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Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s class we kicked off our ten week course with an introduction to theme in writing and how harnessing theme can help the students become even more confident and creative writers. We began with a discussion around what theme means, thinking about the way the students use theme in their own writing and unpicking the themes of an old folk story. We then spoke about what themes the students feel inspired by in their writing and why, uncovering how they felt about these ideas and their philosophical grounding in their work. We spoke about what the idea of a universal theme refers to, the class identified and discussed themes in their favourite books, and finally we read a passage which the class then used to inspire their own theme based writing on, pulling out ideas from the text such as freedom, age, the passage of time and self-expression and using these themes to inspire their own fantastic stories. Amazing work today class- remember you can use the Indentifying Themes PDF that we looked at in the lesson to help you & I’ve attached the powerpoint below too. I really look forward to reading all your inspired and imaginative pieces of writing; you were all excellent in class today and should be super proud of yourselves! 🙂
Understanding theme video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAu3e5GZo4k
Homework
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Hi Kingsley,
For this week, I’ve uploaded your feedback here, but make sure to post it in the correct forum next week.
Amazing work, see you soon 🙂
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Hi beth,
I done something wrong, it supposed like below:
The Blue Knight is called Kai in the passage
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I don’t know how to put it as a file so I copied it here.
Haodi’s homework
Ntikuma’s side of Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom
Do you know you just go somewhere and something strange happens? Well that was what happened to the young Ntikuma. Ntikuma was at the shops, jubilantly with his arms full. He was just about to approach the ‘The Big, Bang, Bug Blobs’ until he noticed something was wrong.”Why is my dad, Anansi there?”(That’s right. Anansi is his dad) The peculiar sight of his dad talking to the village made the young spider curious. He quickly darted back home to the miniature hut he and his family lived in. “I am just going to do my homework!” Ntikuma shouted, as he rushed into his room. Really, he wasn’t. He secretly listened to the conversation. He heard about the pot of wisdom and the plan of hiding it, so he obnoxiously followed his beloved dad closely behind. The young child followed behind Anansi as he reached the prickly tree. Ntikuma saw how his father was struggling so he quickly clambered towards him “Dad, just tie the pot to your back. Then you can climb the tree with all of your hands.” The young spider was happy until he noticed that he blew his own cover. Ntikuma started running as quick as the speed of light. The spider heard the pot crash and the adult chasing after him. Ntikuma ran for his dear life back to the little hut.Oh no! His dad caught up to him! Ntikuma shut his eyes tightly, waiting to get a beating.It was soon to his surprise that he was forgiven. After, the wisdom was shared and they lived happily ever after.
Theme: curiosity
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Hello Beth!
Here is my homework, i couldn’t think of anything else to name the file so…
see you soon and thank you so much for the excellent lesson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kiki
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Hi Beth,
Thank you for the informative lesson on theme.
Can’t wait for the rest of the course,
Jessie
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THEMES: BETRAYAL, WAR, CURIOSITY
Outside the fortress gate, not many things were happening. A nightingale began to sing and tweet serenely. Occasionally, all to be heard was plops of water of the moat from the leaping fish, leaving gentle ripples under the glistening moonlight. An owl hooted. There were squeaks, fluttering and suddenly barks. The fortress just stood there solemnly, It stood there as if conjured from the storybook of a child. It was perfect. Every stone was even and square, as if those who built were set on perfection, as if they really loved what they made. It was so lucky that there were no invasions.
An hour passed. I climbed higher onto the branches which oversaw the ditch. An hour had passed. I peered over at my pocket watch. It was eight o’clock, probably time to go back home. It was only when I started climbing down the tree when something started to happen. I paused, my eyes glued back to Warrior Oscar’s fortress.I could hear, in the distance, hushed murmurings of men’s voices and a frequent clinic like a sword tapping against metal. Suddenly, an unexpected flashlight appeared from inside the castle. It shone, then faintly disappeared. After a few minutes, it repeated again. Light, dark, light. Was someone inside signalling to someone outside?
It took me several minutes to reach the place where I had heard the low voices. I peered out from under a bush and witnessed a group of soldiers, dressed in dark robes, all accompanied by swords and spears. One individual, taller than the rest and with a great red shield, was speaking in a low voice.
“Two flashes,” he whispered. “That means Sir Cadogan has made his betrayal. We shall blow the horn and declare war. We deserve that fortress, we deserve everything.”
I stood there, dumbfounded. Warrior Oscar never possessed any rivals or enemies-and who was Sir Cadogan? I only knew he was referred to as the “Wise One?” Should I alert Warrior Oscar and let them realise I have been watching over their castle or say nothing and not get in trouble? After deep consideration, and a big gulp, I decided my way into the fortress without being found out. But would I be too late?… I didn’t know what to do.
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s class we tackled our first theme: justice & prejudice. We began by discussing what both of these concepts meant- touching on inequality, fairness and notions of right and wrong- and thinking about how they relate to each other, considering how prejudice stops justice from being served. We spoke about stories the class had read that related to these themes, thinking about Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling, and questioned why these themes are important to write about. We learnt about the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird, discussing how the theme of racism in that novel demonstrates the way that injustices come about, and the class identified what we can do about the injustice in the world and how we can change them by doing good and educating ourselves on big issues. Finally the class used famous quotes on justice and prejudice to help inspire their own story plans, which they did beautifully, ultimately discussing the real-world impact authors and fiction can have on changing the world. Amazing work today everyone- well done for your diligence and fantastic ideas. See you next week and I look forward to reading your stories! 🙂
Video we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5uKJVDFHFw&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fhubblecontent.osi.office.net%2F&feature=emb_logo
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Thanks for the amazing lesson. I really enjoyed writing my story based on prejudice, so I wrote it slightly longer than I would usually do.
