Claire Hatcher-Smith - The Mizzy Mysteries (KS2 School visits)
Claire will then talk about the concept of empathy, leading a short discussion around what empathy is (and isn’t), as well as why empathy skills are important for detectives, as well as readers/writers and as human beings!
After a reading from the book, Claire supports the students in exploring the different characters’ feelings, thoughts and motivations within the scene and to discuss the clues which support their interpretations.
To really get the hang of being a feelings detective, there will be an improv drama game: a fun, highly interactive and thought-provoking activity to promote affective and cognitive empathy, using our best and worst acting skills and a giant pink magnifying glass. Volunteers are shown an emotion card and then act out the target emotion, while also performing an action suggested by the group. The group use their feelings-detective skills to guess the emotion being acted. The event will wrap up with a Q&A.
Schools will need to be able to run a PowerPoint presentation.
Date - Wednesday 5th March
Available time from... 9am, 11am & 2pm (times approximate)
KS2 Children - School years 4, 5 & 6
Please Click Here to enquire about CLAIRE HATCHER-SMITH coming to your school.
ABOUT CLAIRE
Claire is an EmpathyLab trained children’s author, with a background in speech and language therapy and special education. She has 35 years of experience working with children aged 2-18, in a variety of settings in the UK and Canada. Mizzy was born from Claire’s career-long desire to give children with Down Syndrome a hero who looked like they do. Originally from Kent, Claire now lives on Vancouver Island, with her husband, their teenage son and a Korean rescue dog. Neurodivergent herself, along with writing, she continues to work as a speech and language therapist, running peer support groups for autistic tweens and teens which focus on self/other awareness, self-esteem and self-advocacy.
The Mizzy Mysteries by Claire Hatcher-Smith
Twelve-year-old Mizzy dreams of being a detective and she won't let anything stand in her way — not her reputation for tall tales, or her embarrassing fear of escalators, and definitely not her Down Syndrome. Dumped for the summer with cousins who've outgrown her, Mizzy feels even more sidelined than usual.
But when she discovers Great Aunt Jane's diaries in a locked wardrobe in their spare room, and realises her aunt didn't die in her sleep but under suspicious circumstances, everything changes. What's more … someone in the family appears to have been involved. Under the guise of a family-tree project for school, and armed with a brand new set of Pipsqueak markers, Mizzy grabs the chance to prove herself to her cousins — and the world.