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Presentation Skills: First Impressions and Body Language
How do I make a good first impression? How do I learn to attend an interview, communicate effectively and grow in confidence? Here are practical answers; an antidote to anxiety. Immediately, you can use these lesson plans and activities that contain an element of fun. Coupled with fit-to-purpose resources, your students will build confidence and skills as they learn to -
• Build rapport from the outset.
• Know the difference between helpful and distracting body language.
• Learn skills and quickly practice them.
• Analyse presentations given by famous people.
• Acquire practical skills that make for effective presentations.
• Stay motivated, right to the end.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or with other questions.
Resources included in this pack
Confidence building activities
Discussion starters
Expert advice and tips
Examples of presentations (good & bad)
Games
Creative Writing Prompts - Visual
Every picture tells a story, but which one? Here are 8 curated, visual creative writing prompts. Each image includes a writing prompt designed to inspire your students, or help them to write from the heart.
Learning objectives:
Generating ideas, planning and drafting
Developing viewpoint, voice and ideas
Writing narratives, considering how authors have developed characters and settings
Differentiation opportunities:
Ask students to find an image they want to write a story about.
You can create your own favourite visual creative writing prompts from headlines. It’s easy to pull up images from pinterest or amazing free image sites like unsplash. All my students enjoy this activity. It can help them generate ideas and write about characters and settings they are interested in.
Setting and Mood: Creative Writing Mini Activities_11 to 14 yrs
These mini creative writing activities help students to have fun and add authentic details when constructing where their stories takes place.
You will find a fabulous bundle of creative writing lessons here. They apply secrets from master storytellers to build on existing skills, These lessons will help your students to create realistic settings that elevate and sharpen any story.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or with other questions.
The Lighthouse Keeper's Catastrophe: Fun Lessons and Resources
Mr Grinling locks himself out of the lighthouse. Not only is Hamish the cat trapped inside, he also needs to switch on the light to warn the ships that they’re near the rocks! Mrs Grinling has an ingenious plan to get back in…but will it work?
The Lighthouse Keepers Catastrophe Kit includes four lesson plans plus all the resources you need to turn up, engage, and teach this fantastic story. Lessons include listening and speaking, comprehension, information and story writing, art and a memory game. Delicious!
Includes
4 Full Lessons Plans
Learning Outcomes
Printables
Sequencing activity
Story Mountain
Story Planner
Worksheets
Online resources
Learning outcomes
English
• listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
• give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings
• use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising
• imagining and exploring ideas
• listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently
• making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done
• predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far
• sequencing sentences to form short narratives
• re-reading what they have written to check that it makes sense
• discuss what they have written with the teacher or other pupils
• develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by:
writing narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real and fictional)
writing about real events
Art
• use drawing and imagination to develop their ideas.
• Use tone, pattern, line and shape in pictures.
These lessons are written by children’s author and tutor Claire Vorster. Enjoy!
The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch: Fun Lessons and Resources
There are many great reasons why The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch is so fun to read and teach. Here are four lesson plans plus all the resources you need to turn up, engage, and teach this fantastic story. Lessons include listening and speaking, comprehension, writing, art and drama. Delicious!
Includes
4 Full Lessons Plans
Learning Outcomes
Printables
Sequencing activity
Story Mountain
Story Planner
Worksheets
Online resources
Learning outcomes
English
• listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
• give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings
• use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising
• imagining and exploring ideas
• listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently
• making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done
• predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far
• sequencing sentences to form short narratives
• re-reading what they have written to check that it makes sense
• discuss what they have written with the teacher or other pupils
• develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by:
writing narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real and fictional)
writing about real events
Art
• use drawing and imagination to develop their ideas of 17th Century London.
• Use tone, pattern, line and shape in pictures.
Drama
• develop confidence using movement
• develop spatial awareness
• act out a story
• facilitate the creation and communication of ideas
These lessons are written by children’s author and tutor Claire Vorster. Enjoy!
Presentation Skills 11-14 yrs: Lesson Plans, Activities and Resources
How do I give a presentation? How do I learn to communicate effectively and grow in confidence? Here are practical answers; an antidote to anxiety. Immediately, you can use these lesson plans and activities that contain elements of fun. Coupled with fit-to-purpose resources, your students will build confidence and skills as they learn to -
· Build rapport from the outset.
· Know the difference between helpful and distracting body language.
· Learn skills and quickly practice them.
· Analyse presentations given by famous people.
· Discover and see what stress and nerves do to the body.
