1st Edition

Wordtamer Activities to Inspire Creative Thinking and Writing

By Judy Waite Copyright 2018
    230 Pages 63 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    230 Pages 63 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Imagine a funfair in the classroom...

    invite dragons to school…let pupils travel through time!

    Written by award-winning children’s author Judy Waite, Wordtamer offers over fifty ideas for exciting, innovative writing activities and creative workshops. The book explores how authors actually work and what they achieve through their methods. It considers how teachers and children can incorporate these techniques into their own work, and so improve creative writing.

    Wordtamer provides easy-to-follow instructions to:

    • set up and run inspiring writing lessons and workshops
    • cover basic elements such as character and setting
    • identify craft skills that link writing with the school curriculum 
    • develop ideas into contemporary, science fiction, fantasy or time-travel scenarios using tried-and-tested templates that expand on core concepts
    • engage reluctant writers by using visual and kinaesthetic approaches
    • develop independent and group-work practice
    • enrich creative practice and awareness
    • explore different writing styles
    • improve teaching styles and children’s writing through a range of innovative and interactive activities
    • appreciate why, as well as how, these techniques are so effective.

    Underpinned by theory and Judy’s own experience of working as an author in schools and running writing workshops for all ages, Wordtamer offers step-by-step, inspiring plans for creative writing lessons that will make a buzz in the classroom. Pupils won’t just create characters…they will become them.

    Wordtamer: The What and The Why Part 1: Pre-Performance Introduction 1. Writers in Schools 2. Room for Writing 3. Good, Better and Brilliant 4. The Right to Write 5. Creative Places and Creative Spaces Part 2: The Training Ground: Learning the Craft 6. Setting the Scene 7. Characters: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 8. Plot – What’s the Point 9. Talking of Good Dialogue 10. Capturing the Mood Part 3. Showtime 11. Legend of the Fading Sun 12. The Head Teacher’s Brain is Missing 13. Sea World 14. Virtual Reality 15. Past Times 16. Once There was an Egg 17. Thinking Hats 18. When the World Went Wrong 18. ‘A’ is for Alien 19. Endangered Species – Welcome to my World

    Biography

    Judy Waite is an award-winning author and has written over fifty titles ranging from picture books for very young readers, to hard-hitting teenage novels. Having formerly worked in the field of learning support at primary and secondary level, Judy also has extensive experience working in schools as an author and regularly runs writing workshops and residencies for all ages. Judy is Senior Lecturer on the Creative Writing course at the University of Winchester, UK.

    ‘The techniques from this book have inspired my class.  The different activities stimulate the children's imaginations, engaging them immediately - reluctant and non-confident writers are putting pen to paper before they even realise. The sessions give a 'can do' feel for writing, with no one stuck for ideas. It has transformed attitudes to writing by providing approaches that give the children strategies and skills that they can draw upon time and time again.’

    Katie Hadlow, Teacher, Redlands Primary School, UK

    ‘Enticing and engaging by turn, this book is also highly practical, offering teachers a rich array of strategies to support young writers shape their stories. Judy Waite’s accessible text reinforces the argument that teachers benefit if they too are involved as writers, profiles visualisation as a form of creative focus and includes a range of examples of creative writing. It will undoubtedly help teachers to develop young wordtamers who take delight in the art and craft of writing.’

    Teresa Cremin, Professor of Literacy, Open University, UK and Past President of the UKLA.