Trying to live like Robinson Crusoe. Read 2000 word story and continue.Quick View
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Trying to live like Robinson Crusoe. Read 2000 word story and continue.

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Trying to live like Robinson Crusoe. Read 2000 word story and continue. Whole one hour lesson resource for creative writing – thriller . Lesson notes. Read the story to your class. It is 2000 words and will take approximately ten minutes to read. Provide your students with a copy for each student. The story is specially written to engage their interest. It is written in first person narrative and tells the tale of someone who gets bored in his office job and hungers after adventure. He sets out for a remote uninhabited Pacific Island, on his own full of Robinson Crusoe notions of romanticised adventure. But things turn creepy and he presses a button on a device given to him by his friend George, just before he left England. The device will summon his friend to him. Task: imagine you are George, his friend and you receive the Mayday message. You travel to New Zealand and take a ferry to the island. Continue the story… As preparation for the writing have a small class discussion where you consider what might happen next. Try to encourage your students to write in the style of the story so far. When they have finished have a few read out to the class. Then discuss with the class what makes a good story and how their stories could be improved on even more.
Bongo the Clown writing competition – you be the judge.Quick View
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Bongo the Clown writing competition – you be the judge.

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Bongo the Clown writing competition – you be the judge. Bongo the Clown stepped into the ring and entertained the audience for eighteen minutes. The circus owner ran an advert in the local paper the next day: DID YOU SEE BONGO AT THE CIRCUS? WHAT DID YOU THINK? WRITE A DESCRIPTION AND SEND IN TO ENTER OUR WRITING COMPETITION. FREE CIRCUS TICKETS GIVEN AS PRIZES. Ask your students to read all 7 writing entries and put the top three, of their choice, in order with best as number one and then explain in detail their decision. This works very well in groups of four. The seven entries are included.
Roger's birthday. Science fiction. Continue the story. years 12-14Quick View
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Roger's birthday. Science fiction. Continue the story. years 12-14

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Read the opening of this story to your class. It is 1177 words in length. Roger can’t sleep on the morning of his 80th birthday so he goes for an early morning stroll. He encounters a strange object which seems to be able to fly and by sheer chance knocks off a small piece of it. Having been an engineer all his life he takes the piece of material home and subjects it to various tests and is astounded by what he finds. Then there is a knock on the door. Somebody, or something wants it back. The story has been specially written by Johnnie Young, who has taught English and Creative writing for over thirty years. It is designed to captivate the attention of your students and will inspire them to continue the story in their own words from their own imaginations. When they have finished read a few out and hold a discussion about what makes a good story.
Bertram the Shepherd– CONTINUE THE STORY – 12-14 YEAR OLDSQuick View
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Bertram the Shepherd– CONTINUE THE STORY – 12-14 YEAR OLDS

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Bertram the Shepherd– CONTINUE THE STORY – 12-14 YEAR OLDS This story opening has been written by Johnnie Young, who has taught English and story writing to children for over thirty years. Read the start of the story which has been specially written to capture the imaginations of your students. Let them have a copy to refer to. Then ask them to continue the story. Read out a few and discuss what makes a good story. I think you will find that there is something in the way the opening works which will capture the imaginations of your students.
Mongo is thirsty. Continue the story. 10 year olds.Quick View
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Mongo is thirsty. Continue the story. 10 year olds.

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Mongo is thirsty. This story opening has been written by Johnnie Young, who has taught English and story writing to children for over thirty years. Read the start of the story which has been specially written to capture the imaginations of your students. Let them have a copy to refer to. Then ask them to continue the story. Read out a few and discuss what makes a good story. I think you will find that there is something in the way the opening works which will trigger fascinating and perhaps unexpected responses from your students.
Assembly. Ages 14- to 18. 8 minutes. How to not lose your temper.Quick View
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Assembly. Ages 14- to 18. 8 minutes. How to not lose your temper.

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Why losing your temper can be dangerous and what, in practical terms, you can do about it. Explanation This is the wording of a 1400 word assembly and takes eight to nine minutes to present. It has a powerful message and is clearly presented. It has been especially written by Johnnie Young who has taught children for over thirty years. The message shows a real life situation where somebody loses their temper and a reflection on what happened is given together with some sage advice for a vital life skill.
Descriptive writing based on random chaosQuick View
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Descriptive writing based on random chaos