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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“And what do you think you’re doing, you’re sowing the seeds in the wrong area!” a booming voice snapped, angry words spitting out of the unmerciful soul.
“Sorry, Master, I feel… feel slightly queasy and my feet are hurting. I can’t go on like this, can’t I lie down for just a minute, at least?” I begged desperately, tears welling up in my eyes.
A deafening silence followed.
“No, absolutely not, you must keep on working, twice as hard, and shall sow that field as well as this one, excluding your regular daydreaming or a second of rest. Now, hurry up slave!”
I turned around, knowing that there wasn’t any point arguing back. Why did Master Cyrus have to be so demanding, so heartless, so brutal? I forced myself to move, persuading my hands to work as dexterously as they could. The heat was getting onto me, clinging onto me, causing me to sweat persistently. It was making my head scream with pain, torturing it with the overwhelming heat.
***
“Wake up you disgrace! How dare you fall asleep while you are doing your work. It’s not the first time you have been so disobedient. Go and back your bags, you’re getting sent to Russia.”
I was shocked, my heart was full of mixed feelings. I felt glad that I would be thousands of miles away from Master Cyrus but would this mean I was banished from this country? How will I understand people in a different country? How would I survive in such a place?
***
“Here you are young lady”, the porter gave me my luggage. As I wandered through the streets, I felt a different kind of thing that I had never felt before: freedom, a choice on where to go. It was raining and my hair was already soaked. I walked around in the busy street, shocked.
The crowd has a life of its own, the vibrant clothes shine in the morning light and the people move in groups like shoals of fish. There is chatter between sellers and buyers, friends catching up and talking. It’s busy for sure, but the hustle and bustle brings a life to this city I wouldn’t want to be without. It’s very different to America; no suspicious glances from anyone, smiles are greeted once every often. Different colours walked together, laughing and smiling.
It was only when a woman tapped me on the shoulder when I realised that I was now dripping from head to toe.
“Darling, you okay? Come under my umbrella, and I’ll find you somewhere to stay.”
The voice which had an accent was still pleasant to hear, unlike in Mississippi where black walked on the other side of the road.
We walked down the road chattering and soon enough I realised that she would be one of my best friends I would make during this new adventure.
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s class we continued our work on literary themes, this week focusing on the environment. We spoke about the idea of ‘cli-fi’ and how climate fiction can come in many different genres: mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, realism, crime, fantasy. We looked at a quotation by Magaret Atwood about how writers are linked to nature and read some of a speech she gave about how important the connection between storytelling and the environment is. The class shared some stories they had read on this theme, and we looked at summaries of four famous examples of cli-fi, before the class wrote their own fantastic story ideas on the theme of the environment which were creative, intriguing and varied. Finally we spoke about the place of hope and joy in climate fiction considering how to communicate the moral of the story. Amazing work today everyone, really imaginative ideas that played with genre fantastically. It was great to see you all today, well done and I’ll see you next week 🙂
P.S. The article will be posted below !
Homework
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Haodi’s homework
This mysterious spaceship hovered in the sky, making such a peculiar sight for the tumbling planets. One by one, the giant balls stared straight at the mechanical figure and thought, what was inside it? Well, inside was the most highest tech that anyone had seen for humans! You must be thinking, how lucky of them!” But they really weren’t. You see, they were eating junk for days, becoming so fat and unhealthy that they only used seats and never walked inside the spaceship that veiled them. They had no soil, dirt, or even mud to plant even a single plant! If I were the captain, I would feel apprehensive. Anyways, there were no humans on Earth. There were only rotted-down robots and a rusty machine called Dan. He was the only robot that survived on Earth until today.
Dan worked as a robot that cleaned rubbish. It was the the day that he found a real plant. The rusty robot was just doing his daily chores but in that exact moment, A glint caught his eye. A green, strange stalk was approaching from the ground. It was the first plant on Earth seen in ages. It immediately got in contact with the high tech ship. “What type of message is this?” inquired the chubby captain. “Wait, it’s planet Earth!” The captain swiftly turned the control panels and headed the ship towards the big, green and blue planet. Little did they know, a mothership was coming on their way…
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Hello Beth!
thank you again for the best lesson again, all the lessons are getting better and better! Thank you!kiki
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Dear Beth,
Here is my completed work. I wrote more than I normally do because I really enjoyed the topic.
Thank you for the wonderful lesson,
Jessie
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As I open my eyes, I see a long line of ants climbing up, and descending a rock. My n back hurts, where’s my pillow? I raise my head and look around, there is no pillow, no sheets, no bed, just grass.
Thick, dark clouds loomed above my head and the canopy of trees shaked madly like a frustrated child, ready to crush anything in their way. The darkness was engulfing and seemed to fully consume any spec of light treasured deeply below the canopy of dead trees. It seemed as though the wild was surrounding me like a prisoner, waiting for me to die slowly, watching maliciously for the pain and the agony I would soon scream and roar. I never knew the forests this way. What did mankind do to deserve this? I looked around, trees and overgrown shrubs were blocking every possible escape route. Any last hope was gone…
I look around, the trees are as always tall and dark, their branches are long and yet thin, but not as dark as today. The tree’s trunks are massive, black rough unbreakable trunks, so close to one another that they seem to be a wall meant to keep me in.
My eyes gazed around for any edible berries Dad showed me to identify. Nothing. Deep in my heart, I wished that Thunder was still here nuzzling at my arm or sniffing hopelessly for food, not running away because he was startled by an ordinary, most harmless squirrel. I wouldn’t even mind if Dan, a hopeless case, was here accompanying me, not forsaking me in these peculiar surroundings. I continued thinking about my fate.
