BBC Teach x First Story
We’ve collaborated with the team at BBC Teach and some fantastic contemporary writers to produce an exciting new set of creative writing resources, Inside the Writer’s Mind. Packed with tips and insights, six of the films in the BBC series are accompanied by a free classroom resource by First Story.
Derek Owusu
Novelist
Derek is a writer, poet and podcaster from north London. Published by Penguin, his first novel, That Reminds Me, won the Desmond Elliott Prize 2020.
Classroom resource
Based on the stimulus, ‘Imagine you’re sat on a train and someone approaches to sit down opposite…’ this resource encourages students to use their imagination and to focus on descriptive skills to produce a short narrative.
Hannah Khalil
Playwright
Hannah is a Palestinian-Irish writer for stage and screen who has been nominated for the James Tait Black award. She’s currently Resident Writer at Shakespeare’s Globe for 2022 and under commission to write new work for RSC, Shakespeare’s Globe, Soho Theatre and The Kiln.
Classroom resource
This resource encourages students to write a dramatic scene — considering scenery, sounds, dialogue and characterisation — between two people who care for each other but disagree about an issue.
Javid Rezai
screenwriter
Javid is a British-Iranian-Italian screenwriter who won the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Prize in 2017 for Children’s Media. As well as writing for TV, he has written and directed two short films, one of which was nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2016 Madrid International Film Festival.
Classroom resource
Students are encouraged in this resource to put their own unique twist on a classic fairytale, working in small groups to rehearse and refine their reimagined scene.
Priya Hall
comedy writer
Priya is a stand-up comedian, actor and comedy writer from Wales. She has written a new BBC2 Wales pilot show, Beena and Amrit, airing this summer, in which she will also star alongside Meera Syal.
Classroom resource
This resource encourages students to have a go at writing a short comedy set (just a couple of jokes or funny stories) about someone they care about, while considering stage persona and delivery.
Ram V
graphic novelist
Ram V is an award winning author and creator of comics and graphic novels. Since publishing his first book in 2016, his work has garnered critical and popular success. As well as creating his own original work, Ram has also written for iconic characters and titles at DC Comics and Marvel.
Classroom resource
In this resource, students are challenged to write the script for a four-panel page from a comic or graphic novel, then collaborate with a partner to turn each other’s scripts into an illustrated story.
Vicky Foster
Poet
Vicky is an award-winning writer, performer and poet based in Hull. Her work has been broadcast across BBC Radio and her poem for the Commonwealth Games 2018 was part of the BBC’s national coverage. As well as teaching creative writing, she is currently writing a novel.
Classroom resource
In this exercise, students are encouraged through observation and description and considering all the senses, to produce a ‘cut-up’ poem.
