Brian Moses - Writing
Brian Moses
AIM High Writing
Summary
Age range KS1 and KS2
Books Yes
DBS Checked No
Booking
Contact
+44 (0)1535 656015
aimhigh@caboodlebooks.co.uk
Brian Moses is one of Britain’s favourite children’s poets, for both his own poetry and the anthologies he has edited.
About Brian
Brian has performed in over two thousand schools across the UK and Europe. He is a Reading Champion for the Literacy Trust, and is able to animate reading and writing poetry for pupils and teachers alike, in his workshops and in his resource books for teachers.
Brian’s interests range from the familiar – shopping trolleys, football matches – to the peculiar – monsters, aliens and angels. Often he will mix the two together in his poetry, so the ‘Shopping Trolley’ is souped-up like a futuristic sports car, while the monsters still go to school before coming home on ‘The Ghoul School Bus’.
Brian has a particularly sharp eye for surreal moments in daily life – the man in ‘Walking with my Iguana’, who walks his pet lizard on Hastings beach on a leash, is based on a real person.
Brian’s AIM High Writing Days
Brian Moses set up the predecessor of AIM High Days, the Able Writers’ Programme in 2002 and it has been running continuously ever since. He has been a professional writer since 1988 and brings a wealth of experience to each session he takes.
The first hour is always a warm up time so children can begin to feel comfortable with each other and get some ideas down on paper. They are fun activities which stretch the imagination and get children talking aloud. One of the activities involves each child working with someone from another school.
The second part of the morning is where they move on to a lengthier activity involving children writing their own poems, talking about them with Brian, redrafting where necessary and then producing a final draft. Poems cover areas such as memories, character portraits, ghostly figures, strange creatures and will often highlight particular poetic techniques such as alliteration, similes, personification etc.
For those who finish first there are always other ideas that they can tackle.
During the day Brian holds a question and answer session so that children can ‘grill’ him on what he does and how he writes. They also talk about how ‘good readers make good writers’ and recommend favourite books and writers to each other.
At the end of the day Brian performs a couple of his poems, usually with percussion, and children can leave with signed copies of his books if they wish to. He also tells the group that when they return to school they will be teaching one of the ideas that they have done to the rest of their classes, so that ideas are spread beyond the able writers’ groups.
In 2007 Brian was invited by HRH Prince Charles to talk about the able writers programme at his summer school for teachers at Cambridge University.
A Selection of Brian’s Books
Bookings
To book Brian Moses please contact
aimhigh@caboodlebooks.co.uk
Brian also offers virtual visits to schools and other settings, click here for more information.