· Develop ways to turn pressure to their advantage.
· Introduction to presentation skills in the context of business / marketing.
· Acquire practical skills that make for effective presentations.
· Stay motivated, right to the end.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or with other questions.
Writing Dialogue: Mini Activities_11 to 14 yrs
These mini creative writing activities help students to explore what informs and motivates their characters’ dialogue.
You will find a fabulous bundle of creative writing lessons here. They apply secrets from master storytellers to build on existing skills, They will help your students to create realistic dialogue that elevates and sharpens any story.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or with other questions.
Setting and Mood: Creative Writing Activities_15 to 18 yrs
Your students can create a compulsive plot and compelling characters, but their attention to detail in constructing where their stories takes place can make or break the narrative. These bundled lessons apply secrets from master storytellers to build on existing skills, Your students will learn to -
• Bridge information with imagination to create fiction that builds credibility.
• Understand how settings can act as secondary characters in their stories.
• Layer a sense of place into every scene that they write.
• Use a secret weapon to uncover great ideas for a story.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or with other questions.
Activities
Speaking and listening, reading comprehension, planning, writing, reviewing.
Learning objectives
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft: story shape
Writing
Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting
Composition: shaping and constructing language for expression and effect
Speaking and Listening
Developing active listening skills and strategies
Group discussion and interaction: Developing and adapting discussion skills and strategies
Resources included in this plan
Reading and Comprehension Activities
Mini and Comprehensive Writing Activities
Famous quotes for discussion
Literary examples
Story prompts
Story planner for students
Online resource links
Create Engaging Characters: Creative Writing Lessons & Resources_15 to 18yrs
From Sherlock Holmes to Mary Poppins, some characters stay with readers far beyond the final page. This bundled lesson guide will help your students to master the techniques required to create memorable and complex characters. Your students will learn to:
Bring characters to life using key details that contribute to their experience and journey.
Create a storytelling style that fits their unique characters.
Keep their character’s journey at the heart of their narrative.
Avoid the mistakes that turn readers off.
Learning objectives
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft
Writing
Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting
Composition: shaping and constructing language for expression and effect
Speaking and Listening
Developing active listening skills and strategies
Group discussion and interaction: Developing and adapting discussion skills and strategies
Resources include
Range of activities
Visual character prompts
Examples of characterisation
Discussion starters
Comprehension questions
Online resource links
Please contact Claire Vorster with any questions. Many thanks!
Realistic Characters & Emotion: Creative Writing Lesson Plans for 15 to 18 yrs
Ray Bradbury’s advice on how to write confident and compelling narrative? “Let the world burn through you. Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper.”
With the right tools, your students can write narrative pieces that blaze. In these lessons they will turn life’s strangest moments into a dramatic story. They’ll gain the skills to become highly attuned to the world around them, develop their voices and create their best work. They will learn how to -
• Identify and develop strong ideas that add heat to a story.
• Use popular song lyrics to find story ideas.
• Beat writer’s block. Discover the technique that award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin uses to make a great start, every time.
• Craft compelling stories that are relevant and timeless.
Time Allowance / Key Stage
3-6 lessons
Activities
Speaking and listening, planning, writing, reviewing.
Learning objectives
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft: story shape
Writing
Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting
Composition: shaping and constructing language for expression and effect
Speaking and Listening
Developing active listening skills and strategies
Group discussion and interaction: Developing and adapting discussion skills and strategies
Resources included in this plan
Story prompts
Images (copyright free)
Quotes and song lyrics
Story planners for students (2 pages)
Online resource links
Please contact Claire Vorster with any questions. Many thanks!
Presentation Skills Lesson Plans: From Boring to Brilliant
How do I give a presentation? How do I learn to attend an interview, communicate effectively and grow in confidence? Here are practical answers; an antidote to anxiety. Immediately, you can use these lesson plans and activities that contain an element of fun. Coupled with fit-to-purpose resources, your students will build confidence and skills as they learn to -
• Know the difference between ineffective and successful presentations.
• Discover and see what stress and nerves do to the body.
• Develop ways to turn pressure to their advantage.
• Introduction to presentation skills in the context of business / marketing.
• Acquire practical skills that make for effective presentations.
• Stay motivated, right to the end.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or with other questions.
Resources included in this pack
Confidence building activities
Discussion starters
Expert advice and tips
Examples of presentations (good & bad)
Handouts
Online resources
Games
Setting and Mood: Creative Writing Lesson Plans_11 to 14 yrs
Your students can have lots of fun creating compelling settings for their stories. These bundled lessons apply secrets from master storytellers to build on existing skills, Your students will learn to:
• Understand how settings can act as secondary characters in their stories.
