History is so much more exciting when we can explore what it was like being there and living among the people and situations of the time. Combine that with creative writing and we have a way to show our understanding in an imaginative way. 

Each week, students will explore an era or event from the history. As we learn about the events, we'll think about what details we'll need to bring a piece of writing to life and consider how characters might have felt. 
We'll talk about what styles of writing would work well for the particular event: for example, a story, a series of diary entries, letters, a poem, etc. and students will decide which form of writing they'd like to choose. We'll discuss whether first or third person (or even, more unusually, 2nd person) works for this style and why. 
During writing time, students can plan and outline their piece to finish afterward or begin writing it straight away. Although students will be encouraged to share their writing, time permitting, there's no pressure to do so at all. 

This class doesn't build, so students may join at any point and won't need prior knowledge of previous classes. 

Our planned schedule for the next few weeks:
 
WB   8th Apr: Yuri Gagarin
WB   15th Apr: Aboard the Titanic
WB  22nd Apr: Shakespeare
WB   29th Apr: Richard III and the Princes in the Tower