Case Study: In-School Workshops
Three Schools Ginko Project
This ambitious creative writing project (now in its third year) Has taught observational and creative writing skills to hundreds of students from three schools in Northwest Sydney.
Bernard Cohen tells the story of the night walk in the forest.
Devised by The Writing Workshop's Bernard Cohen along with the principals of three north-west Sydney schools, : Carlingford West Public School, Cumberland High School and James Ruse Agricultural High School, the Three Schools Ginko project takes young people out of the classroom, and teaches observational skills to underpin and extend writing repertoire. What do we do when we observe? What is active observation? How do we observe with the intention of creating literary work? What do we notice if we keep looking? How can we transform observations to suit different literary forms? What poetry and prose skills do we need for this process? How does characterisation fit into all of this, and how can we use characterisation to further transform observations?
Over the three years of this project so far, we have worked with over 1500 students from year 5 to year 8 and produced annual high-quality magazine-sized publications of students’ work.
Read fabulous pieces of student writing in the 2017 Ginko Writing Project publication (pdf 4871 KB). View the 2018 project summary at Carlingford High School.
How do I book workshops for my school? Principals, learning leaders and teachers, please contact us using this form.
James Ruse Agricultural High School students on observational walk.