shows a montage of heroes – Batman, Spiderman and Catwoman, but also pop stars, nurses, Marcus Rashford, Captain Tom etc. After a discussion about what makes a superhero, the children split into groups and move around four tables. One table is ‘The Prop Centre’ with all manner of weird and wacky things that could be used in a story. The next is the ‘Word Bank’ where children write down single words that could be used to describe a hero and stick it on a poster. The third is the ‘Story Starter’ table with hints, scenarios and ideas hidden in a hero’s helmet. The fourth is the ‘Power Hub’ where children discuss specific super-powers. These could be super strengths unusual ones – what if a hero turns into a mouse every time he gets frightened? An illustrator will be on hand to sketch some of the children’s superhero ideas. Then there is a Storyboard session. This involves a short video explaining that the town is under threat from a villain called Bogglesneezer. It finishes with the mayor asking for help. Cue the writing session. The children complete their own stories and get to take away a printed version at the end.
Duration: 2 hours
Age: 7 – 18
Location: School Classroom
Suitable Group Numbers: School Class of 30.
Staff to Child Ratio: Dependent on subject of workshop
If a teacher has a great idea that they would like to workshop but don’t have enough staff to help them realise it, fear no more! The Story Works will provide a group of volunteers, numbers dependent on the workshop, to attend the school and help facilitate and realise the teacher’s brilliant idea.
Building Confidence With Words
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