Author events and workshops

thank_you_letter_medium_180x0__false_nocrop_trueTo find out about my availability and prices please email info@mogzilla.co.uk

I’ve developed a series of  assemblies and creative writing workshops for schools. I love working with schools and I’ve led workshops for Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust and visited international schools in countries including Germany, Malawi, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, Bangladesh, Thailand, Kazakhstan and China.

Make history fun!
My assemblies include: the Romans, the Celts, the Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons, the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Ice Age, the Tudors, the Great Fire of London and the Victorians. I also cover topics like:  Shakespeare, science fiction, graphic novels, animal characters, the rainforest, magic islands, pirates, volcanoes and time machines.

Interactive assemblies
Rule 1 of writing is to get the children really excited about their topic. Children love participating. They’ll pretend to be Boudica, go off on a mammoth hunt, sail the Argo through Greece, cook like Roman ‘master chefs’ or mummify a Pharaoh. Whilst this is going on, they’ll generating ideas to use in their writing sessions.  I’ll also talk about how we have ideas, what gives an idea traction and how to finish your story.

No school is too big (or too small)
Creative writing is often done in groups of 30 or so students but I am very experienced at running large sessions. I often work with groups of 45, 60 or even 90 (my record is 180).

Because creative writing is open ended, I can work with children from Reception up to Y9. For Reception I have developed an assembly where they think up ideas and fill in character profiles rather than writing a full story.

Seven Tips for Story Writing

For my free .pdf ‘7 Tips for teaching story writing’ please email info@mogzilla.co.uk with ‘Tips’ in the subject line.


Roman assembly & workshops

Imagine your pupils…

Hailing their Emperor in Latin
Re-enacting a Roman skirmish
‘Gladiator Fighting’ in a fun quiz
Writing their own amazing Roman stories

A typical day of activities:
The day starts with a 1 hour interactive assembly for the whole school. This is followed up with Roman creative writing workshops in class. I have also developed a separate assembly/ workshop on The Celts – that ties in with Boudica.

“Robin’s “Spartapuss” assembly was a fantastic combination of Roman facts, story telling and knockabout comedy, that, whilst entertaining the whole school, also cunningly prepared the ground for their own story writing…”

“Robin’s sessions not only gave children a structure for planning a story, but really excited and inspired them so that they couldn’t wait to get writing!” Richard Smith, Deputy Head, Trafalgar School (April 2011)

Please click the link above to download a .pdf with more info. Call: 0844 884 1742 or email info@mogzilla.co.uk for prices and availability.


Vikings and Anglo-Saxons – assembly & workshops

Beowuff front cover

This fun Viking and Anglo Saxon themed assembly will capture get your pupils writing epic sagas.

Your pupils will get to:

Launch a Viking raid
‘Battle’ each other with a fun quiz
Listen to the Beowulf story
Write their own stories or poems

Note: I will adapt the workshop to focus on either the Anglo Saxons or the Vikings.

Is Beowuff brave enough to live up to the reputation of his fierce ancestors?

Activities:
The day starts with a 1 hour interactive assembly for up to 150 pupils (larger groups usually possible by arrangement). This is followed up with creative writing workshops in class.

Reviews
‘Beowuff is a hilarious reimagining of the earliest recorded poem in Old English, combining shamelessly silly wordplay (for example, our furry and fallible hero must defeat Hendel, an evil, giant chicken) with authentically Anglo-Saxon literary language and conceits. Why not get your pupils to compare a translated extract from the original epic with ‘Professor Burns-Longship’s work, and then use the points of similarity to create their own Viking tales?’ Teach Primary Magazine
‘Great fun to read aloud and share with a class.’ www.parentsintouch.co.uk

Please click the link above to download a .pdf with more info. Call: 0844 884 1742 or email info@mogzilla.co.uk for prices and availability.


Celts assembly & writing workshops

Beowuff front cover

Is your class ready for rebellion?

Imagine your pupils:

Revolting against the might of Rome
‘Battling’ each other with a fun quiz
Writing their own stories about Boudica’s doomed rebellion.