• Use 5 senses as a secret weapon to uncover great ideas for a story.
• Learn how to structure their story for success.
• Bridge information with imagination to create fantastic fiction.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or with other questions.
Resources included in this plan
Reading and Comprehension Activities
Mini and Comprehensive Writing Activities
Famous quotes for discussion
Literary examples
Story prompts
Story planner for students
Online resource links
Activities
Speaking and listening, reading comprehension, planning, writing, reviewing.
Learning objectives
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft: story shape
Writing
Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting
Composition: shaping and constructing language for expression and effect
Speaking and Listening
Developing active listening skills and strategies
Group discussion and interaction: Developing and adapting discussion skills and strategies
Opening Lines & Hooks: Creative Writing Lesson Plans _15 to 18 yrs
There’s nothing quite like staring at a blank page. These bundled lesson plans apply secrets from master storytellers as students discover techniques to conquer those first line blues. They will learn to -
Grab the reader’s attention from the very first line and hold onto it.
Review the first lines of famous novels and develop their own style.
Saturate their stories with atmosphere and meaning.
Write to inform and entertain. And be ruthless about the editing process.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or other questions.
Activities
Speaking and listening, reading comprehension, planning, writing, reviewing.
Learning objectives
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft: story shape
Writing
Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting
Composition: shaping and constructing language for expression and effect
Speaking and Listening
Developing active listening skills and strategies
Group discussion and interaction: Developing and adapting discussion skills and strategies
Resources included in this plan
Reading and Comprehension Activities
Mini and Comprehensive Writing Activities
Famous quotes for discussion
Literary examples
Story prompts
Story planner for students
Online resource links
Realistic Fiction: Structure, Planning & Writing Lessons for 11 to 14 yrs
With the right plot, your students can write confident and realistic narrative
pieces. Using these bundled lessons your students will discover techniques to
help them write stronger, more authentic stories. They will learn to -
• Quickly set themselves up for a successful first draft.
• Find great stories in the places they may least expect them.
• Understand the importance of having a secret story that drives their
characters.
• Create tension for the reader by escalating the stakes in their story.
• Discover what heavy weight boxing champion Muhammad Ali said about
defeat, and how it can help more than they think.
Activities
Speaking and listening, planning, writing, reviewing.
Learning objectives
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft: story shape
Writing
Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting
Composition: shaping and constructing language for expression and effect
Speaking and Listening
Developing active listening skills and strategies
Group discussion and interaction: Developing and adapting discussion skills
and strategies
Resources included in this plan
Story Mountain
Reading and Comprehension Activities
Mini and Comprehensive Writing Activities
Famous quotes for discussion
Literary examples
Online resource links
Story Planner
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or with other questions. Thank you!
The Lighthouse Keepers Christmas Kit: Fun Lessons and Resources
Mr and Mrs Grinling are looking forward to an extra-special Christmas with their great-nephew, George. But on Christmas Eve, Mr Grinling and George get stranded in the middle of a storm! Can Mrs Grinling reach them in time for a Christmas Dinner?
The Lighthouse Keepers Christmas Kit includes four lesson plans plus all the resources you need to turn up, engage, and teach this fantastic story. Lessons include listening and speaking, comprehension, writing, art and a memory game. Delicious!
Includes
4 Full Lessons Plans
Learning Outcomes
Printables
Sequencing activity
Story Mountain
Story Planner
Worksheets
Online resources
Learning outcomes
English
• listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
• give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings
• use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising
• imagining and exploring ideas
• listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently
• making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done
• predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far
• sequencing sentences to form short narratives
• re-reading what they have written to check that it makes sense
• discuss what they have written with the teacher or other pupils
• develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by:
writing narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real and fictional)
writing about real events
Art
• use drawing and imagination to develop their ideas.
• Use tone, pattern, line and shape in pictures.
These lessons are written by children’s author and tutor Claire Vorster. Enjoy!
Create Engaging Characters: 12 Creative Writing Activities & Printables
From Sherlock Holmes to Mary Poppins, some characters stay with readers far beyond the
final page. These 12 activities will help your students to master the techniques required to create memorable and complex characters. Your students will learn to:
• Bring characters to life using key details that contribute to their experience and journey.
• Create a storytelling style that fits their unique characters.
• Keep their character’s journey at the heart of their narrative.
• Avoid the mistakes that turn readers off.
