George Lucas (yes mom, the guy who directed Star Wars) talks here about how the school system in America is obsessed with teaching the 'grammar' of communication and how the arts, drama, cinema and music are labelled as 'creative fun'. He's spot on. ARTiculate workshops help children understand how ideas can be communicated in ways additional to writing. Click here to see the creative literacy workshops I offer.     

Inspired by a visit to the cinema, this week's bulletin features creative ideas for Shakespeare's epic Macbeth by Leon Garfield. This is taken from a collection called Shakespeare Stories and is a book I remember knocking around our house when I was a little boy! It's brilliant though and easily my favourite retelling of the classic plays. If you try any of the ideas I'd love to see the work your children produce. A  'Have You Tried?'  ideas sheet for Macbeth can be found  here .  To request this in pdf format, please join the mailing list by clicking  here  and sending me your details. ------------------------------ ------------------------------ -------------------------- Book a FREE taster workshop for your school   ------ ------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- This half term I am offering FREE creative literacy taster workshops to primary schools in Leeds. If you ...

This week's bulletin features creative ideas for Black Dog by Levi Pinfold. This spooky tale has lots of unnerving qualities: Victorian sepia photos, objects that seem to move around from picture to picture and , oh yeah, a huge slathering hound on the prowl. Perfect for murky autumnal weather. If you try any of the ideas I'd love to see the work your children produce. To request this in pdf format, please join the mailing list by clicking  here  and sending me your details. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Black Dog by Levi Pinfold -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sinister, murky tone of this book is ideal for gloomy, autumnal weather.  Buried deep in the snowy forest, a large beast is prowling around the house giving the Hope family the scare of their lives. But all is not as it seems in this spooky tale. Is it really a really a giant be...

Hello! World Literacy Day returns on 13th October as part of the World Education Games where children across the world will be celebrating language and literature. If your school is not ready for this global event, look no further. ARTiculate’s creative literacy workshops have had a proven impact on developing children’s writing. Using drama, discussion and art to stimulate exciting thinking, learners big and small have been amazed by the outstanding artwork and superb progress in writing my workshops can deliver. No gimmicks – just innovative ideas taught well by a qualified and experienced primary school teacher. For World Literacy Day , I have two exciting and engaging workshops to offer that include building birdcages, drawing with words and developing original ideas for writing that will get the children raring to go! Workshop 1: The Birdman - poetry and birdcage building ​ Workshop 2: The Arrival - fiction and creative drawing ​ To request these worksho...

This week's bulletin features creative ideas for In The Attic by Hiawyn Oram and Satoshi Kitamura. It is a real gem and the perfect basis for a whole class literacy and art project. If you try any of the ideas I'd love to see the work your children produce. To request this in pdf format, please join the mailing list by clicking here and sending me your details. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In The Attic by Hiawyn Oram & Satoshi Kitamura -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The boy has a million toys and is bored. So, he takes himself off up the ladder to the attic and finds a hidden universe that is full of unexpected creatures, doors to new worlds and a wealth of imaginative possibility. Funnily enough, his house does not have an attic. But maybe you just haven't found the ladder yet. ---------------------------------------------------------...

Get your new year off to a flyer with Anthony Browne's excellent The Shape Game . The perfect starting point for short, simple activities to get your class talking, discussing, drawing and working together. A  'Have You Tried?'  ideas sheet for The Shape Game can be found  here .  The Shape Game  by Anthony Browne The Shape Game is all you really need in order to understand the magic of Anthony Browne. On a family trip to the Tate Britain art gallery in London,  Anthony Browne gives us insight into his love of art and his childhood discovery of visual jokes and lends us a launch pad from which to analyse paintings, decode symbols and interpret art. In brief: Have you tried?  Ideas for talking and thinking : Interpret and discuss meaning in art and look for symbols in paintings. Ideas for writing : Collaborative written interpretations of famous artworks.  Ideas for art : Play the shape game like Anthony Browne ...

Sorry to wake you from your slumber, teachers, but before you close that heavy-lidded eye, roll over and drift back into holiday dreams, take a sneaky look at this week's bulletin with wonderful ideas for teaching creative fiction. This week's resources are for the fantastic picture book Wolves by Emily Gravett.  Consider your inspiration for your first literacy unit of the year well and truly ticked off. Well done you. Now back to sleep...   A  'Have You Tried?'  ideas sheet for Wolves can be found  here .  Wolves  by Emily Gravett This magical book is a great example of how fiction and non-fiction can be combined in a text. We follow the journey of rabbit's imagination as he immerses himself in a new book about a bunny's most feared predator, the wolf. As we consider where his reading and his imaginings meet, this book is the ideal launch pad for a discussion about the very nature of imagination. This might sound a bit on the compl...