Educational resources

Wizard books are avowedly fun, and we support the idea that enjoyment and learning can live happily together. Joshua Cross, for example, the novel by Diane Redmond published in September 2002 is compliant with Key Stage 2, the English National Curriculum standard for 9 to 11 year olds, and sneaks in fascinating problems from philosophy and science.

Fighting Fantasy™ as a teaching aid

When first published in 1982, many teachers found the Fighting Fantasy™ books a useful teaching resource, particularly with reluctant readers. Being a game as well as a book, and with reading sections broken up into short numbered paragraphs rather than pages of solid text, these books are much more approachable than traditional childrens’ novels.

In 1993, Steve Jackson was invited by the English department of King’s College, Wimbledon to talk to Junior School pupils. The talk became a game itself, with Jackson narrating the adventure whilst the audience of 200 voted their choices. Individuals were chosen to roll dice for the ‘Hero’ and the Monsters. Battles became boisterous affairs with the entire audience cheering their ‘Hero’ on as the dice-rollers fought it out. Complaints were received from nearby classrooms…

Afterwards, English teachers were offered a kit for generating Fighting Fantasy™-style adventures within their classrooms. Pupils created their own monsters, traps and treasures which would be used in an adventure. Then, led by the teacher, the class played through the adventure. At set points the ‘Hero’ encounters a monster. A nominated pupil then stands up and reads from his own monster sheet. The class as a whole decides how to handle the encounter.

Without exception, teachers reported a tremendous enthusiasm for this project from their pupils. They wrote long passages describing their monster; its appearance, why it was dangerous and what its weaknesses were. They drew elaborate pictures of their beasts…

This pack offers teachers all they need to create their own Fighting Fantasy™ classroom adventures. The only thing not included is a couple of dice …

To download the teaching pack designed by Fighting Fantasy™ creator Steve Jackson, click here.

To download an A4 Fighting Fantasy™ classroom activity sheet, click here.

Football Fantasy events

Football Fantasy takes Wizard Books' aim of creating a list of books that boys will enjoy to the next level. Illustrated throughout, based around the beautiful game, and with just a simple and short start-up guide, these are accessible for even the most reluctant reader. The best part is that not only can Football Fantasy be played on its own or against a friend, but they can also be used to create these exciting Football Fantasy leagues.

There are four different events, which are based around the amount of time you wish to spend on them - they vary from half an hour to a full day! This leaflet offers all you need to create your own Football Fantasy league. Good luck!

To download the leaflet, click here.

Classic Poetry and Prose

Wizard's four anthologies of classic poetry and prose provide a brilliant resource of collected material for teachers, while the book covers will appeal to the teens themselves. For further info on these titles, go to Wizard's non-fiction page here.

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