Without warning water came gushing down – throwing itself onto the gagged knife-like rocks behind me. A drink at last. The rocks seemed to slice the water from its sharp daggers, embedded all over it. The water came gushing down like a waterfall along the jagged surface of the rocks leaping non-stop, seeming like it was an obstinate toddler not wanting to slide into the hands of an anxious mother. What’s wrong, why doesn’t it let me drink?
The merciless winds caused the enormous waves to crash and erupt like lava coming down from a raging volcano. It splits like an aggressive wild animal, angered by the vigorous storm. The waves punching and beating the rocks with all of their might and the wind gusts knife the piercing thorns of branches. I ponder deeply, wondering if I did something that hurted the forest. No nothing. I woke up, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, ate breakfast, walked the dogs, went to the stables and took a ride with Thunder in the forest and now ending up here.
You may be asking why I’m acting ever so calm. That is, however, how I make myself feel relaxed and calm in a chatty way since I’m a writer after all… at least what everyone thinks. I mean if you’re stuck in a place with nothing but trees, trees, and trees wouldn’t you do the same?
I looked around hopelessly one last time for anyone coming to rescue me- or even Thunder coming back- sat down in the shade to cool myself off and slowly drifted off to sleep.
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Hi Beth,
Sorry, I forgot to submit my homework. I only noticed today! It didn’t upload properly. Thanks for the amazing lesson.
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s lesson we continued our work on theme, thinking today about the key literary concept of power. We began by discussing what power was and how we measure it, looking at some definitions from political science to understand ways of thinking about the concept, discussing Lukes and Dahl’s definitions. The class identified different types and forms of power and watched a video that touched on these notions before discussing books they had read that utilised this theme. We researched Macbeth and Animal Farm, using these as examples of books on the theme of power, and finally spoke on the idea of ‘does power always corrupt?’. The class used this to help plan some excellent and intriguing story plans, using lots of different conceptions of power to help them plot out a story that ruminated on a range of situations, from people power, to power within families to the political power of a king or ruler. Really excellent work today everyone- you all thought so deeply about this philosophical concept and were able to use it to inspire your own work beautifully. Really impressive work from everyone- well done and see you soon 🙂
Power video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Eutci7ack
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Please find my homework attached. Thanks for the fabulous lesson 🙂 .
Sorry, but please could you mark the piece of work that I forgot to submit (from last time). Many thanks.
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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In a parallel world to ours, the eldest child inherits the role and rank of their parents. Milo never liked that rule, in fact he loathed it. He was self-indulgent, self conceited and always tried everything to be the future king, reigning over various states, sending armies to war and having great importance and reputation. He wanted to take the role of his father, not his brother Cyrus.
Milo always had malicious thoughts and malevolent plots in his mind and had always tried to find a way for him to become king, but none had any luck, as his father was wise and shrewd and could see through all his evil ideas. Milo could not find a way to tie all the loose ends together, nor could he find a way to connect all his spiteful schemes together. Nothing could work with his father in reign.
It had been almost three years until something happened. Milo’s father had been shot by an arrow during a war against the country’s worst enemies. This gave Milo an idea, a wicked idea to overthrow Cyrus- who was unofficially king for two minutes. Trying his best to sound innocent, Milo walked up to his brothers who were putting on his armour, ready to become leader.
“My dear brother,” began Milo slyly, “How wonderful you look in that shiny uniform and sword. What a waste if you can’t preserve it for many years to come. Why, it really does suit you if I say so myself.”
“Whatever do you mean? Stop talking your nonsense blabbering and get to the point!” Cyrus replied, bewildered but curious at the same time.
“Oh, I was going to suggest wherever we swap clothes for this battle so that you wouldn’t be the centre of attention. You are a leader after all. If you were my unnoticeable uniform, no one would be recognizable and you would be able to survive this awful war.” Milo cunningly stated. “ I’m sure you would like your reign to cover a longer amount of time, am I right?”
Cyrus felt very moved and grateful for his brother’s thoughts. He agreed to swap uniforms with Milo but what he didn’t realise was that his deceitful young brother had made a deal to share a part of the land to the enemy if they would kill Cyrus in war. Milo, maliciously, had told everything to the opposing leader and had Cyrus killed almost immediately.
Milo was finally successful! He had overthrown his brother and now he would be officially crowned king. On his victorious return journey, he started to dream of everything. All the royal carriages, various castles to stay in, all the people and countries to rule! Oh, how wonderful! What an envious life he would live!
However, to Milo’s dismay, a highly respected courtier brought in his father’s will, breaking Milo’s dreams. Cyrus’ son would take over the power if Cyrus had any issues! All that for nothing! How furious Milo felt about himself!
And so the nation was still empowered by righteousness, not by the hands of corruption and deceit.
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s class we focused on the theme of the individual vs. society, thinking about how that term could encompass lots of different types of stories and different versions of society within it. We began by defining what we meant by society, considering collectivism vs. individualism, whilst also thinking about people who have been excluded from historical societies such as Rosa Parks and how they fought back against oppression. We thought then about examples from literature, learning about both 1984 by Orwell and Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. We looked about how this theme provided dramatic conflict for the plot to run along and how it could motivate the events of the story. Finally the class designed their own societies and thought of characters who would be pitted again these invented societal structures- they came up with some really creative and interesting ideas about the rules of the worlds they were writing on and the characteristics of their protagonist/ antagonist in the story. Amazing work everyone- well done and see you next week 🙂
Society video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5K34Vr8Xsk&t=87s
Individualism video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZVRl0D2DPU
Homework
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There was total silence, broken only by the dry sobs of a frail, wispy looking woman in the seat next to the Judge. She was clutching a handkerchief to her mouth with trembling hands. The Judge looked paler than before.
“Bring them in,” the Judge bombed, and his voice echoed through the silent dungeon.
The door in the corner opened. Six guards entered, flanking a young teenage boy. The people in the crowd turn to look up at the Judge. A few of them whispered to each other.
