Welcome to my 'For Schools' page, and thank you for taking the time to have a peek. Take a look around!

As well as workshop information, you'll also find free downloads for use in both classroom and home. These will be added to on a monthly basis so keep popping back to see what we've created.  These include (or will include) comprehension sheets, grammar sheets, persuasion topics and writing scaffolds and guides. Most of these are currently for Level 3, however the Persuasion Templates could be used for Levels 2 onwards.

For more than 20 years I've been running writing workshops for young (and not quite so young) writers, and I love it. I've been fortunate to have met thousands of students during my countless school visits - working with children from kindergarten to Year 12, university and TAFE students and presenting skill-building classes for teachers.  During this time I had 15 fabulous years as a creative writing tutor for Charles Sturt University's Enrichment Program, prompting an invitation to guest tutor at the University of Singapore.  Additionally I've been invited to present community/council-instigated writing workshops and spent six years as writer in residence at Lake Macquarie High School.  Currently I am a literacy and writing tutor at Arrendell Primary Education Centre.

My philosophies are simple:

Beginning early May, each month on my blog, I will host a Star Of The Month writing competition which is aimed specifically at primary (levels 2 & 3) aged children.  The winning story will be published on the Star of the Month Page of my Running With Pens (Kerri Lane) blog.  There will also be a brief bio of the story author included. Author photos are optional and dependant on parental permission being received.

The idea is to encourage young writers and give both enthusiastic authors and reluctant authors a confidence boost, as well as providing an outlet for their writing.  The successful entry will receive a Certificate of Success, a letter with my author comments, as well as a fun selection of promotional items.  Whole classes who submit will be sent a selection of promotional items to be shared, irrespective of who the winner may be. Winners will still be awarded the full winner's prize.

Stories may be submitted via email.

Depending on the number of entries submitted it may be possible for stories that didn't quite make the grade one month to be re-entered (by myself) into a future month's entries.

Additionally, at the end of each calendar year, the winning entries will be bound in one volume and each winner will receive a copy, and as well, the winner's school will also be awarded a copy for the library or for classroom use. 

Additionally I'll be hosting School Focus Days on my blog as well. This will encompass photos and pieces written by the children about their school. It's a great opportunity to promote your school but most importantly the children get to see their works published on the internet - which is a huge buzz and confidence booster.   Again if you'd like to be included, please email me. I'd love to have you on board!

Some author visits are formally organised and I adore these days where I get to just chat with the children and talk about writing and being a writer. However, I also love to just pop into schools and say 'hello', so please let me know if you're interested, and if I'm in your area, or work-shopping or visiting nearby,  I'll give you a shout out and call in for a brief classroom 'hello'. .

Workshops can be half days, full days, several consecutive days or a continuous program that occurs over several weeks with a full or half day per week until the objective is achieved. (Perhaps until a topic is covered, or the entire school has experienced an author visit/workshop.)  Below is a list of the most popular workshops, but these can be mixed and matched to create a workshop session that best suits the class needs. *Note these are styled to sit the age/level of the student, and each one can be used with junior primary through to year 12 and beyond. 

If there are other topics not listed that you wished were - then just drop me an email with "Workshop Enquiry" in the subject line and we can discuss it.  If you email an enquiry (with absolutely no obligation to book) I can forward a list of fees. Similarly, if you have other concerns or queries and would like to chat, I am happy to pass on my phone number.  I'll do my best to style a workshop around your needs and resources.

This workshop focuses on creating strong believable characters who, in turn,  make our stories much more interesting. Includes:

This workshop offers strategies to help young writers to begin their stories in the right place - so as to be able to control the often unwieldy story, and also to end the story with an 'ahhhh' instead of 'and then I woke up…'

Despite the important sounding name, this is a workshop for all ages. This incorporates a very simple (more complex for older students) 5 point plan that even the most reluctant students can follow to keep them on track.

Dialogue - or conversation - can be one of the hardest writing concepts for young writers to grasp. This half day workshop offers some strategies to make the creation of dialogue clearer, and to also focus on what is important. It includes some roll play to re-enact normal every day situations.

Generating ideas is one of the obstacles that stalls many writers. "I don't know what to write about"  is a common problem - and as an author, let me add, it can be a very real concern.  It can be quite mentally crippling. However, ideas are everywhere and this half day workshop examines where we might find them, twist them and mould them.

The polish and the tricks! Show don't tell. Role play. Senses and feelings - all theses elements bring your story to life. This is a full day interactive workshop.

This is a two day workshop for the dedicated writers who love a challenge. It looks at every step of the story process in sequence from idea to sparkling prose.  Many of the elements of story, as listed above, are included in this workshop - and then some:

At the end of the two days the student should have a polished piece of writing. (Can be stylised into a one day workshop, however all the topics won't be able to explored in full depth.)

This full day workshop is fun and designed to stimulate the imagination. Beginning with brainstorming and exercises designed to incite an idea, the workshop then moves into a collage session that helps the writer learn more about their main character and that character's story. From there the students write the story, aided by the collage which provides a purpose-created visual stimulus. 

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