Daily Archives: 13/06/2017

Literacy, Primary

Yjod od s [orvr pg vtrsyobr qeurubf

Now I don’t want to put you to any stress in working that headline out, and I know it looks like gibberish – but in its own way it makes sense.  And being a kind sort of person, I’m not going to keep you guessing.

What I did was shift my fingers one place to the right on the keyboard as I typed “This is a piece of…” well you can work out the rest.  Same with the last word of the subject line.  Although I may have made some mistakes somewhere.   It got a bit confusing…

So is my headline creative writing?  Well, if a child was writing a story about meeting people with a different language, the piece would have a little more sparkle in it if what these foreigners spoke had some basis to it, rather than just being a collection of random letters.

Which leads to my question: “What is the fastest way to make children more creative, inventive, expressive, and experimental in their writing?”  In short, what makes them better writers?

Turns out that after years of study the answer is… you ask them to be more creative.

Yet there is still a problem here, because there is no universal agreement on what a creative action is.   Is it something not previously done, even if that thing is meaningless, or even harmful? Possibly not.

If I swim a length underwater for the first time (which I am not going to do since it would mess up my computer and make my clothes wet) would that be a creative act?

It’s hard to say.  But I can tell you this.  Telling children that you want them to be creative AND interesting, really is a good place to start.  Because although Yjod od s etc etc is not very interesting of itself, it becomes of interest because it has an underlying logic.

As does the subject line.

Our series of books on creative writing gives children starters for their writing – there is more about the books via this link and you can find samples of the activities by clicking on any of the titles.

And then once they have started, if you want them really to explore their creativity each time you give them another exercise, just ask them to be a little more creative.

Curiously, it works.

You can contact us by phone on 01449 766629 or by email at orders@tradecounter.co.uk.

You can order any of our Creative Writing Resources on our website

Brilliant Publications,
Mendlesham Industrial Estate,
Norwich Road,
Mendlesham,
Suffolk,
IP14 5ND.

website: www.brilliantpublications.co.uk
email: orders@tradecounter.co.uk

phone: 01449 766629
fax: 01449 768047

Careers

Summer Schools 2017 – Last Places Available

The Debate Chamber Summer Schools offer students age 11-18 the opportunity to find out more about some fascinating subjects, prepare for university applications, meet like-minded peers and get to grips with some tough intellectual challenges.

The material will be challenging (for the older age-group, about the level of difficulty one might expect in the first year at university), but the atmosphere will be relaxed, with plenty of discussion, debate, and opportunities for students to shape the direction of classes. It is an environment conducive to getting to grips with new ideas.

Working in small groups (usually around 14 students per group) over several days offers participants a real chance to get to know tutors and fellow students and to explore the topics or questions that particularly interest them.

Highlights of Summer 2017:

The International Relations Summer School will introduce the central theories involved in the academic study of IR – realism, liberalism, constructivism and Marxism – and will then look at a range of detailed case studies in order to apply, test and explore these theories. Topics covered will include military intervention, international law, development aid, feminism and foreign policy, regional sessions looking at China and the Middle East, and the European response to the migration crisis.

The Law Summer School, in three distinct five-day Parts to allow time for more cases, more analysis and more debate on some of the most intriguing legal questions. Students can choose to focus on Criminal & Family Law, Civil Law or International and Human Rights Law. Each course builds towards a Mock Trial in which students play the role of barristers, build their case from the evidence, question witnesses and make speeches to the jury.

The Philosophy and Critical & Cultural Theory Summer Schools will look at some of the biggest questions in metaphysics, ethics and political theory, giving an opportunity to engage with the work of some fascinating thinkers, and also to develop students’ own skills of reasoning and argumentation.

For students interested in the Social Sciences or Humanities, we also have Summer Schools in Economics, Politics and History, while Arts enthusiasts should take a look at the English Literature, Classical Civilisations or Art History Summer Schools.

For aspiring scientists and mathematicians we also have the Physics, Mathematics and Medicine Summer Schools.

Practical Details:

All the Summer School events will be held at University of London venues in Bloomsbury, Central London, and will take place in July and August 2017. Please note that these courses are not residential, and accommodation must be arranged independently if required.

You can find full details of schedules, dates, costs, student reviews and tutors at http://www.debatechamber.com/summerschools/.

To book a place on any course please visit www.debatechamber.com/summerschools/, call us on 0845 519 4827, or email info@debatechamber.com. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.