6 January 2022: 9 am – 12 pm

with Richard Hirstwood and Carol Allen

This practical session will look at how to make your storytelling more personalised, inclusive and accessible.  Storytelling is a powerful way to increase engagement, explore ideas and feelings.

To ensure your literacy, reading and sensory experiences are appropriate and meaningful to your learners we first choose a single author and look at the wide range of sensory opportunities their books offer.  We examine these key elements of what makes a successful sensory story. How can we use this knowledge when choosing other texts?

Moving from real books to the online world, we will signpost you to a host of resources you can easily add to your ‘bookshelf.’  We look at why creating personalised stories is a powerful tool in your storytelling box before rounding up our favourite books you can use right now.  A storytelling extravaganza!

Agenda

9.00 am Admission and virtual tea/coffee to start the session!

9 .05 am  Let me tell you a story…..a warm up activity!

9.15 am Session 1: Sensory exploration through stories created by Herve Tullet

We examine the sensory elements of these books asking;

Why are his books engaging for our learners?

What are their key elements for success?

How can these be delivered in order to be both accessible and engaging?

How can we use this information when choosing other texts?

9.40 am  Breakout Room Chat 

9.50 am  Session 2: Stories Online

This session will share a range of ‘ready-made’ resources that you can use in your own practice.  From mainstream reading books which offer sensory potential, to purposely written stories for our learners, you will gain a wealth of resources to add to your ‘bookshelf’.

10.30 am  Chat Task

10.40 am COFFEE BREAK and mini online learning course

11 am  Session 3: Making your own sensory stories. 

In this practical session we cover how to create a sensory story.  We share ideas for making stories more accessible and why repetition is so important.  We cover the importance of personal themes and using pupils’ special interests as a basis for your story.  Do you create a real book or a virtual book?  We finish by considering how to introduce sensory stories into home reading activities.

11.30 am Session 4:  Books, books, books! 

A virtual bookshop of all our favourite books of the moment, both long term favourites and what has grabbed our attention recently.

11.40 am Plenary & Questions and Answers

12 pm Thank you and close of session!

Who should attend?

This will be appropriate for classroom practitioners from special schools and colleges, mainstream settings with specialist SEN provision and early years settings, who are working with pupils with autism and complex learning needs.

DIGITAL RESOURCE PACK

 

The following resources will be available in your account for one week after the course date: A digital recording of this event, any resources shared/signposted during the session and a transcript of Zoom chat.

COST

Each place costs £60 plus VAT per place (£72 in total).

GROUP BOOKINGS FOR SCHOOLS/SETTINGS

If you wish to make a group booking for this course – we can do this quickly and easily for you!  Please email a spreadsheet with the first name/surname/email addresses of the delegates you wish to book for.  This should go to lois@hirstwood.com.  We will then create access to this course for your colleagues.  A Purchase Order Number will secure your booking and we can send you an invoice.

Important information before you book

 

The ‘Book now!’ button will take you to a new page where you can book and pay for this course.  Please note: if you are booking for someone else, please create the account using their name and email address.  You will still be able to pay by credit card (even it has a different name/school name on it.)