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Descriptive writing based on random chaos Read your students this short story where Frank demonstrates to Oliver that random biscuit crumbs can become fascinating pictures and all it takes is a little bit of imagination. “The human mind does not like meaningless chaos and so when we see a collection of crumbs which are random our minds impose a pattern, an order onto the shapes to forge something that makes sense.” Once you have engaged their curiosity with the specially written story (by Johnnie Young) ask them to continue the story from their own imaginations. It is a good idea to set them a piece of research homework to follow this idea up: “Research the work of the German artist Max Ernst (1891-1976) and write, in your own words (crucial requirement), a summary of how he used random shapes and patterns to give him artist ideas for his own work.” Also it is an interesting idea for the students themselves to try using randomly sprinkled crumbs of a biscuit to use it as the story does – that is to take a picture of the crumbs, print it out and use coloured pens to create a picture based on the crumbs. The results are fascinating. Again, this part works much better if it is organised carefully, with written instructions, for homework.
The Story of Wendy buying the Cherries – told ten different waysQuick View
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The Story of Wendy buying the Cherries – told ten different ways

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The Story of Wendy buying the Cherries – told ten different ways You read your students the short baseline story and then ask them to re-write it in different ways. It will help with experimentation of story writing skills, style and genre as they experiment and have fun. Ten versions are included for teacher reference: Version One is the plain base story. Version Two focuses on Wendy’s thoughts before she leaves the house and when she returns but misses out the part in the middle. Version Three focuses on a conversation that Wendy has a few days later with her friend at work. Version Four is in Gothic horror style. Version Five is the story told from the perspective of the market seller. Version Six is the report of the story made by a police officer. Version Seven is the story told by a bystander who happens to be an artist. Version Eight is in the style of a Western Version Nine Newspaper report Version Ten is the story told with a focus on sounds
By The Sea by Christina Rossetti - a powerful way into understandingQuick View
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By The Sea by Christina Rossetti - a powerful way into understanding

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By The Sea by Christina Rossetti This resource offers a way to come to understand this great poem by using creative imagination. Read the poem through to your students a couple of times then ask them to imagine something. They are the captain of a ship moored in a deep harbour quite close to the shore and nearby is a wide river estuary. It is dusk and rapidly becoming night. Write out a captain’s log, which uses the information in stanza one to describe the scene and the feelings of the captain. Try to use quotes from stanza one and feel free to bring in extracts from other great poems to illustrate thoughts and ideas. Then ask them to imagine they are a diver who goes down and explores the sea-bed. Again use ideas and, if possible, quotes from stanza two and three to bring the descriptions alive. The next step is to read out the captains’ logs and then read the poem out loud again and see if the creative writing exercise throws light and understanding and importantly, appreciation, onto the poem itself. An example from stanza one is provided and all the direct quotes from the Rossetti poem are underlined for ease of reference.
Desmond solves the mystery – can you?Quick View
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Desmond solves the mystery – can you?

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Desmond solves the mystery – can you? Desmond loved solving puzzles and was extremely good at it. In the one you’re going to read he successfully figures out, in advance, a crime and, because of him the culprits are apprehended by the police. Ask your students to listen to the facts very carefully and see if they can work out how Desmond figured it all out. It’s not easy but it is solvable. A fully explained solution is provided to read after your students have had a go at solving it themselves. I hope you have fun with this.
Groba the farmer workerQuick View
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Groba the farmer worker

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Imagine a farm worker suspected of ill treating the animals. Imagine if things don’t go too well for him. Read this short story to your students and then ask them to write their own story from their imaginations about some clever insects. The short story is approximately one thousand words long.
The Tempest by Shakespeare - news article interviewQuick View
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The Tempest by Shakespeare - news article interview

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The Tempest by William Shakespeare This exercise is a fun and active way for your students to demonstrate their knowledge of the play. Description of activity: Write out an imaginative interview between an interviewer from a local newspaper and an old person who has retired from acting recounting his experiences of acting a particular character in the Tempest. Put in quotes from the play and maybe describe things that went wrong. Bring into the writing descriptions of the theatre in which the production was performed to give it a sense of realism. Also focus on any particularly dramatic moments. Keep the descriptions to Act 1. An example is provided below for you to read to your class.
The Inventor has died but are the robots still there?Quick View
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The Inventor has died but are the robots still there?

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The inventor has died but are the robots still there? Dexter and Gavin are teenage schoolboy friends who are intrigued when they hear about an old inventor who had died and left a house which might be full of robots. The house has become abandoned and the boys can’t resist an adventure. They cycle over to the place on night with a view to exploring it, hoping to find what might remain of the robots but they get more than they bargained for. The story is specially written to engage the imaginations of your students and then, at a dramatic moment, the story stops and your students have to continue it. A powerful and fun way to encourage your students to write creatively.
How a description of a door, carefully written, can suggest the beginning of a story.Quick View
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How a description of a door, carefully written, can suggest the beginning of a story.

