Our school sessions can be delivered as half or full day programmes and are ideal topic hooks or curriculum days. We can provide suggestions on how any of these activities link to the National Curriculum and are happy to customise any of our sessions to make them more relevant to your term plan. Please contact Rich at rich@taleblazers.org.uk if you have any questions or suggestions.
Cannot recommend highly enough!
Our KS2 children were thoroughly ‘hooked’ into our learning experience of ‘Rocks’ through the use of the tremendous Toilet Roll of Time, relevant bespoke PowerPoint based on our locality through time and hands on experience with a huge variety of rocks and geological equipment. Not only did our Y3s become totally engrossed in this topic but a few also voiced aspirations of becoming geologists in the future! Educational exploration which really brought learning to life.
Year 3 teacher, Torquay
Storytelling Workshops
Year 3+ – KS2 and KS3
Our storytelling workshops will enthuse your students about local history and develop their creative writing and storytelling skills. The sessions start with a retelling of a ballad from our master folk poet Kev. We then ask the students to identify some key elements from the story – structure, setting and character – and draw a storyboard of the key events. Finally, we guide the students in writing their own version of the tale and share our work with each other at the end either as poems or as short scripted plays.
We will base the workshop on a story set close to your school to ensure it is as relevant and local as possible. All work performed is original and based on local folklore. Workshop themes include ‘The Siege of Torre Abbey’ and ‘The Battle of Bovey Heathfield’ and more are being added all the time.
Our storytelling workshops support the composition section of KS3 English writing through planning, discussing and creating dialogue. We focus on identifying settings, characters and plot and help students to weave their own narrative around the bones of the tale.
Bronze Age Exploration
Year 3+ – KS2 and KS3
Meet us on Dartmoor at the incredible Bronze Age village of Grimspound! Learn about life in the Bronze Age and imagine what it would have been like to live here 3,000 years ago. Older children will enjoy extending the walk to the top of Hamel Down to investigate the burial mounds there and down to Widecombe beyond.
Be prepared to hear the story of the golden dagger that was buried with a local king under one of the barrows here, expertly retold by our resident storyteller Kev.
These sessions link strongly with KS2 history and English and help to foster connections between children and their local area. We spend time reconstructing what life would have been like in the Bronze Age and contrasting this with our own lives. Children also have the opportunity to write their own short version of a Dartmoor tale in prose or verse and perform it in the remains of a real Bronze Age village!
Geopark Rocks!
Year 3+ – KS2 and KS3
Learn what geologists do in this special Geopark-themed workshop. Our geologist will come in to school laden with rocks from all over the world – from volcanoes, coral reefs, deserts and even from deep inside the Earth’s mantle. Find out what is in a geologists kit bag and unroll the incredible Toilet Roll of Time to find out how old the rocks really are. We can even show you some of the dust that settled when the dinosaurs went extinct! We also bring a display of ancient fossils that the children can investigate up close.
This workshop supports the Rocks topic in KS2 science but can also have a strong local heritage link with the English Riviera Global Geopark. The session can also be developed to include elements of Earth and Space and Habitats in Y5 and 6. We can also use some of the samples for scientific investigations.
Coming soon!
Taleblazers Adventure
at Treacle Valley!
Year 3+ (overnight)
If you’re looking for a high-quality, value for money residential locally then look no further! In association with Treacle Valley Campsite, we are offering overnight nature exploration camps from the summer of 2021. Think storytelling round roaring campfires, toasting marshmallows, sleeping out in tipi tents, exploring the woods at night and of course lots of fun with friends. Please register by emailing Rich if you would like more information on this programme as it develops.