On 30 June 2026, the English teachers of the Primary Section of Unity College attended a professional development workshop conducted by Ms Anahita Lee, author of the New Mulberry English Course, at Colvin Taluqdars’ College. The session commenced with the Principal of Colvin Taluqdars’ College extending a formal welcome to the resource person.

The workshop focused on approaching literature as a distinct subject rather than merely a component of English language instruction. Ms Lee differentiated between content and concept, urging teachers to foster conceptual understanding instead of rote memorisation. She elaborated on essential literary elements such as characterisation, setting, plot, theme, genre and authorial purpose, while introducing terms including protagonist, antagonist, confidant and stock character. She also highlighted the role of conflict in enriching students’ interpretation of texts.

Emphasising the importance of age-appropriate scaffolding, Ms Lee encouraged teachers to allow pupils to discover stories independently instead of revealing every detail beforehand. She demonstrated engaging classroom strategies such as Campfire Discussions, Drawing Selfies with Adjectives, Sentence Stretching, Adjective–Noun Quilt, All About Alliteration, Genre Swap, Can–Have–Are, Pop Beans and Mirror Writing to strengthen vocabulary, creativity, literary appreciation and expressive writing.

She further recommended a balanced assessment framework comprising 50% analytical questions from prescribed texts, 20% analysis of an unseen story and 30% literature-based conceptual questions. The workshop concluded with Ms Lee expressing her heartfelt gratitude to the teachers, acknowledging that they bring her work to life through their classrooms.

The session proved immensely enriching, equipping participants with innovative, learner-centred strategies to nurture independent readers, foster critical thinking and cultivate a lifelong appreciation of literature.