Creative Writing Workshop at Glyndŵr

Year 8 learners from Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan visited The School of Creative Arts at Glyndŵr University last week.

The focus of the day was a Creative Writing Workshop using extracts from a Young Adult fiction about a teenager from a Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State in 1966. The learners also had the opportunity to look around the university campus and see what life at university is like first hand.

Led by Dr. Deniz Baker to develop reading and writing skills, the learners looked at the character’s perception of America in the 1960 and 70s. They also reflected on the history of America in the 1800s and how that still influenced the teenager’s life. The group discussed what they thought about the character’s perceptions of his life at the time and how society viewed him. They moved on to recasting the extract from another character’s point of view such as a teacher or a family member from the novel.

Mrs Clarke, Literacy Co-ordinator, organised the trip. She reflected on the day, “The learners discussed the teenage character’s perceptions from the diary in small groups and then gave feedback in a whole group discussion. They were articulate and confident in what they had to say.”

Siret Hatton from Year 8 said, “I enjoyed discussing the different extracts and listening to others’ views.”

Sam Hanson also found, “Discussing the extracts was great, especially when his sister decided to stop writing stories. It really made you think.”

Alex and Lewis Ferguson enjoyed the tour of the campus and felt like they could be university students of the future. Lewis added, “I learnt more about the techniques used in creative writing.”

Dr Deniz Baker, Programme Leader, BA English and Creative Writing School of Creative Arts, said, “They were a delight to work with and showed very impressive skills of reading and comprehension and were excellent listeners and contributors to the discussion. They really are a credit to the school.”