The guards placed him in the chair with chained arms which now stood on the dungeon floor. The thick set boy stared blankly up at the Judge. The young boy with heavily hooded eyes, looking short of petrified. He was shivering, his hair shabby and scattered over his face, his freckled skin whiter than one could bleach. The wispy little old lady began to rock backwards and forwards in her seat, now whimpering into her handkerchief.
The Judge stood up. He looked down upon the four in front of him, and there was pure disgust in his face. “You have been brought here before the Council of Law and Justice,” he said clearly, “so that we may pass judgement on you, for a crime so heinous..”
“Please, Judge, please, “ the boy with heavily hooded eyes pleaded.
“… that we have heard of in this court. We have heard evidence against you. Youstand accused of stealing items from a rare antique shop, tearing down the shop like a bull in a china shop. That was what the witness had said. We have your background information and know that this is all for your exiled master, whom we do not speak of.”
A great deafening silence interfered.
“I.. I admit I was wrong and wish to be of use to the government. I…I know that the government is trying to capture the rest of supporters that follow my master. There was Ivelin Dolohov, he tortured various people…”
“He was shortly caught after yourself,” A man in the benches stated.
“There were…were Evan and Emily Rosier. “ the quacking voice said hurriedly.
“They were killed in a fight; they preferred to battle instead than come here quietly.” A shrewd lady replied.
“Then, then.. Traver Rockwood, who helped murder the McKinnons!”
“Name cleared too,” a voice moodily boomed.
“Very well,” Judge said coldly, “You will return to prison as we review your case.”
“No,I tell you, you are accusing the wrong person. Please, please!”
But the boy was merely taken away back into the door of which he had come out of.
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s class we focused on the theme of coming of age, thinking today about the nature of memory and how writers reflect on the experience of childhood. We began with a discussion on what it means to grow up and thinking about the nature of nostalgia. We looked at the genre of bildungsroman and thought about how it shapes the plot of a novel. The class thought about books they had read that revolved around this theme and spoke about some famous examples. The class then wrote their own inciting incidents for a coming of age story of their own which they did fantastically. Finally we touched on the kinds of experiences that these stories cover i.e., learning independence, starting a new school, going on a pyschological or physical journey. Great work everyone- well done for all your ideas today and see you next week 🙂
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Here is my homework. I found it the hardest but most creative task yet!
Thanks for the lesson,
Jessie
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I curl into my comfy chair in front of the stove like a field mouse curling into a nest for winter. My little sister Evie is asleep, resting against Mother’s lap. Father reads one of the puzzle books he keeps by his chair, and I stare at the flames dancing in the hearth.
A crackle comes from inside the stove, followed by the gentle pop of a stick splitting. Then, as fast as an eagle hunting, a gust of wind slams into the kitchen window, cracking the glass into smithereens. Everyone in the room jumps in shock. The wind swoops and zooms up the walls outside, whooshing viciously, causing the fire to flicker and waver unstably.
I grip my chair, my muscles tight with fear, and stare at my parents with wide eyes. Mother and Father look at each other, concerned frowns rumpling their brows as the wind reaches the roof. It squeals with glee as it whirls around the domes. There is a creaking noise that gets louder, and for a moment I feel like the whole castle is tilting. “What was that?” I whisper nervously when the noise dampens. In my heart I know the wind must have broken some part of the castle – and judging by the loudness of the noise, it was something big.
As dawn cracked, when the first clouds appeared in the sky , I went down to the hall. “Is the castle all right?
What was the huge bang last night?” I ask.
“Part of the East Green Dome collapsed into the Great Hall.” Father replies, sighing.“It’s all a bit of a mess in there. There’s a key to unlock the magic hidden inside that dome… No one has ever found a way up there…time is running out; without the key, Castle Aurora will soon fall apart. The magic is too weak. A thrill gusts through me and I pick up speed because today, there is a chance that I’ll discover the mysterious secrets that have remained hidden inside the East Green Dome for five hundred years.
When Father finally left the hall to find Mother, I seized the chance to find this key that would unlock magic. I climbed up the now remains of a stone staircase finding myself in front of a portal. All these years exploring the domes, I had never met anything so baffling but real. Not even thinking twice, I walked through the door.
Beneath the burnt orange sky are rolling green and gold fields, full of swaying grasses and delicate, long-stalked flowers that I’ve never seen before. Scattered oak trees rise from the ground, huge and leafy, and an enormous ocean glistens to my left. A wide, meandering river burbles to my right. Warm air, carrying the crisp scents of brackish water and ocean creatures, flows over me, and distant splashing sounds tickle my ears.
I turn around. A spirit, which looks like a mermaid, and another are fighting. The smaller one shrieks, a shrill and piercing sound that hurts my ears, as he’s dragged beneath the surface by what looks like hundreds of watery arms. I panic, thinking it is going to drown, and I race into the river, wanting to save him. For a moment I wonder if I’m being foolish, but I can’t stand by and watch him struggle for his life. Cold water splashes everywhere and soaks through my pyjamas, and I slip and skid on the slimy mud of the riverbed.
I swam underneath the duo and there, glimmering like diamonds in the moonlight was the key. It was golden and enchanted, just covered by the smooth, silky threads of seaweed covering it up. It seemed like it was waiting all this time for me to take it. Not thinking twice, I swam down to this valuable key, more valuable than all my chiselled gold or facetted gems put together. I had done it, victorious too!
I rose towards land, beaming from ear to ear. I lifted it high whilst spinning in circles as my victory dance. I had been so engulfed by pride that I didn’t spot the two mermaids charging towards me. They snatched the key back that held this banished kingdom together and now there wasn’t any chance of fixing it back.
