A sign can tell us a surprising amount about a fictional place. A warning at a gate suggests danger, a notice beside a classroom hints at rules and a painted direction board helps visitors understand where they are. Creating signs for an imaginary fantasy location gives children a practical writing challenge: communicate something important in very few words. The activity can be inspired by magical worlds such as those in Sammy Rambles, but all invented notices should be labelled as children’s creations rather than authentic signs from Dragamas or another place in the published books.
Decide who needs the message
Begin by imagining someone arriving at a place for the first time. Are they a pupil, a traveller, a visitor or a delivery worker? Each person needs different information. A sign for an unfamiliar visitor might explain where to ask for help, while one for experienced students could use shorter, familiar terms. Ask children to write down one question their imagined visitor would have. The question becomes the purpose of the sign. Without a clear reader in mind, it is easy to invent a collection of impressive-sounding warnings that do not actually tell anybody what to do.
Use direct language
A useful notice usually begins with a clear instruction or piece of information. Compare “Exercise an appropriate degree of caution in the vicinity of the eastern entrance” with “Use the west gate while repairs are taking place.” Both might sound official, but the second is easier to follow. Children can practise reducing a long sentence without losing the essential meaning. If the location is magical, they can still use simple words: “Ask before entering the dragon enclosure” is more informative than “Beware the wonders beyond.” This is a fictional example, not a rule attributed to the Sammy Rambles stories.
Let the world shape the signs
Ask what makes the imagined place different from an ordinary one. If a fictional bridge moves each evening, a visitor might need a notice about when to cross. If a corridor changes its destination, signs may include symbols that update when the route changes. The child should explain the invented rule before writing the notice, so the sign has a logical reason to exist. Fantasy does not mean that anything goes at any moment. A place becomes easier to imagine when its unusual features produce practical consequences for the people who live there.
Explore tone and authority
Not every sign sounds the same. A friendly welcome board invites people in; an emergency warning needs urgency; a school reminder may need to sound firm without being frightening. Give children one message and ask them to write it in two voices. “Please return borrowed maps to the desk” feels different from “All maps must be returned immediately.” Discuss which tone best suits the situation and which might upset a newcomer unnecessarily. The activity encourages writers to consider the relationship between the person giving the instruction and the person expected to follow it.
Match symbols to words
Draw a simple icon beside each sign, but ask whether somebody could understand the warning without seeing the picture. Likewise, could a visitor who struggles with the language still recognise the main idea from the symbol? A clear arrow can help with directions, while an abstract decorative swirl may not tell anyone where to go. Children can test designs with a partner who has not been told what they mean. If the partner guesses incorrectly, the sign can be revised. The goal is clear communication rather than judging artistic ability.
Build a tiny noticeboard
Arrange four signs on a sheet to represent the entrance to the imagined location. Include a welcome message, a direction, one rule and one notice about something temporarily changed. Read them in the order a visitor would encounter them. Do they contradict one another? Does a sign direct people towards a gate another notice says is closed? These checks make the exercise a lesson in consistency. Children can add a short explanation of the invented place beneath the board, so viewers understand the rules without needing an elaborate fictional history.
One further consideration
For a final test, remove the artwork and show only the words to a new reader. Can they still tell what the sign asks them to do? Then show the icon without the words and ask the same question. If both parts communicate the message, the notice will be easier for different visitors to understand. The exercise shows why clear writing and good visual design should support one another rather than compete for attention.
Compare inventions with actual descriptions
After making the noticeboard, return to a passage from the book that inspired it. What does the author really tell readers about the setting? Which details did the child add? It can be fun to imagine signs outside Dragamas School for Dragon Charming, while recognising that their wording comes from the reader rather than J T Scott. The activity succeeds when children discover that a few carefully chosen words can make a new world feel organised, inhabited and believable.