In this workshop, students are introduced to the fantastical picture book,The Incredible Freedom Machines by Kirli Saunders, a proud Gunai woman with ties to the Yuin, Gundungurra, Gadigal and Biripi peoples. Students examine their ideas of freedom, and begin writing a one stanza prose poem about their very own freedom machine. The students explore what their machines look like, how it moves and where it would take them. This workshop produces heart-warming and surprising writing full of delight and wonder.

Harness the energy and vitality of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists like King Stingray, Zacharaiahah Fielding and Baker Boy to inspire your students to write their own lyrics. This program immerses students in Indigenous cultures and languages from diverse communities around Australia. They will witness Yolŋu Matha and Hip Hop effortlessly fusing together as they explore rhyme, similes and metaphor to share their own experiences and values in forms such as rap and lullabies.

Inspire your students with the soulful song lyrics of a contemporary Indigenous artist, Emily Wurramara, singing in both English and Annandilyakwa, the traditional language of her home, Groote Eylandt. Students will explore symbolism, alliteration and personification creating a homage to a place of special significance to them. Students will be encouraged to connect with and express their experiences to create memorable and creative song lyrics.

Students imagine they have travelled through a vortex and are now trapped inside the world of a retro video game called Video Vortex. They choose their own avatar who progresses through the strange and different levels of this game as they overcome obstacles to “level up” and return home. Students develop skills in sensory writing and focus on world building and narrative structure as they create short episodes/chapters that describe their experiences moving through the game.

In this program students will write news reports of invented traditions celebrated at their own creatively imagined towns. They will be inspired by traditions from far-flung places around the world to create stories, monologues, celebrating town festivities and interviewing imagined residents after a small town incident. Students will develop descriptive writing skills, characterisation and setting creation. Students have the opportunity to write in a news modality, while exercising their creativity and imagination.