Dejectedly, I headed back to the door which I had just come through. Guilt and sadness flowing throughout me, overwhelming me. I realised that this land – home to hundreds of spirits and mermaids – is falling apart, like my own home, but I’ve focused on fixing my family home, being selfish for my own wish. The river isn’t flowing at all. Its waters look almost dead, and the mermaids are sitting on their bank, looking mournful. I take one final look and step back to the other side of the door.
***
“Rosie, why are you daydreaming? Get ready, we have to prepare for a banquet. The East Green Dome has magically become fixed! A key was laid outside it! How peculiar!”
I smiled but I knew that the mermaids and the other spirits on the other side had helped us out. How would I ever repay them?
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Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s class we worked on our next theme: friendship. We began with the class reflecting on how they currently write about friendships in their own work, before reading an interview with the author Zadie Smith reflecting on how she sees friendship and how she speaks about its power in her own novels. We looked at a quote by her on the special qualities of friendship, before looking at famous friendships in literature from novels by John Steinbeck, Tolkein and J. K. Rowling. We touched on the idea of how friendship intersects with themes such as community and difference before the class created their own unlikely friendships, using everything we had discussed in the lesson to help. We discovered a seven step formula for creating deep and compelling friendships in writing and the class then shared their wonderful ideas of unusual friendships that they had created. Good work today everyone, I am looking forward to reading your stories and will see you next week 🙂
Link for the website we looked at: https://kingdompen.org/deep-friendships/
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Thanks for the amazing lesson. Here’s my homework attached 🙂
Have a good day.
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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Ms Grayling stood up in front of the microphone. She cleared her throat and asked for silence. Everyone stopped chatting and turned to her. My friend Safa was smiling, eyes twinkling. “I have a special announcement this morning. As it is the last day before the holidays, this year we have decided to give a pre-holiday award for friendship. It’s the first time we’ve given out this award, but it was suggested to me by one of the girls.
“Friendship.. huh.” whispered Amber. “I.. I never heard about this damn award? I’m probably going to get anyway, you’ll see.”
Rosie, Jenny, Safa and I giggled. To think the world’s most annoying, most vain, most self-conceited school bully would get the prize! No way. It’s probably June, I thought.
”…And that’s why we award the friendship award this year is to.. drumroll… Irene Rivers!”
I gasped. Out of almost a thousand people, Headmistress Ms Grayling chose me? I was usually one of those girls that sat at the back of the class and didn’t pay attention to the teachers and would spend my time doodling and thinking of comments to say to the school bullies Amber and Chrissie. Certainly not your caring, responsible schoolgirl!
“…Miss Rivers has shown loyalty and determination for her friends and her rights. I’ve heard that from the first day, the girl who suggested it felt warm and welcomed. She has stood up for many and is a role model indeed…”
I couldn’t believe it. My brain went all fuzzy and wobbly like jelly. Me, a hopeless girl? I thought back on Mrs Grayling’s words. ‘ a girl suggested this’, someone who thought they felt welcomed. Safa, my best friend. I knew it! I tried to think of the day when she first joined and the times we helped each other, Jenny and Rosie too…
“ Irene will show you the draws and help you settle in this week, won’t you Irene?” Miss Ingle made it sound like a question, but it wasn’t. It was an order. She had that serious tone in her voice, like a “Don’t mess with me, do what I say” tone.
“Yes, Miss Ingle,” I muttered. Great, now I would be away from Rosie and Jenny and stuck with this refugee for the whole week.
The girl had brown hair tucked into a hijab whereas mine was unusually white long hair. I learnt that she was a rather timid girl, her voice sometimes shaky. After class I went to the library and I found her crying there too, head down onto a book written in a different language. Real solemn tears poured down her cheeks.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“It’s just that..that since we arrived here in England, everything has been different. My dad is still in Syria fighting for his life…and I just can’t stop thinking about him. My mum…is… is always anxious and stressed, finding English difficult, not used to the way the British do things. It’s a hard…a hard time for all of us really.
One day later…
“Did you know that the new girl is so clumsy, I saw her spill her water bottle five times this morning. What an awful partner!
“How dare you, Safa can’t help it and it doesn’t give you the right to point it out. At least she isn’t selfish and bossy!” I shouted back, unable to control my anger.
”Oooooh, Miss Ice Queen is sticking up for Miss Newbie! Ha!” Amber squealed, shrieking with Chrissie.
“Don’t you dare call her the Ice Queen, Amber. She was just standing up for me.That man was being ever so mean!” Safa said, raising her voice and walking away. “It gives you no right to call names.”
Thanks Safa, I told her and we walked away to class. Safa was such a good friend standing for me, even though we weren’t entirely friends yet. It made me see she wasn’t ‘just’ a refugee after all!
Then I thought about the time I reunited Safa with her father, pleading the Department of Justice and Rosie’s mum, the best lawyer around to help, exaggerating how much Safa missed her father. I could picture how large her smile was, tears (happy this time) was and she deserved it.
“Irene… pst… Irene… hello?” Safa and Jenny called. Time for you to get your medal. Come on, quick! No time for day-dreaming!”
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Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s class we looked at the themes of free will and fate, delving into the philosophical debate and relating it to literature. We began with researching what these terms meant before thinking about how this might apply to creative writing and discussing how writers ‘play God’ with the worlds/ people/ events they create in their stories. We looked at Dr. Faustus and Harry Potter as two examples of books that touch on these themes and the class interpreted the way they use them beautifully. Finally, the class created their own characters with fates that they either could or could not avoid, thinking about how this creates conflict and tension in a story. Great work everyone- well done for all your ideas on what is a big, complex topic in philosophy and literature. See you next week 🙂
Homework
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Hi Beth
Here is my homework for lesson 8
See you soon
Thank you for the nice teaching
Regards Melody
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“Tell me, tell me now, what will my future hold? Will I be a magnificent ruler? Or maybe a powerful emperor? At least a ruler, having some power to reign. Tell me now… or else” the cloaked figure hissed coldly, his malicious voice bouncing off the sides of the echoey round.