Learning objectives
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft
Writing
Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting
Composition: shaping and constructing language for expression and effect
Speaking and Listening
Developing active listening skills and strategies
Group discussion and interaction: Developing and adapting discussion skills and strategies
Resources include
Range of activities
Visual character prompts
Examples of characterisation
Discussion starters
Comprehension questions
Online resource links
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or with other questions. Many thanks!
Creative Writing Prompts: Story Starter Kit for 12-14 yrs
With the Story Starter Kit, your students can choose their own creative writing prompts. Each prompt will tell a great story, but which one? This activity is designed to inspire your students, or help them to write from the heart.
Learning objectives
Writing
Generating ideas, planning and drafting
Developing viewpoint, voice and ideas
Writing narratives, considering how authors have developed characters and settings
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft: story shape
Activities
Planning, writing, reviewing.
You can create use the Story Starter Kit to create your own favourite creative writing prompts. It’s easy to add your prompts to this flexible resource. All my students enjoy this activity. It helps them generate ideas and practice creating characters and settings.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or other questions. Many thanks!
Opening Lines & Hooks: Creative Writing Lesson Plans _11 to 14 yrs
There’s nothing quite like staring at a blank page. These bundled lesson plans apply secrets from master storytellers as students discover techniques to conquer those first line blues. They will learn to -
Grab the reader’s attention from the very first line and hold onto it.
Review the first lines of famous novels and develop their own style.
Saturate their stories with atmosphere and meaning.
Write to inform and entertain. And be ruthless about the editing process.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or other questions.
Activities
Speaking and listening, reading comprehension, planning, writing, reviewing.
Learning objectives
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft: story shape
Writing
Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting
Composition: shaping and constructing language for expression and effect
Speaking and Listening
Developing active listening skills and strategies
Group discussion and interaction: Developing and adapting discussion skills and strategies
Resources included in this plan
Reading and Comprehension Activities
Mini and Comprehensive Writing Activities
Famous quotes for discussion
Literary examples
Story prompts
Story planner for students
Online resource links
Bundle
Creative Writing Uber Bundle for 15-18yrs
This Creative Writing Bundle reflects a discount of over 50% and is packed with successful lesson plans, printables, writing prompts and online resources to help your students build on existing skills lesson by lesson. Your students will learn how to -
• Develop a solid plot structure.
• Quickly set themselves up for a successful first draft.
• Get tools to keep their stories clear and on track.
• Discover how to use a writing prompt to find their starting point.
• Remove the fear from the thought of writing a whole story.
• Beat writer’s block. Discover the technique that award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin uses to make a great start, every time.
Activities
Speaking and listening, planning, writing, reviewing.
Learning objectives
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft: story shape
Writing
Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting
Composition: shaping and constructing language for expression and effect
Developing viewpoint, voice and ideas
Writing narratives, considering how authors have developed characters and settings
Speaking and Listening
Developing active listening skills and strategies
Group discussion and interaction: Developing and adapting discussion skills and strategies
Resources included in this bundle
Story Mountain
Story Mountain for Advanced Climbers
Images - Flood, Worst Hotel
Reading - Why should I plan?
Reading / Ranking Activities
Activity Sheets
Story prompts
Images (copyright free)
Quotes and song lyrics
Teaching Guide
Printables
12 Curated images + story prompts
Story planner
Online resource links
And many more
All my students enjoy these activities. The lessons and resources build confidence, help them generate ideas and practice creating effective story plots, characters and settings.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources or with any questions. Many thanks!
Setting and Mood: Creative Writing Lesson Plans_15 to 18 yrs
Your students can have lots of fun creating compelling settings for their stories. These bundled lessons apply secrets from master storytellers to build on existing skills, Your students will learn to:
• Understand how settings can act as secondary characters in their stories.
• Use 5 senses as a secret weapon to uncover great ideas for a story.
• Learn how to structure their story for success.
• Bridge information with imagination to create fantastic fiction.
Please contact Claire Vorster for free resources, or with other questions.
Resources included in this plan
Reading and Comprehension Activities
Mini and Comprehensive Writing Activities
Famous quotes for discussion
Literary examples
Story prompts
Story planner for students
Online resource links
Activities
Speaking and listening, reading comprehension, planning, writing, reviewing.
Learning objectives
Reading
Understanding the author’s craft: story shape
Writing
Composition: generating ideas, planning and drafting
Composition: shaping and constructing language for expression and effect
Speaking and Listening
Developing active listening skills and strategies
Group discussion and interaction: Developing and adapting discussion skills and strategies