Incredible Characters, Inventive Ending

Incredible Characters, Inventive Endings

Inspired by a range of curious objects, paintings and sculptures, pupils are invited to delve into their imaginations to create characters, develop plots and propose resolutions for a fantastical story. Ideas are communicated using drama and role play, and performances are captured onto DVD for you to extend your visit back at school.

Aims (Skills, Knowledge, Outcome)

To use objects, paintings and sculpture as a stimulus for drama, role play and creative writing.

To give children the opportunity to create, develop and empathise with characters for story writing.

To encourage children to develop imaginative resolutions for narrative work.

To encourage children to work in co-operative groups and discuss, share and extend ideas.

To provide children with the component parts required for narrative story writing.

What happens in the session…

As each group arrives at their destination, they are given the opportunity to explore the new setting using all their senses, to use descriptive language to depict the scene, and to explore the feelings and response of their character to this strange place and situation as they empathise in role.

Further objects are introduced as focal points for the story resolution and the children are given time to prepare a short dramatic performance of their character’s response to the unusual surroundings and the resolution of their story. These performances are then recorded on DVD which, together with the character creator notes and destination descriptions, can be taken back to school for further development, eg: story writing, character profiles and biographies, diary entries, play-writing and performance, etc!

How to prepare for the session

Discuss with the children the value of experiencing real artworks through a gallery visit, rather than reproductions.

Ensure the children are familiar with basic story structure involving characters who face a problem which requires a resolution.

Explain that the session includes lots of drama and role play which will involve everyone in the class.

Split the class into five groups of mixed ability.

What people are saying about the session…

"I feel the workshop enabled lower ability children to have more confidence in being able to create their own character and visualising how to place them into a story. More able children definitely produced far more detailed characters and stories than usual. Pupils were motivated to write and many of the usual obstacles, such as where to place their stories, were resolved by having the visual impact at the gallery."

Mrs Freer, St Anthony’s RC Primary.

"This was the best because we made our own characters and put them into paintings. I want to come here again!"

Year 4 pupil, Oswald Road Primary.

"The best thing about today was making up the plays and thinking what magical things could happen in a made up world."