It’s an exciting way to introduce new history topics
The day starts with a 1 hour interactive assembly for up to 150 pupils (larger groups usually possible by arrangement). This is followed up with creative writing workshops in class.

Please click the link above to download a .pdf with more info. Call: 0844 884 1742 or email info@mogzilla.co.uk for prices and availability.


Graphic novel assembly and sci-fi  writing workshops

London Deep - a Recommended Read for World Book Day 2011‘London Deep’ was chosen as a Recommended Read for World Book Day 2011.

London Deep is half graphic novel and half book. It is set in the future, in a flooded London. It was chosen as a World Book Day Recommended Read 2011for ages 9+ and as one of Manchester’s 24 recommended reads for 2010.

Author Robin Price & and illustrator Paul McGrory have teamed up to create an inspiring event that covers reading, creative writing, plotting, character design and more.

Jenny Berggren, Librarian at Mossbourne Community Academy says:

“The London Deep workshop was a great success with our year 7 students. They were all enthralled by the story and eager to find out more about both author and illustrator who kindly answered all their questions. The students were also given plenty of time to explore their own creative ideas in the story telling exercise. A very memorable event.”

Ms Harrison from Medway school says:

“Thank you for the fantastic day – the students and staff involved really enjoyed the sessions. It helped make a real success of our literacy week. The use of your book and the active workshops worked really well and the feedback you gave them was great, especially for our weaker students who lack confidence.”

What the reviewers think…

‘This is a terrifically atmospheric page-turning adventure told through words and comic art. Set in the near future, in a flooded London where rival police forces – one for adults and one for kids – compete to keep the peace, it intertwines the story of Jemima, daughter of the Chief Inspector of Police, with contemporary issues of climate change and the environment in an original and provocative way but without sounding patronising. It’s a rattling good read and one in which you are sure to be drawn in to Jemima’s exploits of survival.’ Lovereading.co.uk

10 Year old Chloe gave <i>London Deep</i> '4/5' on ITV's <i>Cool Stuff Collective</i>10 Year old Chloe gave London Deep ‘4/5’ on ITV’s Cool Stuff Collective. She said: ”I really liked this book because every chapter ended on a cliffhanger.’

In the ‘Graphic novel’ workshop, your pupils will get to:

Create their own fantasy worlds where they decide the laws
Plan their own sci-fi stories
Design their own characters
Share the results with the rest of the class

A  day of activities:

Interactive presentation followed by Q&A
Creative Writing workshops in class
Optional artwork workshops with artist Paul McGrory
Suitable for upper primary/lower secondary pupils
Robin is happy to ‘mix and match’ workshops so you can do ‘Romans’ and ‘Graphic novel’ with different age groups on one day.

Please click the link above to download a .pdf with more info. Call: 0844 884 1742 or email info@mogzilla.co.uk for prices and availability.


Shakespeare In Your Own Words

In 2013 I was commissioned by The Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust to lead an exciting series of 18 creative writing workshops based on Shakespearean themes. The workshops are pitched at Lower Secondary level and themed around The Tempest Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Richard III For the workshops, I devised materials where pupils invent their own settings for the plays and populate them with characters. They then come up with poems based using a mixture of their own language and Shakespearean words and phrases. Each session ends with the poetry being shared around the classes.

These workshops were so popular that I have now adapted them – so I can offer a Shakespeare workshop for all ages from Y2 to Y9

For more details about these workshops email info@mogzilla.co.uk

Roobarb & Custard – storytelling

Robin has been busy editing a series of Roobarb and Custard stories for younger readers.

This inspired mini workshop for Reception and Year 1, lets your pupils take part in telling a story about what happened when Roobarb the dog and Custard the cat decide to put on a model aeroplane show in the garden.

