Paul Nolan - AIM High Writing

Paul Nolan

AIM High Writing and ‘Get Going!’

 

Summary

Age range - KS1 - KS3
Books KS2 - KS3
DBS Checked Yes - enhanced and registered with the DBS update service

Booking
Contact
+44 (0)1535 656015
aimhigh@caboodlebooks.co.uk

 
 

One history lesson on WW2 inspired Paul Nolan, the teacher, to become Paul Nolan, the children’s author.

 
 

About Paul

Nearly 10 years after finding inspiration in a history lesson, Paul now has 8 children’s books to his name, along with hundreds of school visits under his belt.

Paul is an experienced Key Stage Two Teacher (ex-Deputy Headteacher and English Lead) and now has one foot planted in the classroom and the other stepping into schools for history and writing workshops and our fabulous A.I.M. High days.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Paul’s AIM High Writing Day

  • Using ‘fearometers’ to react to story and help understand how authors elicit fear and suspense

  •  ‘Character detectives’ working out how characters’ feel from clues in story

  •  Pupils plan (in pairs) their own ‘thematic escape story’ in which readers are gamers – making their own choices to help escape

  •  ‘First –words’ activity – a great, fast-paced activity to help initiate story overcome writers’ block

  •  Children to write (in pairs) escape stories – children writing on different pages at the same time – assisted by author

  •  Children to read and ‘play’ other stories, to try and navigate through another escape story  Book signing session

Curriculum Focus

  • Writing in a consistent tense and person – help achieve Greater Depth writing

  • Writing fast-paced text with rich language and with a variety of sentence openers and techniques

  • Strong emphasis on manipulation of sentence types and use of complex punctuation

  • Writing for purpose and with a real-audience

  • Incorporation of grammatical features, with purpose, into written text (passive, subjunctive mood etc..)

  • Teaching of cohesion and flow between paragraphs

 
 

Recent feedback from Paul’s AIM High Writing day at Milford-On-Sea CE Primary School, Hampshire:

"I enjoyed it. I found the writing interesting – I like the extracts from his book. The style of writing was my thing – mystery-style. I enjoyed that we got a lot of free time to let our mind go out on the page and just write. I thought his strategies were great and I will use them in school or if I become an author. We had two adjectives such as ‘screaming’ and ‘running’ and we swapped them round."

 Content was great!

 
 

Paul’s GET GOING Literacy Workshop

"I don't know how to start.."

"I don't know what to write.." 

Teachers: do you have pupils who say this? Do you have children daunted by the sight of a long, blank page? Well, Paul can help! Paul’s GET GOING workshop will provide your reluctant and hesitant writers with ideas and inspiration to help them write. In this engaging workshop, your pupils will gain independence, confidence and new strategies which they will take back to school to help them become better writers. 

 
 

A Selection of Paul’s Books

 
 

It is the year 1940. Charlie's mother and father work at a Spitfire factory in the fishing port of Hamble. After a run in with a brutal instructor on the naval training ship Mercury, the teenager finds himself on the run from the British navy. His father hooks him up with William - the Captain of the a fishing boat called the White Feather. A few days later, the pair find themselves caught up in (arguably) the most heroic retreat of World War 2 - the Dunkirk evacuation.

When a boy and girl wake up within a stone circle, their minds are blank. They don't know where they are, where they're from or even who they are. Before these questions can be answered they find themselves about to be sacrificed by a Bronze Age tribe. Then the mysterious Foreseer arrives and saves them. He tells them that before they can return home to their own time, they have to steal an artefact from the vicious Beaker Tribe and restore the stone circle to its former glory. Will they succeed? Or will they be cast in Bronze forever?

For ages 9-12

Meet John - England's worst King. Notorious for his mean character, disgusting personal habits and fiery temper, he was loathed by everyone - including his own mother. There was nothing this right royal reprobate wouldn't stoop to in order to elbow his way to the English crown. Find out how it all started with this diary account of John's early life. This text is rich in vocabulary and will provide a page turning insight into the English King who put the 'evil' into medieval.

 
 
 

Bookings
To book Paul please contact us now at aimhigh@caboodlebooks.co.uk

Paul also offers visits to schools and other settings, click here for more information.

 
AIM High Writers'Trish McLaughlin