When the UK first went into lockdown (in March of 2020) I wasn’t too sure what to do with myself. Overnight, every single booking I had disappeared. I noticed a lot of parents I knew began home-schooling, so I started delivering free weekly live-streamed writing lessons from home, just to help out, really. Back then I thought I’d be running these sessions for maybe six or seven weeks until bookings went back to normal.
But oh no! As the lockdown extended and more and more families joined us each week I decided to keep going. In the end I ran the sessions until schools went back in September- that’s 34 sessions in all. You can access all 34 of these workshops for free here on my Youtube channel if you like.
In total my workshops were viewed over 400,000 times and tens of thousands of kids (and adults!) have taken part in them from all over the world. We generated thousands of pieces of creative writing & the project turned into one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I never knew it’d have the reach it did, or that live-streamed workshops could be so impactful, but I loved getting to work with so many fun, creative students over these 17 weeks.
Now that everyone’s back at school I’m able to offer a number of really fun & interactive live-streamed workshops for class-sized groups. Each workshop is packed full of poems, raps & the most popular activities from these lockdown workshops. Each workshop lasts roughly an hour & will help transform your students into thoughtful, independent writers.
Do you know anyone that’d benefit from a live-streamed workshop?
If so, then scroll down for this year’s packages.
Bookable workshops for KS2 & 3 students
WORKSHOP A:POETRY PARTY!
Mark performs his silliest poems & raps and sets two short writing activities for the students that help them understand the importance of originality and avoiding cliché. This is a great first session for any group & also includes time for the students to ask Mark questions about their own writing.
'I was excited to be able to share my Lamp Post poem from our 'originality session' last week. I like the music Mark Grist plays because it helps with my creativity and helps me productive.’ (Dujon, Yr 7)
’I really liked the work we did with Mark because it was fun and challenging. Mark is so funny and clever. I LOVED him teaching us how to write poems because now I can’t stop! He is really original and will teach you how to be more original.’ (Emily, Yr4)
The originality work was really fun as we all came up with our own ideas. I really liked the poem about ‘oranges’ and I think Mark is a very kind person and an amazing poet. (Gabby)
WORKSHOP B:WRITING POETRY GIFTS.
Can you write a poem that will dazzle your audience? In this session you'll learn how to use original metaphors for everything from your kitchen sink to a dog's bottom. You'll also look at how important it is for a writer to connect with an audience. Mark will perform a poem he wrote for one other person whilst also guiding you line by line through a thoughtful and funny poem that you could give as a gift for someone you know.
’I never understood metaphors properly before we did the poetry workshop because Mark Grist explains in a well and funny way so it would be easy for anyone to learn.’ (Markuss, Yr6)
’I like that in the 'Poem for an audience of one' we got to pick someone that we love and write a poem for them. I really liked his poem he wrote for his wife. I like how he is really enthusiastic to share his poems. They are really funny and you can see all his hard work he puts in - he makes everyone feel that everyone is good at something. I wrote a poem for my mum and I can't wait to give it to her'.’ (Jorja, year 7)
WORKSHOP C:‘THE DAY THAT BRAVERY CAME TO DINNER’
A workshop that focuses on poetic language, with a particular focus on personification & extended metaphor. Mark walks the class through a poem about a positive personality trait and how to explore that trait in an innovative and engaging way. Each student will write their own poem during this session & make several creative decisions as they complete a piece that would work well as part of a display or assembly.
‘Mark is funny, kind and mysterious. His poems took me on a magical adventure. The work we did was amazing. It was one of a kind.’ (Michael, Year 5)
Mark Grist's poetry workshop was really fun and I really enjoyed it. Mark is very funny and he made me laugh. His workshops were all very helpful and I have learnt a lot from them. He also has really cool sound effects. (Abi, yr6)
I think Mark’s poems are really good for raising your spirit. They are really funny and showed that he was really mischievous. I never used to be good at writing poems , but now I don’t think it’s really scary like I did before.’ (Tamir, Yr 7)
Workshops for KS4 & 5
WORKSHOP A: SLAM. An introduction to poetry for performance.
Join Mark for a session packed full of poems, raps & quick exercises designed to help you get ideas for your own slam poem. During this session you’ll learn how to draw out your experiences and thoughts, and turn them into a performance poem. You’ll get to ask Mark questions throughout and by the end will have everything you need to write your own poem, either for performance or on the page.
On the day Mark took over our English lesson, he Zoomed us and it was really interesting. Like 10 out of 10 interesting. Mark performed some poems and our jaws dropped. He’s really good! (Leo, Yr 10)
I enjoyed it when he gave us lots of sentences to finish because I thought it was a fun way to get the class involved and interested. We learnt that to create raps or poems you need to be creative in your thinking but the advice he had given was that not to be totally random to the point where no one has any idea what you're talking about. I thought his poems were meaningful and he based them off of life experiences that stood out and have morals to them. (Marci, Yr 10)
’I found it easy to engage with what he was saying - within the first few lines, I was immersed into the world of what happened in the past for him.’ (Chloe, Yr 9)
WORKSHOP B: Metaphor masterclass.
A deeper dive into a particular technique - in this session Mark will perform two poems featuring complex metaphors, and go over five different types of metaphor with thew class and how best to use them in your descriptive writing. The session will culminate in students writing their own extended metaphor poems & identifying what makes a metaphor work on the page and in performance.
‘I found his poems to be relatable and funny but also touching.’ - Jeanette
‘I like how he kept on engaging us and not keeping us bored by continuously talking and no awkward stops. Also, I liked how he answered all our question even though some of them were a bit weird and off topic.’ - Jayson
WORKSHOP C: Rap masterclass.
In this workshop Mark will walk you through the lessons he’s been taught by emcees whilst recording ‘Mark Can’t Rap’ and ‘Mark Grist Battles the World’. You’ll look at snippets of famous rap tracks and learn how to structure your bars & write with flair & originality. All students should leave the session able to write multisyllabic assonant rhymes & to understand what makes a successful emcee stand out.
‘Gave me a new perspective on poetry and rap.’-Eva (Yr 9)
’Made me realise that rap is a much more complex way of writing than I thought. Some of the tricks rappers use are sort of hidden and Mark helped us to see what’s really going on in rap.’ - (Lewis, Yr10)
’I thought it’d be boring but it was really good. He’s got a funny flow and I like that he told the truth about his life - he let us ask anything we wanted and listened to us too. I didn’t know you could rhyme as much as you can and I could write better raps now.’ (Benny Yr10)
Costs
Each hour-long workshop is available for £200. A reduced rate (£500) is offered for any booking of three workshop. These workshops can be split and timetabled for different classes/times/terms in any way that suits the school.
How to book
All you need to do is get in touch with the workshops you’d like and your preferred dates and times. I normally recommend Zoom for the sessions, but we can connect via any platform that you’re used to.
Note: I may need to charge more for International bookings that would require me working outside normal daily working hours (9am-5pm). Feel free to message through what you’re looking for and I can give you a quote.
Extra note: These are by no means the only workshops on offer - I develop several bespoke packages each year for a number of schools & I enjoy tailoring my various workshops & activities to the needs of the group. If there’s something specific you’re looking for, why not get in touch?
