This week we visited
Sydney Story Factory. They provide students with engaging creative writing
workshops. Students are motivated as they are working towards a piece of work
(script, radio broadcast and etc) which will be published and given to students
to take home and share with family and friends. I was very intrigued as soon as
I walked in because the theme was aliens and the shop front was stocked with
alien themed products. It felt like I was walking into another world. As a
teacher, I want to create an atmosphere in my classroom where students are free
to imagine, believe in themselves and ability to be creative. As Karaolis
(2013) explains, “The relationship you have with your students is going to be
the most critical factor in developing their creativity” (p.133).
One of the great
activities we did was to create an inventor to be the main character of a
story. In groups we needed to brainstorm a name for the inventor, what he/she
liked, any pets, the invention they were making and how it was essential to
this world, how the inventor sounded, any obsessions and the way that they
walk. We then took turns to explain the character we had created and
demonstrate how they walked. I thought it was a very engaging and interactive
task and it was very interesting to see what other groups had come up with.
To begin with, I thought
it was actually really hard to brainstorm a characters interests and name, so
in my classroom, I would have students do the Corpse activity (which involves
students drawing one part of the body such as the head, folding the drawing of
the head over, passing the drawing to the next student to draw the chest and
etc) to draw and create the inventor. Students would then open up the paper to
see the whole body of the inventor. This is so students can have an image to
work with when they are creating their character. I would also have students
draw a map of the town, city, suburb or village the character lives in so
students have a sense of the characters place. Karaolis (2013) states that “giving
children access to materials and resources and real objects inspires their
creativity” (p.131). I think that as teacher, it would be important to provide
students’ with plenty of materials and resources (such as The Corpse activity) especially
to younger years, as it would assist in creating the story.
This workshop gave me a
lot of ideas of activities to do in my classroom. I would also have this in my
kit as a casual teacher, if I am in a classroom where the teacher hasn't left
any work. I am keen to try these activities out on my practical experience and
see how I go!
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