Writer Activity Badge

Transcription

1 Writer Activity Badge Programme Resources for Scout Troops in Scotland Developed by Scottish Book Trust in partnership with The Scottish Council The Scout Association

2 Contents 4 Introduction to the Scout Section s Writer Activity Badge 5 Activity 1 Review of a work of literature 6 Activity 2 Write a descriptive passage 7 Activity 3 Write a diary entry or entries 8 Activity 4 Write a short story 9 Activity 5 Write a magazine article 10 Activity 6 Write a published article 11 Activity 7 Write a dramatic sketch 12 Activity 8 Write a poem 13 Activity 9 Write an account of a personal experience 14 Activity 10 Read a piece of your work in front of an audience Leader s notes ABOUT THESE RESOURCES These resources have been developed in a partnership between Scottish Book Trust and The Scout Association. They are intended to be used as suggestions for activities for Scout Troops in Scotland who are working towards the Writer Activity Badge. Details on the Writer Activity Badge can be found at We hope that you will enjoy them and welcome any and all feedback to terry@scouts-scotland.org.uk. ABOUT SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST Scottish Book Trust is the leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland. We work with and for a range of audiences including: infants and parents, teens and young people, teachers and learning professionals, and writers and publishers. ABOUT THE WRITING TASKS There is a selection of different tasks. Four of these must be completed in order to earn the Writer Activity Badge. You might find that after completing one task, another task from the list suggests itself naturally. For instance, after the Scout has written a book review, they could try to get it published.

3 USEFUL LINKS FOR LEADERS AND SCOUTS Where possible, after each task we have linked to content from the Creative Writing section of our website. In each instance, the content should provide help and guidance with the task. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST We can be found on the web at You can also reach us by phone on

4 Introduction to the Scout Section s Writer Activity Badge Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted. Jules Renard Writing is a hugely significant thing in many people s lives. Writing can help us grow and develop as people, can help us to explore worlds and ideas, and allows us to express things which are difficult to express in everyday life. The bottom line is that writing is great fun, and we hope above all else that you enjoy attempting these tasks! HOW TO GET THE BADGE There is a selection of writing activities over the next few pages. To get the badge, complete any four of the activities. That s it! SOME HANDY ADVICE Word limits The reason that word limits are suggested to you is that it s very easy to include things in your writing which aren t necessary. Think about your reader when you re writing you don t want them to get bored! Examples To help you, we ve included some examples of good writing, so you know what to aim for. The examples are written by people who have been practising writing for years. Don t be put off by them they are there to guide you and help you improve and develop your writing. VISIT US ON THE WEB! There are lots of things on our website that will be interesting to young writers and readers: competitions, reviews, writer interviews and more. Visit the Teens and Young People section of our website at 4

5 Activity 1 Review of a work of literature Write a 400 word review of a favourite book, play or other work of literature and discuss this with an appropriate adult. Writing a review makes you think carefully about what makes you like (or dislike) a book. It makes you more aware of what good writing means to you so it might even help you attempt some of the creative writing activities found later in this Activity Pack. There are a few key things which every reviewer must think about. For instance, it s important that the author created characters that you were interested in and cared about. A strong plot is also important to many readers if there are no twists or turns in a book, it can be much less enjoyable to read. Have a look at the links below to give you a bit more help. HOW DO I DO IT? A guide on review writing: For example... A review of Anthony Horowitz s novel Night Rise: WHY DON T YOU... Enter our review competition? Every year we invite young people to submit a review of a book shortlisted for the Scottish Children s Book Awards. You could win a visit to your Scout Group from one of the three authors shortlisted in your age category. Find out more on our website: Even outside competition time, we publish reviews from young readers. Why not your review to Heather Collins, to try and get it published on the Scottish Book Trust website? heather.collins@scottishbooktrust.com, 5

6 Activity 2 Write a descriptive passage Write a descriptive passage of around 600 words on a subject agreed with an appropriate adult beforehand. A descriptive passage, very simply, describes an experience and helps the reader to picture it. It s not the same as a story, which has a beginning, middle and end. A descriptive passage can be based on real events you have experienced or can be entirely made up. SOME IDEAS l A memorable day perhaps an award presentation, a Scout Camp or a sporting achievement; l A memorable place a place with beautiful views, or maybe a place with lots of history; perhaps somewhere you went for an expedition. l A particular moment in the day walking through a busy city, walking home from Scouts, etc. l A group of people your troop, a patrol, friends, family or strangers l An imaginary situation a soldier in battle, a pilot landing at JFK airport at night or what it might be like to be at a jamboree with 40,000 Scouts from all across the world Remember that the real strength of a descriptive passage is choosing the right things to describe no matter how small or unimportant they may seem. Decide what will be most interesting to your reader. Remember it helps to describe feelings as well as sights, sounds, etc. HOW DO I DO IT? Writer Cathy Forde talks about descriptive writing in this video. Further down the page there are some exercises on using the five senses to describe setting: For example... This piece of writing is a good example of something which is purely focused on describing things rather than telling a story: 6

7 Activity 3 Write a diary entry or entries Compose a diary entry, or a series of diary entries, by an imaginary character. This should last between words. Many famous diaries have been published for instance, the diary of Anne Frank. Diaries give us a close look at someone s uncensored thoughts. What makes a good diary entry? Well... l Many people write a diary purely for themselves. No-one else is supposed to see them. This means that they can write anything they want. So it could be a chance for you to explore a character that hides themselves from people in everyday life. l A character who is very lonely might keep a diary if they have no one to talk to about their thoughts. Think about characters who might find themselves alone and friendless. For example Try reading Jonathan Meres book Diary of a Trainee Rock God for an example of the kind of style and language used in a diary entry: 7

