British Library student workshop
We were delighted to welcome Andrea Varney from the British Library for a guest session this month.
Andrea ran a workshop for students on our Primary English Education BA(Hons) with QTS course which explored the Discovering Children’s Books website and the new Cooking up your own fairy tale resources.
Andrea is National Outreach Manager at the British Library and it was her first visit to the University of Brighton as a speaker. She was invited by lecturer Vicky Byfield who attended Andrea’s presentation at the UKLA International Conference last year.
The session was delivered as part of a module designed to support primary educators in understanding the important role of Children’s Literature in supporting holistic development whilst also giving them an appreciation of the history of Children’s Literature. Both of these areas link to the range of resources available on the Discover Children’s Literature website.
The students took part in a range of practical activities which will support them in their teaching careers. One student commented: “I really did find this session so informative and it gave me wonderful ideas on what I can do with my own students in the future. It was incredibly inspiring and I would definitely recommend it to students on this course for future ideas when teaching classes themselves.”
Vicky said: “This workshop provided students with the opportunity to engage with the treasures that are available within the British Library catalogue and to consider how these could be used as an engaging classroom resource.”
“By cooking up their own fairy tales the English specialists were able to consider how children would engage with this task and the challenges it may present. They were also able to demonstrate how imaginative, creative and thoughtful they are as storytellers themselves.”
Andrea said: “It was a real joy to hear the trainees sharing their brilliant insights on how to use the resources from Discovering Children’s Books in their schools. They really made me reflect on the rich potential to use it in active, playful, dynamic ways, both in and beyond the classroom.
“They drew thoughtful connections between the old and new items, for example between The Gruffalo and Alice’s Adventures Under Ground. There was a real buzz in the room as they made their magical objects, showing the power of crafting, collaboration and talk as a way into story-writing – rather than just planning on paper.”
Kerry Burnett • February 23, 2022