Personal Demons

About Personal Demons

Personal
Demons is a literacy adventure – an opportunity for KS3 pupils
to improve literacy skills by working on a real book with a real author.

How
did it start?

The
project is based on a collaboration between pupils of Newman School
and children’s author Steve Alton. Steve shared the process of writing
a novel, Personal Demons, with the pupils, working with them
on the processes of drafting, editing, plotting and polishing. The
pupils wrote their own extracts, offering them to Steve as potential
improvements to his novel. Students saw a purpose to their literacy
work, knowing that they were working on writing that might be included
in a published book. Able
students responded enthusiastically, while weaker and disaffected
pupils blossomed. The project has been particularly successful in encouraging boys in reading and writing.

Find out more or take a look for yourself.(opens in new window)