International Children's Book Day

April 2nd, the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen, is the International Children's Book Day (ICBD).

Every year a different country is the international sponsor and writes a message about it.
This year the country is Latvia.
See the poster below, with the message "The small is big in a book".

The poster is downloaded from:  http://www.ibby.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ICBD_2018_POSTER.jpg

As the writer of the message, Inese Zandere, says:

 "A children's book signifies respect for the greatness of the small".


1. Mention the title and the writer of a book which is great for you, so that other people can read it. In a sentence say why it is significant.


2. Fill in the sentence " With a book I can fly to...". to show the million possibilities that books open for us:

e.g. With a book I can fly to the heart of the earth

Two paintings and an article

Look at the two paintings below. 

The first one is  called "Guernica" by the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso.
He wanted to show the suffering from war.

The second one is a transformation of the painting called "Aegean Guernica" by the Bulgarian cartoonist Jovcho Savov. He wanted to show the suffering of refugees.

Now imagine that you are a reporter, in one of these two places. 
Choose the one you like and write an article for your newspaper.

• Find a short title
• Say what you saw 
• Mention something memorable that someone told you.
• You can mention your feelings / thoughts at the end.
• 
  
  
  

A painting - Diary

Look at this painting. It is called "The Scream". 
It is one of the four versions made by the Norwegian expressionist artist Edvard Munch.

Imagine that you are the person screaming, but you are at home now.
Write a diary entry about your experience:

• Start with the date
• Write: "Dear Diary,"
• Mention what you saw / experienced
• Say what you did
• Talk about how you felt
• Write your name at the end

Music and Creative Writing

Listen to the music in the musical video below.
Do it with your eyes closed.
Try to imagine one/some scene(s) that this music brings to your mind.
Write about it/them.

A poem about an object

First read the poem below, which is about a picture puzzle piece and the possibilities it can have.

"Picture Puzzle Piece" by Shel Silverstein

from his book A light in the attic

One picture puzzle piece
Lyin' on the sidewalk,
One picture puzzle piece
Soakin' in the rain.
It might be a button of blue
On the coat of the woman
Who lived in a shoe.
It might be a magical bean,
Or a fold in the red
Velvet robe of a queen.
It might be the one little bite
Of the apple her stepmother
Gave to Snow White.
It might be the veil of a bride
Or a bottle with some evil genie inside.
It might be a small tuft of hair
On the big bouncy belly
Of Bobo the Bear.
It might be a bit of the cloak
Of the Witch of the West
As she melted to smoke.
It might be a shadowy trace
Of a tear that runs down an angel's face.
Nothing has more possibilities
Than one old wet picture puzzle piece.

Then try to write a short poem of your own about a button you found in the street.

• Imagine the people it could belong to.
• Write one sentence/ phrase about every possible owner.
• Let your imagination run wild.

Ancient toys - A narrative

Look at the pictures below. They show ancient Greek toys, which are now in museums.
The first one shows spinning tops and the second a doll.

Imagine that you are a child in ancient times and one of these toys is yours.
Write a paragraph about it.
Mention:

• when you got the toy and why
• how you felt about it
• where you used to play with it and how
• if you used to share it with your friends

Fractured / Fixed Fairy Tales 

What?

A fairy tale that has a change in at least one of the main fairy tale elements: 

• characters, 
• setting, 
• problem, 
• solution. 

It usually does so with humour.

Watch the fractured fairy tale version of "The three little pigs"

Also watch a video with Roald Dahl's (a poet's) version of Little Red Riding Hood, called "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf", which shows a different solution (ending).

Now be creative!

Change at least one element of another fairy tale that you know well,
 and make your own fractured fairy tale!

List Poetry

List poems are easy to write. You can write a list of common items and add some humour.

Read a fantastic a list poem called "A closet full of shoes" by Shel Silvestein below.

Then do the activity beside it. This way you can write your own list poem.

ALTERNATIVELY

You can write about 'A wardrobe full of clothes'.

Acrostic poems

Time to use your own imagination!

Make an acrostic poem! Don't worry! It's so easy!

Watch the video below to see how!

Now make an acrostic poem to introduce yourself. 

You can use one word that describes you for each letter of your name or a whole phrase!

You can decorate and present your poems using http://www.toonytool.com/

See how I introduce myself below:

Challenge: If you found it very easy, you can also make an acrostic poem with any word that you wish. The poem must say something about this word.

Look at an example I have made with the word 'BULLY'

Food for thought

Watch the video below and listen to the story "Oh, the THINKS you can think"
 by Dr Seuss.

Let his imagination carry you away!

Welcome

Welcome  to the land of creativity

This will be a space for you to express yourselves in English,
using your  imagination and creativity. So are you ready to think and create in writing?