Literacy through creativity

Workshop packages for KS1 & KS2

Reading for pleasure is something that many of us take for granted, and a love of books usually begins in childhood with a love of stories. Using books as inspiration, we have designed a package of creative workshops to encourage children to enjoy reading and the world of stories and imagination.

“Reading for enjoyment has been highlighted as a priority for all schools, with recent research showing a correlation between enjoyment and wider social outcomes.” – National Literacy Trust

Below you will find information on the Z-arts Creative Literacy packages for Key Stage 1 and 2 for delivery in school following on from the hugely successful Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake and Bad Things immersive exhibition that focused on the work and imagination of Michael Rosen (visited by 2416 school pupils, from 57 different schools)

We have developed a menu of activities that take the best practice from our work during the exhibition and extended these to support literacy focusing on other key texts.

The creative workshops are engaging and memorable and support developing literacy and creative skills for pupils. We are passionate about embedding creativity in to the existing curriculum, so we have designed this package to create a dialog between core curriculum subjects, especially English & literacy and the creative arts.

There are a range of different delivery options to ensure that we are flexible for each school’s needs, details of how you can pick and choose what works for you, the school and its pupils below.

Aims

  • Raise pupils speaking and listening skills
  • Increase children’s discursive skills and ability to explain ideas
  • Inspire children to read for pleasure
  • Demonstrate to children a wide and varied literary heritage
  • Improve standards in reading
  • Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
  • Exploration of expressive arts
  • Develop a better understanding of the world
  • Increase children’s creative confidence

Delivery Options

Delivered in 3 strands, the project begins with a session in Storytelling and Drama, then teachers can choose from a creative arts workshop.

Choices include:

  • Visual Arts, Dance & Movement, Music, Creative Writing and Digital Arts

This would be laid out in 3 sessions as follows:

Session 1 – 1.5 hours

Storytelling

A professional storyteller works with the group to explore narratives, effective delivery and how to create stories

Drama

Exploration into characters and key themes, listen & respond to adults and their peers, examine narratives for different purposes such as expressing feelings, playful exploration of sounds and words to improve vocabulary

Session 2 – 1 hour

Option 1> Visual Arts – Investigate a specific art medium such as painting, illustration or sculpture to create an art piece inspired by a chosen story.

Option 2> Dance and movement – Using movement to music and dance, create a short dance piece that responds to the themes and characters in the story.

Option 3> Music – Using instruments and digital media, create a sound scape and performance piece.

Option 4> Creative writing – Working as a class, students create a collaborative written piece that explores the main themes in the story.

These plans are brief outlines of what can be delivered in specific areas by Z-arts artists to give you an overview of what is achievable. All workshops can be adapted to suit specific outcomes.

Costing

We are fully open to discussion to explore these topics further. This document is a guideline of what’s possible and achievable. The sessions can be developed to a project over a few weeks, with sessions in each of the art forms or delivered in one particular art form in a morning or afternoon.

Visual Arts Package

2.5 hours, £220

Storytelling and drama session, 1.5 hours

Visual arts session, 1 hour

£75 for additional sessions in Music, Dance & Movement and Creative Writing

£445 for a 5-week project

Storytelling & Drama, Visual arts, Music, Dance & Movement and Creative Writing

Our Opening Hours

Today

Friday 13 December
Z-arts Building
9:00am – 9:00pm
Z-cafe
10:00am – 8:00pm
Z-arts Children’s Library
9:00am – 5:00pm

Tomorrow

Saturday 14 December
Z-arts Building
9:00am – 6:00pm
Z-cafe
10:00am – 5:00pm
Z-arts Children’s Library
9:00am – 5:00pm