“ Uh… uh… yes as you wish… sir,” the young fortune teller trembled weakly as he brought out the crystal ball, hands and face pale with fright. He closed his eyes and started ‘ommming’. Eventually, he managed to whimper, “Sir, you will… you will stay put as a court official to King Antonio but someone else… someone loyal will get the will to become the future emperor.
The cloaked figure groaned deeply, causing the wooden shack to shake unstably, then ran out of the room, his black cloak camouflaging into the pitch black darkness outside. The word ‘loyal’ echoed in his head. Of course. It was Albert. Albert was always trustworthy, flawless, goody-goody unlike all the others. Albert was serving under King Antonio and because of his great abilities. The king was making plans to place him in charge of the entire empire! This provoked the other officials to plot against Daniel. The other court officials searched for some fault in Albert but they couldn’t find anything wrong with him. He was faithful, responsible and completely trustworthy. The court officials realised the only way to get at Albert would be to challenge his faith. They knew that Daniel prayed to God and so this way they could make a new rule he would certainly break.
One day, the court officials went to King Antonio and exclaimed,
“Oh, your highness, how majestic you look today! Why don’t we make a regulation that for the next thirty days, any person who prays to anyone except you will be thrown into the fiery furnace?”
The king, oblivious to what the men were scheming, signed this law, feeling rather proud and dignified.
Albert didn’t care about the rule when he learnt about it when the guards were passing on messages to each other. He knew that God came first and so when he got home, he knelt down as he always did to pray in his room with the windows open. He prayed three times throughout the day just as he always had done, giving thanks to God and asking for his help. The officials went to Albert’s house and found him praying.
They went to the king and reminded him of the law.
“I certainly remember that!” he exclaimed.
“Well then, Albert had been found praying three times a day.” the officials replied slyly.
When the king heard this he was disheartened, his heart filled with guilt. He spent the whole day trying to think of a way to save Albert. By that evening the court officials came back to the king and reminded him that no loss signed by the king could be overruled so at last the king gave orders for Albert to be thrown into the furnace. The King said to Albert, “May your God, who you serve faithfully, rescue you” and then the fiery furnace was sealed shut with Albert inside.
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One day later…
The king hurried to the furnace and he called out, “Albert! Was your God able to rescue you from the flames?”
Albert answered, “Long live the king! My God sent his angel to stop the flames from burning me so that I can’t feel a thing. I have been found innocent in His sight.”
The king was overjoyed and ordered that Albert be taken out of the lion’s den. Then the king ordered the men who had schemed against Albert to be thrown into the furnace as punishment. Albert was safe; there was not even a little burn on him.
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Summary for Lesson 9
In today’s class we studied our final theme before the mock exam next week: redemption. We began by thinking about what the word meant, connecting this to the idea of what a redemption arc is in literature. We spoke about the hope in humanity redemption arcs can bring and how fiction can redeem us ourselves. We then looked at two examples of redemption arcs in famous novels (A Christmas Carol & Crime and Punishment) before learning a three-step plan for how to write a compelling arc. We spoke about subverting the reader’s expectations, what happens when a character is not redeemed, how redemption shapes a story’s plot and finally whether it applies to villains, protagonists, or both. The class then completed some excellent group work where they created characters with redemption arcs in groups of four- which were absolutely fantastic! Amazing work class- really well done for all your creative and exciting ideas. Remember we have our mock next week & I’ll see you then 🙂
Video we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctaPAm14L10
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Thanks for the lesson. I really enjoyed it. I look forward to doing the mock. Shame our course is nearly finished.
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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Hi Beth,
Here is my homework. So sad it’s almost the end of the course.
I’ve had so much fun with your lessons so far,
Jessie
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“…Oh don’t be so difficult, you mean that as a joke, for sure! You can’t run away from your parents, they love you!” Esme exclaimed.
“All they talk about is study, study, study, useless! I want to have adventures and go to new cities and visit new places!” Jake spouted obstinately.
“Then listen to this story my mum told me about a boy who ran away…”
Once there was a young boy and his parents. The family lived on the poor side of town and the young boy’s parents were farmers, always working dedicatedly for the sake of their son. However, their son was always oblivious to his father and mother’s considerate actions and was uselessly wandering around lazily, dreaming about going to a big city with flashing lights and its exciting cinemas and arcades. Normally he would be seen cooped inside, lying down, as lazy as a pig.
“Hurry and stop dreaming, you need to study if you want your dreams to come true!” his parents would say to him.
For many months, the boy’s behaviour began to roll downhill; his attitude towards learning tearing apart. One day, he was caught in the act of gaming when he should have been studying and earnt a great telling off. Infuriated, the young boy blurted out, “All this nonsense about studying is driving me mad! Is that all you talk about? I don’t want to live here in this awful, uninteresting village. Why couldn’t we live in a lively city with skyscrapers and entertainment, not sitting here doing work?”
He stalked away and started to think, maybe if I didn’t have my mum and dad telling me what is good for me all the time, I’d be happier. They’re spoiling me fun, he thought. Does my mother, does my father really want me to be happy?…Then why does he make me study all day long? Do they really love me? The son never thought of that before. But suddenly he Didn’t know anymore.
So the son goes to his father and inconsiderately says, “Dad, I’m better off without you and mum and this awful town. I can look after myself. Just give me my share of your money.”
His father is broken-hearted, looking as if he could never be comforted, but he doesn’t force his boy to stay. So he gave what his son demanded.
The boy, now changed immensely by greed and toxicity, set off whistling joyfully, glaring back at his town in disgust. “An awful hindrance for adventure. Pfffttttt, at least I’ll be away from them now!”
