teachers' resources: olympic dreams

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Developing a Creative Writing Club in your Secondary School Olympic Dreams

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A resource pack of sports and Olympic themed creative writing exercises designed by Mark Grist.

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Page 1: Teachers' Resources: Olympic Dreams

Developing a Creative Writing Club in your Secondary School

Olympic Dreams

Page 2: Teachers' Resources: Olympic Dreams

Page 2 Olympic Dreams project

Olympic Dreams

A programme of themes and ideas for new or established creative writing clubs.

Designed and produced by Mark Grist as part of the Well Versed Poetry in School project

ThemeThe Olympics. All the small projects are linked by the idea of sport, competition and achievement.

Programme LengthFrom 6 weeks to one term and culminating in the production of an anthology of sports-themed writing

AnthologyA collection of writing that could be published and released in time for sports day, for students to read when they aren’t competing in events.

As the final event will be the launch of the anthology, you’ll need to develop deadlines, appointment editors and oversee that these are met.

Suggested Equipment

Much of this work would be best done on computers to make editing and publishing as easy as possible. It’d be best to get some computers booked up during club hours, and to create a shared folder for club members to access when submitting their work.

Additional Notes

Remember that you don’t have to create an anthology. This programme would work as well in creating a display or an event at which the writing could be read out. Use your first session to discuss what you think would be best.

Page 3: Teachers' Resources: Olympic Dreams

Page 3Olympic Dreams project

Suggested activities

To fill the anthology, you should try to choose 5/6 of the following activities to do during club hours over 5/6 weeks. Or you can extend the project out across an entire term and do them all.

1. Get pupils to invent a new sport - it can be as ridiculous as they want! – to be included in the 2012 Olym-pics. Pupils must prepare a presentation on their sport and include a persuasive speech and some illustra-tions/images to support their argument.

2. Design a new extreme sports/water sports product. Create an advertisement for the product that will be as eye-catching as possible.

3. Research skipping chants online. Then get some skipping ropes and invite pupils to try to write a new poem/chant that can be recited as someone is skipping.

4. Pupils research your favourite sports star then write an interview with that person, finding out what makes them tick. Try contacting them for real to see whether they’d answer some questions!

5. The Home Straight! Pupils imagine they’re competing in the finals of an Olympic event and write about the experience.

6. Choose a lesser known country that is represented at the Olympics and research and write about the events that the country is competing in.

Page 4: Teachers' Resources: Olympic Dreams

Page 4 Olympic Dreams project

7. Create a sporty comic strip which shows someone trying to cheat in the Olympics and being caught out.

8. Discuss whether watching TV should be made into an Olympic sport. Debate the topic. Pupils create an ar-ticle that shows the pros and cons.

9. Create a sporty crossword for pupils to complete.

10. Design a new UK Olympic kit and national anthem. The national anthem could be based upon a tune that already exists and is well known.

11. Write an acrostic poem based upon an Olympic event. E.g.

D I S C U S

12. Research ballads. Invite pupils to write their own ballad which details the tragic fall of a major athlete. Take the ‘Hare and the Tortoise’ parable. Choose two different animals and encourage pupils to write their own modern-day parable with its own moral message. It must involve a sporting event.