For Schools
Sarah Lucas runs an on-going programme of primary school events in term-time covering three main aspects:
- how her family began to write the snail book series after a welcome present of an African land snail in a tank and how that experience led to the formation of a small publishing company;
- what’s involved in the publishing process – the role of the editor, publisher and illustrator, the importance of jacket design and how to plan the cover, and
- the lifecycle of an African land snail, including what makes up a snail, what a snail eats, how long it lives and the three different types of snails that can be found. Children can hold a snail or observe it on a plastic sheet. Samples of eggs, foodstuffs and the shell of the original snail who inspired the stories are brought in for children to observe. Wet wipes are provided for those children who wish to hold a snail.
Note: the snails are not dangerous. They will not bite. They will not cause harm. They live on a bed of peat soil and can, at times, carry small deposits of soil on its ‘foot’.
With the younger children, Nursery and Reception and Years 1 and 2, Sarah will spend more time talking about the snails, their lifecycle and how her children grew up with snails and grew into writing about, and drawing pictures of, them.
With the older children, sessions cover all three aspects, with additional time spent discussing story planning, plot development and character/setting description, all of which seem to provide some degree of difficulty for Years 3 to 6 children. Sarah can adapt her sessions according to pupil/teacher requirements.
Writing workshops with inspiration in a tank
In order to address specific problems from story planning and development to character and setting descriptions, Sarah works with groups of up to twenty children. She has recently completed work with nineteen children, planning, writing and publishing fiction book The Secret Scroll, a UK 1st in published collaborative writing, and is currently working on a programme of workshops for 2010.
Sarah has experience of working with disadvantaged children with hearing or learning difficulties.
She has been CRB-checked.
Sarah is a member of The Society of Authors and NAWE (the National Association of Writers in Education) and has a profile on ContactAnAuthor.co.uk.
For further information please register your interest at sarah@madaboutsnailbooks.com.