And everything was wonderful and perfect- for a while. He could go wherever he wanted, do whatever he wanted, be whoever he wanted, He felt like a boss, he felt free! Sometimes, he would have strange, hungry, homesick feelings inside his heart, but then after he just eats more, or drinks more,or goes to the arcade until it goes away.
But soon his money runs out -and so do his friends. He ends up sitting on the busy highstreets, begging hopelessly for money and food, ignored and neglected amongst the bustling crowd. At night, like a stray dog, the once wealthy young man starts going through the big bins of the nearby restaurant, finding no scraps of food, no leftovers to eat on-only leftovers of pig food and “chewed-on” dog bones. One night, he was so hungry and so desperate he even tried to eat some of the animal food-”What am I doing?” he screams suddenly as if he has woken from a nightmare. He spits -YUCK!-all of it out of his mouth. “My father is rich and here I am-in eating from a bin!” He wiped his mouth and dusted himself off. “I’m going home!” he states confidently
As he started for home, though, he began to worry. Dad won’t love me anymore. I’ve been too bad and I didn’t follow their advice. They were doing it for the benefit of me. I rather live in a simple village than a complicated city, too, now. Mum won’t want me for a son anymore either. So he practises his I’m Sorry-Speech. All that time, what he doesn’t know is that, day after day, his father had been standing on his porch, straining his eyes, looking into the distance, waiting for his son to come home. He just couldn’t stop loving him, even if he had disobeyed him. He just couldn’t ever sense the feeling of happiness until his son would get back.
The son was still a long way off, but his dad saw him coming. What did the dad do? Fold his arms and frown? Shout, “That’ll teach you!” and “Just you wait, young man?”
No.That’s not how this story goes. The father leapt off the porch, raced down the hill, through the gap in the hedge, up the road. Before his son could even begin his I’m Sorry-Speech, his father ran towards him, throwing his arms around him, and couldn’t stop kissing him.
“Let’s have a party!” his dad shouts to his mother. “My boy’s home. He ran away. I lost him -but now I have him back!”
From that day on, the once immature boy realised that his parents were about studying so that he could have a better future. He wasn’t greedy and selfish anymore and honoured his town.
Esme told Jake, “Your parents are like the boy’s mum and dad who couldn’t stop loving him.”
Jake grinned, “Actually I’m fond of my parents after that story and never will I ever have the idea to run away again. Esme, you really are some storyteller!”
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Summary for Lesson 10
In today’s lesson, we finished our winter writing course with our mini mock exam. We began with a recap of the themes we’ve studied before watching a video on how to create and interpret deeper meanings in literature. The class then wrote their mock exams, choosing from prompts based on the themes we studied. They were all diligent and hard-working today and I can’t wait to read their stories. Really inspiring and amazing work over the past ten weeks everyone- it has been an absolute joy working with you and I hope you enjoyed learning all about themes in writing. You’ve done fantastically and should all be proud of yourselves. Keep up the beautiful creativity and passion for writing and I look forward to seeing you all next course! 🙂
Deeper meanings video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eREopphW5Bw
Homework
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Haodi’s homework
The Squirrel and the Pig
Long ago in a fairytale world, there was a pig and his family, who were living in poverty.The father was called Poglin, the mother was Serate and their youngster was called Haposteral.They begged every day and night until their eyelids drooped down and all the people were gone.It was this special day when a God must have gave them a miracle, the pigs were finally given enough money to buy a home and go to a nearby school called ‘Wild Lace Primary School’.Haposteral was screaming all over the place in tears.
“I can finally go to school!”
“Calm down. We all know it is extremely exciting but is the screaming all neccessary?”
“Sorry Mother,” apologised the young pig.Very soon later, he was rushing to a clean school which would soon change his life.
“Have fun my little piggy!”
“Bye Mum,” replied Haposteral and walked away fleetly because he noticed a group of animals sniggering at him.As soon as his mother was out of sight,, the herd of animals began to encircle him.”Woah there, young piglin.”a voice suddenly came from behind him.”W-what do y-you want?”his eyes started to fill up with wet tears.
“Quite a baby, ey?Bye bye my little piglin”The background started to fill with laughter.Haposteral had never been so terrified in his whole life.What was he going to do?
“Hey, mess with your own kind thugs.”Another voice soon came up. It was the brave squirrel,Plaforist.He quickly attacked and brought down the tough animals,which now seem quite hurt
“Grrrr,I’ll make you pay next time, I promise.”As the bullies backed away in agony.
Haposteral tried to say thank you, but his mouth probably had its own ideas and randomly spoke.”Who are you?”
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Hi Beth,
Thanks for the amazing 10-week course! I really enjoyed these lessons on “Themes” and they really inspired me. I hope that I can join the next course. 🎆🎇✨🎉🎊😊
Please find the mock attached. I did it on the theme of a person giving up their free will in exchange for something else.
I completed it in 35 minutes.
Thank you.
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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Dear Beth
Thank you for all ten of our amazing lessons. I really enjoyed all of them. Here’s my writing from today.
The Fortraluex
Chapter 394-No food
Every millennium, the untrues would eat together in peace. Very loudly, they would shove piles and piles of rotting corpses into their mouths. Everything tasted the same to them, whether it was chocolate or headless bodies. The person that prepared the food was called The Chef.
However, one day. The Chef was kidnapped. Without the chef, the untrues would have nothing to eat. With nothing to eat, they would die within a millenniums time of the last time they ate. In order for them to survive, they would have to get The Chef back. Recently, there had been a new enemy. Ungriff. He was one of the 8 Griff Brothers. Even though they were very close, Ungriff despised his brothers. Every single one of them. He vowed to get them back for things they never did. Overall, he was just a mean sibling who wanted to kill everyone.
