Karen Langtree - Writing

Karen
Langtree

AIM High Writing

Summary

Age range Years 1-8
Books Yes
DBS Checked No

Booking
Contact
+44 (0)1535 656015
aimhigh@caboodlebooks.co.uk

Karen Langtree is a writer, singer, songwriter, playwright and teacher. Karen uses all these skills in delivering exciting, interactive workshops, visits and talks to primary and secondary schools.

About Karen
Karen was a primary school teacher for over 20 years before making the move to her writing career. Her tag line, ‘Inspiring Creativity’ sums up who Karen is; a thoroughly creative person, who loves inspiring others to explore their own creativity and use their imagination.

One of her favourite quotes is from Einstein:
‘Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the world.’

Karen’s AIM High Writing Days

Karen has different workshops to suit different age groups. Her vision is always to inspire children to be creative and persevere when it’s tough.

Firstly, there is a short introduction to who she is and her journey as a writer. She may use her song, ‘Make your Dreams come true.’

Storymakers

This works well with Years 1,2,3 and 4.

We become adventurers for the day, with warm up drama activities. Karen introduces the children to King Krispie-Cake, who tells them about the quest he is sending them on. The children read his letter and are shown a magic key. In groups, they have to compose poems/songs to activate the key. In groups the children then make settings for this new world out of cardboard boxes and other household items. These become castles, forests, lakes, you name it. After that, they make and label maps of their settings. They write a story about their adventure to find the treasure in the land they have created. At the end, there is a thank you video from King Krispie-Cake and we hear some stories. Everyone gets a certificate for their story writing efforts.

Portals

This works well with Years 4,5,6 and 7

I set the scene for an adventure with some warm up drama activities. The we have a Quiz about famous portals. We listen to a passage from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and watch a clip from the Literacy Shed about a washing machine portal. The students then have a selection of pictures of things that could be portals and some questions to answer about them. They write the beginning of a story, where they go through a portal. We think about setting of the new environment and use a Word Wall and Descriptive Dice game to get the creative juices flowing. I use dramatic music to inspire ideas of what might happen next in the story. The children continue to write their story. We talk about endings and what’s important. The children finish their stories and we share some of them.

A Selection of Karen’s Books

Bookings
To book Karen Langtree please contact
aimhigh@caboodlebooks.co.uk

Karen also offers visits to schools and other settings, click here for more information.