Milford-on-Sea Church of England Primary School Academy Trust
We 'CARE' Courage, Aspire, Respect, Explore
Aim High Writing Workshop Year 5/6
Writing workshop with Paul Nolan
On Friday 3rd November, we had a visit from author and ex-teacher Paul Nolan. The day began with children using a 'fearometer' in which pupils showed their reactions as Paul reads some of the most exciting extracts from some of his books.
Paul then taught the children his 6 tension techniques for creating pulsating action in their own sequences. He explained the importance of creating characters to root for, and how they should grow as the story develops.
Pupils then created their own characters, pulling ideas from the character bags or adding their own ideas. Alongside this, Paul modelled how to show characters' reactions to danger before supporting the pupils in doing the same.
Pupils then had the opportunity to pull these threads together to create an action-packed story sequence of their own, with Paul providing support along the way.
The day culminated with the young authors reading their own action sequences, with their peers showing their reactions, once again, through their own fearometers.