8 Activity 4 Write a short story Write a short story of around 600 words around an idea agreed with an appropriate adult beforehand. What makes a good short story? l Plot your story should be well structured. l Characters you need to give the reader a strong picture of what your characters are like. l Setting You should describe the place the story is set in a way that helps the reader to picture it. HOW DO I DO IT? The following resources from our website can help you... Cathy Forde, author of Fat Boy Swim, shares her tips for plot, setting and more in these videos: Keith Gray, author of Ostrich Boys, shares some interesting ideas for creating a plot, ending a story and much more in this series of videos: WHAT SHOULD IT LOOK LIKE? Here s what some other people s finished stories are like: WHY DON T YOU... Enter your story into a competition? We have list of creative writing competitions at If you re really serious about writing, why not find out more about our Young Writers Awards at 8

9 Activity 5 Write a magazine article Write a magazine article about a topic agreed with an appropriate adult beforehand. Although magazine writers are writing about non-fiction subjects, they still need to use language creatively to entertain or persuade their readers. In this task you will write about a subject in a way which is designed to entertain, inform or persuade your readers of your point of view. If you want to publish your article, have a look at Activity 6! SOME IDEAS: l An article about Scouting in another country l An article about a natural event which has affected people s lives. For instance, you could write about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and how Scouting has acted in solidarity. l An article about a controversial topic. For instance, cheating in sports, animal testing, reality TV shows, etc. Helpful tips l You might need to research your article using the internet. Take a piece of paper and write three headings: What I know already, what I want to know and what I have learned. Complete the first two columns before you start, then fill out the third as you research. l To help you fill out the third column, do what journalists do and use the five W s: Who, What, Where, When, Why. Come up with some research questions using these starters. l Structure your article carefully. Only give readers the basic information in the first few paragraphs, then give more background and detail as you get further into the article. l Think about how you want readers to feel when they read your article, and use the right language to create this feeling. 9

10 Activity 6 Write a published article Write a published article of around 500 words. This could be in a school magazine, Scout magazine or newsletter, local newspaper (you could write a letter), faith community magazine, or any other publication you know of. You could ask the publication beforehand if there is a particular topic they would be interested in. If so, make sure it s a topic that captures your interest, otherwise you might find it hard to see the task through. If you want to send a letter to a newspaper, here are a few examples of things you could write about: l l A community issue you d like to see dealt with, or something in your community you d like to see changed. A wider issue which affects the whole country. Perhaps you could write a letter giving your opinion on Scottish independence, or a letter about the government s environmental policy. 10

11 Activity 7 Write a dramatic sketch Write a play or dramatic sketch lasting at least ten minutes. This could also lead you into Activity 10. You are allowed to base your sketch on a scene from a book. Try reading one of the books shortlisted for the Scottish Children s Book Awards and see if you find some ideas for a scene: Since this will be a very short play, you must make careful decisions about how much actually happens within it. A play this long will usually only deal with one incident. Often, it is better to concentrate on how good your dialogue is, rather than worrying about squeezing too much plot in. Try to limit the amount of characters as well. Two or three will be enough. Some plays only feature a single character. SOME ADDITIONAL TIPS There must be some kind of conflict in your play. This does not usually mean violence: rather, conflict means the tension that exists between characters. For instance, conflict could exist between two brothers who play football. If one is better than the other, this might cause envy. The tension between them can eventually lead to small (or more significant) moments where their feelings are displayed. Writer Keith Gray talks more about conflict in a helpful video here: 3-plotting Be sure to include stage directions for your actors. Make sure you introduce the scene with a description of the setting and mention any props which will be needed. 11

12 Activity 8 Write a poem Compose a poem of eight lines or more and discuss its meaning and construction. Where to start when you re writing a poem? Can we even say what poetry is? The English writer Christopher Fry said that poetry is the language in which man explores his own amazement. This is good guidance to follow: a poem should come from something which has made you think or feel. SOME GENERAL ADVICE A poem does not have to be long. It also doesn t need to rhyme! It s very important to choose your words carefully. They have to capture your thoughts and feelings as aptly as possible. Famous poets have been known to spend days picking just the right word! HOW DO I DO IT? The video of our Authors Live event with Michael Rosen should help to whet your appetite and gather some ideas: When you re trying to find the best way of describing something, you often need to be creative with language and use it in an unusual way. The Scottish Poetry Library has some great ideas to help you do this: SOME EXAMPLES Many of the Pushkin Prize winners wrote poetry, and there are some great examples in this list: Read some poetry by a winner of our Young Writers Awards: 12

13 Activity 9 Write an account of a personal experience Write an account of a personal experience, lasting between 500 and 800 words. Your task is to write a personal experience, bringing the event to life for the reader and conveying your thoughts and feelings. SOME EXAMPLES People often assume that readers will only want to hear about a dramatic experience. But often a very small experience affects you a great deal, so much that you remember it years later. Perhaps there was a time where you helped out or were helped by a fellow Scout, or a time where you met someone new. Don t be afraid to write about something like this. Here s an example: Sometimes a personal possession, or any object, can be the stimulus for a great piece of writing, as this example shows: A mature piece of personal writing is one in which the writer reflects on the experience, saying how it has affected them and changed their lives, and how they feel about it now. This is a good example: 13

14 Activity 10 Read a piece of your work in front of an audience Read a piece of your work in front of an audience. This is a good activity to follow on from many of the previous tasks. For instance, if you ve written a short story, you could choose to give a reading of it at a Troop meeting or Scout Group AGM. If you wrote a dramatic sketch (Activity 7) you could choose to perform the sketch at a campfire or Scout camp of course, if there is more than one character, you ll need to recruit some other actors! 14