Meanwhile, The Chef was being carried away by Ungriff to who-knows-where. A very nice person he was, to kill an entire race of beings by kidnapping the most important and powerful one. The remaining 7 Griff brothers had to get The Chef back and have a word with their super nice “friend.” Now, they would start their search and get The Chef back with the help of NTP and Tanquidon. They would spy on his base, untrue style.
Would Ungriff’s base be an inconspicuous bunker hidden under the ground, or an giant one, well fortified and above the ground for all to see. One of the Griff Brothers looked out the window. Outside, he saw a colossal castle off in the horizon, super far away. The distance was the only reason why the wouldn’t have been able to find it. It looked like this base was the second type. It was now time to do some untrue spying.
Untrue spying is the most noisy kind. At the same time, it is the stealthiest kind. It works like this: You march into the base making as much noise as possible. Do this everywhere you go. Then, start spying by walking in front of people’s faces and walking into the middle of conversations. For some miraculously strange reason, no one will notice you. If you have followed all of the steps correctly, this will work out perfectly.
Regards James
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Hi Beth,
Thank you for the course, I learnt so much and I appreciate all the preparation and marking that has gone into it.
Here is my mock, I didn’t write as much today and I think it went slightly off. I still had fun experimenting though.
Thank you for everything for the past few months,
Jessie
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A Dangerous Friendship
What is this known as? Definitely not leek and potato broth, this. The mixture of cheap broth and chopped vegetables has a bland flavour. Most repulsive!” The owner of Phyllis furrowed her brow. You deserve to have nothing to eat tonight and additional cleaning and scrubbing the following day. The small girl’s eyes began to well up with tears.
“Mother, can’t you see that this little girl has just left a workhouse? Instead of treating her like a welcome visitor, you treated her like a despised slave. Remember, kids don’t learn to cook in workhouses!” cried a different young lady with fair gold hair. “If I do say so myself, I think it tastes unique.” Phyllis raised an eye. In contrast to her mother, Madam Roseitta’s daughter was lovely and compassionate. For once, Phyllis felt hopeful.
“Ellen, haven’t you memorised the book of regulations for rich girls, rule number two hundred and five states that the rich should not mix and talk to the poor and unworthy. Now finish your dinner, I’m going to get ready to go out tonight.
Do you remember any days that got off to a bad start, worse then you could think, and then suddenly got worse? Phyllis experienced the same thing. She was a sweet little girl who was an orphan and laboured in a workhouse. Due to the fact that the mistresses and masters there typically beat you up for almost anything, she had no one to play with and couldn’t tolerate the food. Because Phyllis was a timid person who constantly felt queasy at the thought of waking up every morning on a hard, filthy mattress, eating lumpy porridge, and then running machinery that could kill you, the job made her miserable. She felt even worse when she was told that she would work as a slave at Measly Manor.
Psssst… uhm… Phyllis please don’t worry about my mother. She is a busy businesswoman who can get easily triggered. Anyway, I think it wasn’t fair for mother to pick on you, I hate the book of regulations. I hate living here with no freedom, I think we’re similar in that way, we should meet up often at midnight each day, that’s when mother goes out to start work.” Ellen spouted.
“Uhm… thanks, thanks for sticking up for me. I think you’re rather friendly compared to your mother, thanks. I.. appreciate your help and yeah, it would be nice to meet up every midnight.” Phyllis replied, taking it hard to take in everything Ellen just said.
The two girls would occasionally meet up at midnight to chat and have fun because Ellen was not allowed to speak to Phyllis alone with her mother. “Don’t you think it’s ever so annoying living here, I can’t talk to you properly as a friend, and we always have to meet up at midnight,” screamed Ellen one night. I’m at my wits’ end with it now! Would you join me in my attempt to flee, Phyllis?
“Ellen, are you…are you serious? Your mother will absolutely contact the authorities and post flyers all over the place. We’ll get into a lot of problems and have a big fight if we’re discovered. However, I can’t take the disrespect; it’s going out of hand. I suppose the advantages outweigh the goods, so let’s pack up and leave tomorrow.” replied Phyllis.
And so the two girls went back to their rooms, Ellen to her magnificent bedroom, Phyllis to the attic, both dreaming of their adventures they would have…
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mock test
The Squirrel and the Pig
Long ago in a fairytale world, there was a pig and his family, who were living in poverty.The father was called Poglin, the mother was Serate and their youngster was called Haposteral.They begged every day and night until their eyelids drooped down and all the people were gone.It was this special day when a God must have gave them a miracle, the pigs were finally given enough money to buy a home and go to a nearby school called ‘Wild Lace Primary School’.Haposteral was screaming all over the place in tears.
“I can finally go to school!”
“Calm down. We all know it is extremely exciting but is the screaming all neccessary?”
“Sorry Mother,” apologised the young pig.Very soon later, he was rushing to a clean school which would soon change his life.
“Have fun my little piggy!”
“Bye Mum,” replied Haposteral and walked away fleetly because he noticed a group of animals sniggering at him.As soon as his mother was out of sight,, the herd of animals began to encircle him.”Woah there, young piglin.”a voice suddenly came from behind him.”W-what do y-you want?”his eyes started to fill up with wet tears.
“Quite a baby, ey?Bye bye my little piglin”The background started to fill with laughter.Haposteral had never been so terrified in his whole life.What was he going to do?
“Hey, mess with your own kind thugs.”Another voice soon came up. It was the brave squirrel,Plaforist.He quickly attacked and brought down the tough animals,which now seem quite hurt
“Grrrr,I’ll make you pay next time, I promise.”As the bullies backed away in agony.
Haposteral tried to say thank you, but his mouth probably had its own ideas and randomly spoke.”Who are you?”
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