MAKING WRITING ENGAGING AND FUN FOR WRITERS AGE 9+

Young Writers'
StorySchool

Young Writers’ StorySchool is a video online writing workshop for the classroom to help teachers and home educators inspire kids aged 9-14 to write! Bestselling author Tristan Bancks guides students through 24 aspects of the writing process in punchy, entertaining videos with teachers' notes and activity sheets. Perfect for one teacher or a whole school.
Try the free first video with teachers’ notes and activity sheet
This subscription allows access for one teacher or individual, including teachers’ notes and activity sheets for each lesson.
This subscription provides access for up to 10 teachers in a school at a discounted rate, with teachers’ notes and activity sheets.

What is Young Writers' StorySchool?

StorySchool is 24×3-minute videos with activity sheets and teachers’ notes to supercharge the writing process in the classroom or, for keen young writers, at home. Each video covers an aspect of the writing process, shows how author Tristan Bancks does it, using pictures, video, music, maps and other tools to bring the process to life, and then sets a challenge for the young writer. It is a system for encouraging more authentic, personal and detailed writing that young people care about and teachers love to read.
The StorySchool method is an active, outdoor, visual, aural, tech-infused writing adventure. It’s about seeing, hearing and feeling a piece of writing, making it personal. It’s an approach proven by Tristan in the writing of his award-winning books and by the tens of thousands of students who have taken his workshops since 2008.

Throughout this course you will discover how Tristan:

  • Incorporates writing into his every day
  • Uses vision boards and music playlists for inspiration
  • Breaks down writers block and sparks new ideas
  • Builds characters from real-world interactions
  • Drafts and rewrites his stories till they shine
  • Goes on story safaris to trigger the creative process
  • Uses devices as tools to inspire himself and reluctant writers
Testimonials

What Teachers Are Saying

It is so well thought out and planned. I am really impressed with the inclusion of the teacher notes and the suggestions for accelerated learning and low literacy students. I also feel we are getting very good value for money.
Ngaire Brown
Teacher-Librarian, Kolbe Catholic College
I used this with my year 6 boys at the end of last year and they absolutely LOVED IT! To be able to keep the interest of 12 year old boys at that time of the year, you know it’s good!
Sam Iwatani
St Pius X College
Tried and tested with 156, 5/6 kids. Absolute winner that we will be rolling out all of it in 2021
Craig Beamer
Yarrambat PS
Tristan Bancks' Story School has brought a breath of fresh air to my writing program. Students applaud and cheer when they see Story School on our schedule! The videos are fast paced and engaging, fostering deep enthusiasm for writing in the children, as well as equipping them to get their ideas on paper. Even previously reluctant writers are getting caught up in the excitement and having a go. I would highly recommend this program to any teacher.
Bron Fensham
Caulfield South PS


Course Content

The Young Writers' StorySchool course is delivered in three segments: Hatch, Fly and Soar.
  • Hatch gives young writers a flying start on brainstorming and generating story ideas.
  • Fly focuses on writing and drafting and introduces new ways to think about the writing process.
  • Soar takes young writers to the next level, offering advanced techniques for rewriting and editing.

Course contents

Tristan Bancks

Children's and Teen Author, Screenwriter, Speaker
About
Tristan Bancks tells stories for the page and screen. His books for kids and teens include Two Wolves, The Fall, Detention, the Tom Weekly series and Nit Boy. His books have won and been shortlisted for many awards, including a Children’s Book Council of Australia Honour Book, the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, ABIA, YABBA, KOALA, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and Queensland Literary Awards. His new release for 2021 is Ginger Meggs, a 100th anniversary book of brand new short stories based on characters created by his great-great uncle, Jimmy Bancks, in 1921.

Tristan is a writer-ambassador for literacy charity Room to Read. He is currently working with producers to develop a number of his books for the screen. He’s excited by the future of storytelling and inspiring others to create. You can find out more about Tristan’s books, play games, watch videos and help him try to change the world at tristanbancks.com

 Testimonials on Tristan's Workshops

Tristan really appealed to kids in a contemporary manner, talking about electronic devices and how he uses them to help his writing. I thought that his idea of writing and taking pictures outdoors to develop character and setting could be easily transferred to our writing lessons.
—A. Barnett
Teacher Librarian, Mentone Grammar
The use of interactive media with video and sound was outstanding and catered to a range of learners. We were pleased that Tristan’s passion for writing was passed onto our students and assisted in their assessment task.
– Merrimac State High School