Teachers (8)

They don't talk to other members of the family as much as their parents and grandparents did when they were young, and don't seem to get out and about as much as 'we' did. Because most of their 'experience' comes from television and computers, their stories are filled with violence and often little else. There are still those who maintain that children are not effected by what they see on the small screen. Not long ago there were still people around who believed that the Earth was flat.

The imagination and creativity of children need to be stimulated more than ever before, so why not amalgamate all the experiences of the children in the class and encourage them to use the lot! A 'Big Book' made out of wallpaper could contain everything the kids bring in, including cuttings from newspapers and items from television.

A page in the book might then include :-

Setting off fireworks round the bonfire.
Falling off my horse during a riding lesson, and going to hospital in an ambulance.
Coming home from school and finding the dog had had six puppies.
Going to Disneyland and shaking hands with Mickey Mouse.
A little girl was stolen from near her home and the police are looking for her.
Waking up in the night and hearing strange noises outside, like someone rolling a saucepan lid around.
Learning to swim.
A man at the building society had a gun, but they shouted and he ran away.
Singing with the Atomic Kitten.
I had a dream about rehearsing the school play in a car park, and cars were coming in and out very fast and we had to keep jumping out of the way, while we tried to remember our lines.

To start things off you could have a weekly topic, like What can happen in a story? Can you remember when you were frightened? or What are your character's hobbies?

I know schools where classrooms have several of these books, which are all regularly used by children looking for ideas for stories. As a result, the stories are often more interesting both to write and to read.

© Bob Wilkins 1998