Your pupils will get to:

Listen to Robin reading the story (and take part in all of the actions)

Ask Robin questions about books and writing.
Draw pictures of their own comic characters and share them with the class

What the reviewers think…

‘The gentle wit and charm of these new Roobarb stories will delight toddlers and parents… Young children will love the chaos that ensues not just between the forever joking Roobarb, the green dog and the wacky pink cat, Custard but with the rest of their gang too…it’s guaranteed to be laugh-out-loud funny. Great for parents to read aloud with their children too.’  www.lovereading.co.uk

‘…Publisher Mogzilla has adapted Calveley’s scripts from the second R&C series…to produce a set of 32-page full colour romps, faithfully crammed with all the slapstick and layers of subtler humour you’d expect. Simultaneously nostalgic and fresh, they’re bound to please those who remember this green and pink pair from the first time around, as well as a new generation of fans.Teach Primary Magazine

Please email info@mogzilla.co.uk for prices and availability.


Staff insets

Robin is introduced to the school’s pet camel at St Andrew’s Primary in Blantyre, Malawi.

Robin has visited over 100 schools from Manchester to Malawi. On the course of his travels he has learned a lot about how to get children writing writing at all levels from Y1 right through to Advanced workshops for Secondary Students. He’s put together a fascinating 2 hour inset session for teachers and educators.

Topics covered include:

Fear of the blank page and ways of overcoming it
Approaches for creating more inspiring writing resources
Planning and writing – how to get the balance right.

During the course of the session, the staff will get to try out techniques on each other by having a go at writing their own compositions. This makes for a fun workshop:

Peter Sloan, Headteacher of St Andrews Primary school in Blantyre, Malawi says:

‘During his visit to St. Andrew’s, Robin joined the staff to share with us some super INSET to an audience that included primary and secondary teachers. Robin challenged us to think about the barriers to writing for children and to come up with effective ways we could break these barriers down. It was a super opportunity to work with colleagues in an enjoyable, fast moving and practical way that really made us think about how we can help our children to be more enthusiastic and more accomplished writers. An inspiring INSET with Robin Price!’

To find out more or book an inset session for your school please email info@mogzilla.co.uk

About the author

Robin Price is the creator of three popular historical series: The Spartapuss Series, The Olympuss Games and The Beowuff Saga (which he began with co-writer Richard Eccles helping out). He’s also edited a series of 5 Roobarb and Custard books.

In 2010, Robin teamed up with artist Paul McGrory to create an atmospheric graphic novel called London Deep. This was chosen as a World Book Day Recommended Read for 2011 The sequel _ Father Thames_ appeared in 2011.

Robin loves history and has scripted a comic-based adventure game illustrated by Craig Conlan. http://www.mogzilla.co.uk/www.legionary.org.uk

Robin also writes music. He co-wrote songs for Tall Stories http://www.tallstories.org.uk/ in their brilliant musical adaptations of Julia Donaldson’s classics The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom. Robin has also contributed to the musicals: Mr Benn and Something Else.

SEN

Robin really enjoys working with Special Needs schools. It’s often possible to adapt his workshops and talks to suit the requirements of all sorts of different learners. Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss.

Anne from Blackpool says:

‘We had a great day when Robin visited our school which caters for children age 4 – 16 with a wide range of learning difficulties. The children loved his assembly which was informative yet full of humour and enjoyed creating their own stories during the workshops. Robin was great with the children and his own characters inspired them to be adventurous and imaginative in their own writing and drawing! We will definitely be calling on him again!’


Feedback

Read more feedback about the workshops from pupils, teachers and librarians

Have a look at some of the educational resources that link in with activities that take place during Robin’s author events.


Contacts

Please call: 0845 838 5526 to discuss your requirements for an author event or email info@mogzilla.co.uk

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Author eventsBring Spartapuss to your school

Write your own Roman storyFor those about to write, we salute you!

7 may greece no brandingWrite your own Greek myth

Write your own viking storyHey Erik! Put down your blood axe and write a saga

Write your own Stone Age storyNew: Stone Age writing workshop - it's mammoth fun

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Write your own  story about the Anglo SaxonsWrite stories about the Anglo Saxons

Write about The Bronze Age and the Trojan horseWrite about the Bronze Age and the Trojan horse

Write about ancient EgyptWrite a story about ancient Egypt

Write a story about a flooded worldA flooded world is a great setting for your sci-fi story