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How a description of a door, carefully written, can suggest the beginning of a story. In descriptive writing one of the most common problems is that students write descriptions without thinking about the function of the description. This lesson is designed to help with that problem. A specially written description of a door is given to be read carefully. Then the beginning of a story is provided which is suggested by the description. The students can then continue with the story or write their own description of a door and the beginning of their own story suggested by the description.
“Toto the Great Magician” – what happens next? Full details for a great one hour lesson.Quick View
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“Toto the Great Magician” – what happens next? Full details for a great one hour lesson.

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“Toto the Great Magician” – what happens next? Full details for a great one hour lesson. This resource encourages your students to listen to a specially written story and then to write their own continuation and then hear the second part of the story. Very detailed learning management notes are included together with a summary of a one hour lesson plan. Read the start of this story to your students. It has been specially written by Johnnie Young to engage their interest. There is a certain point in the story indicated (after 18 minutes of reading out loud) where you pause and then ask your students what they think might happen next. Get them to discuss that and then say: “I’m going to continue reading the story in a moment but just jot down in writing, in your own words, just for a few minutes, what you think might happen next which fits in with what we have read so far. Oh yes. Try to write in the same style as the story so far if you can. Use your imaginations and creative skills. Ready, start writing now please.”
Inspire them with sunshine - creative writing-age 14Quick View
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Inspire them with sunshine - creative writing-age 14

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Inspire them with sunshine. In this creative writing activity you prepare your students to write a description of sunshine using six phases. Phase one : create a particular scene in their minds. “Imagine a lake one sunny morning, surrounded by trees with the breeze gently rippling the surface of the water. Then focus your description on the effects of the sunshine as it sparkles on the water.” Phase two: ask them to write out that scene adding details and development from their own imaginations. Phase three: show them and read them the worked up example to inspire. (“Sunshine on the Water” – below) Phase four: ask them to think of another scene where the focus of the description is the sunshine and to write it out. Phase five: ask students to read out their work and discuss. What particular parts where particularly good? What particular parts could be enhanced? How might they be enhanced? Phase six: encourage them to rewrite their work to improve it.
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY - MOUNTAIN CHALLENGEQuick View
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THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY - MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE

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The story behind the story – Mountain Challenge Read with your students the story “Douglas wakes up.” This has been especially written by Johnnie Young and based on thirty years of teaching students creative writing is designed to intrigue them and evoke creative responses. Then ask students to continue the story and then explain what is happening for this set of circumstances to come about. 1300 words A full example of an explanation is provided for the teacher to use to compare and help the students with their ideas. This of course will not be shown until the students have had a go themselves.
Continue the story entitled “I saw strange things by that river.”Quick View
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Continue the story entitled “I saw strange things by that river.”

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Continue the story entitled “I saw strange things by that river.” Read your students the following beginning of a story which has been specially written by Johnnie Young and designed to captivate the attention of your students and inspire them to continue the story in their own words and from their own imaginations. The story beginning is 723 words and will take 3 to 4 minutes to read.
How to develop a description - countryside 1Quick View
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How to develop a description - countryside 1

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Exercise for writing an interesting description of the countryside. Instructions. Ask your students to write a description of a countryside scene. You may wish to use a list of key ingredients to prompt them: EG: Grass, wild flowers, dew, ants, cracked mud, puddle, reflection in the puddle. They might produce something like “draft 1”. I have seen students produce similar things thousands of times. Challenge: how to use that raw material and develop it in an interesting way. Advice to students. Take each part of the description and be imaginative and develop it. Think about using detailed observation. Experiment with phrases like “look closer”. Introduce verbs and put action into the writing. So, show them just draft 1 (below). Discuss Then show them draft 2 and ask them to continue it in a similar style. Then show them draft 3 (which is draft 2 extended) and compare to their own writing. What might they learn from the comparison?
How to make a description interesting by involving a memoryQuick View
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How to make a description interesting by involving a memory

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Describing objects can be an interesting exercise in creative writing. This idea gives the students a chance to make the description intriguing by involving it with a memory. Ask your students to think of an object. Now ask them to imagine that object as they look at it closely. Note it can aid the imagination if pictures of objects are provided to help the imagination. They then imagine that they touch the object and describe it. As they look at it and touch it the object evokes a memory. The object is then described in terms of that memory. An interplay between object and memory develops. Purpose of the exercise: To create an intriguing structure in creative writing. To add a sense of psychological realism to the writing. To give an abstract idea a concrete form. To practise creative thinking in creating a meaningful and interesting comparison between the object and the memory. Teaching students that good crafted writing involves dynamics. A description hanging on its own in space without connection, rather than enhancing the quality of the writing can actually distract from it.