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Collecting Ideas for Characters, with Lisa Thompson (episode 26)

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“How do I create interesting characters for my stories?” This is a problem that many young writers, and established authors, face when they begin a new story. In this episode of the AIYC podcast, Lisa Thompson shares how she collects ideas, which she then later uses in her stories and to add mystery and excitement to her characters, while discussing her book ‘The Graveyard Riddle’.

In this teaching sequence, children will have the chance to develop their own characters based on ideas that they have collected. They will also explore how the author uses dialogue to give information about her characters. Pupils will write a short narrative describing when Melody, the main character in The Graveyard Riddle, meets their new character. Extracts from the podcast are suggested to introduce each section of the teaching sequence, providing an excellent way to connect the things children are learning with the work of a professional author.

The pack includes teacher notes, a PowerPoint, worksheets and beautifully designed elements for a working wall, and has been exclusively created to be used with episode 26 of the Author In Your Classroom podcast – a virtual ‘author visit’ you can share with children whenever you like, absolutely free!



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  • PowerPoint
  • An extract from The Graveyard Riddle
  • Planning sheets 1, 2 and 3
  • Working wall images and quotes
  • Themed writing paper
  • Teacher notes
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