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Creative curriculum: inspiring young imaginations using the arts is just one of the ways Anna Warren teaches her
pupils. Photograph: Tom Finnie
As a creative school, with a track record in fantastic English results, we are often asked what our
specific approach is: how do we teach through the arts yet manage to maintain such high
expectations from all our pupils? I'd like to share some of these approaches with you:
Immersion activities
How can children access stories, poems and other texts if their minds and imaginations not fully
engaged? We have found that immersing children in a range of creative activities before reading the
text means that they are fully prepared, and excited, about the reading journey ahead of them.
Through painting, music composition, a film project, in role drama or sculpture, the kids have had a
chance to share vocabulary, ideas and concepts which gives their reading fresh meaning and
purpose.
Clear purpose
What's the point of reading and writing anything if you don't know why you're doing it? We aim to
provide children with a clear purpose to all reading, and especially writing tasks. Whether it's an
invitation to the headteacher to attend a class assembly, an email to an author or an article for a
school newspaper, our children know why the quality of their writing matters: because there will be a
real audience for their published work.
Professional publishing
One effective way of valuing children's work as well as providing a real incentive, is to plan for a
range of ways to publish their writing. Recent examples include a whole school bookmaking project.
Following a whole school Inset on bookbinding techniques, every class published their own shared
book; one example being an anthology of short spooky stories composed by year 6. Their stories
were mounted on handmade paper, accompanied with each child's art work (lino cut style prints on
metallic paper) with a dramatic paper cut out front cover. The effort the children put into their work
was immense, and the results were stunning as a result. The anthology has been enjoyed by
parents and other pupils and the children's pride in their work is clear to see.
Meaningful planning
Where possible, learning in English is linked with subjects within the creative curriculum we follow:
the international primary curriculum (IPC). Well in advance of teaching, teachers collaborate and
share their ideas for planning through a mind mapping process. Meaningful, creative activities are
planned for, ensuring that all staff members know exactly what the children will be learning and why.
Focused on strategies
The teaching of reading is not easy. As children's fluency in reading increases, it's hard to know
what reading skills need to be taught, and when. We ensure that specific reading strategies are
modelled explicitly to the class; this provides children with a holistic bank of skills to draw upon. This
could include scanning a text, making an inference, predicting or creating a mental image. Our
teachers use 'think aloud' statements to model to the children how these skills are used, and how
they can help them become better readers. These strategies are then shared as a class, and then
assessed in follow up guided reading activities.
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Inspirational learning environment
Take a trip to our school and you'll find classroom environments that inspire adults and children
alike. Not only is the children's work displayed creatively, but there is a range of learning prompts to
inspire and support all pupils. We want to encourage our children to discover new texts, genres and
authors, so our reading areas are inviting, well resourced and highly organised. Pupils can choose
from an exciting array of reading material: newspapers, classic texts, reference books as well as the
children's own published stories are just some examples of what book corners might offer.
Drama to engage and inspire
The use of drama is such a powerful tool. Taking the lead from our drama specialist, all teaching
staff use a range of techniques to promote the exploration of characters, situations and historical
events. This process expands the pupils' imaginations, and provides them with the ideas they need
to give their writing that extra spark and flair.
Rigorous teaching of spelling and phonics
In the infants, phonics is streamed, so all children can benefit from tailored teaching, making
maximum progress as a result. All phonics and spelling activities are fun, multi sensory and as
physical possible, the aim being to meet all learning styles in the class. In the juniors, we try to make
homework lists as personalised to the child as possible to ensure that the spelling patterns stick in a
meaningful way.
Grammar concepts taught creatively
Grammar cannot be taught as a stand alone activity. What's the point of that? Children begin to
understand grammar concepts, and start to apply them in their own writing, when they start to read
with a writer's mind. Punctuation rules and techniques are drawn from shared texts; texts which the
children have already been immersed in and have a good understanding of. Exploring these, and
embedding them creatively is how the learning takes place.
Peer and self assessment
What child doesn't love marking somebody else's work? With a clear marking key, success criteria
and purpose in mind, children set about assessing either their own, or a partner's piece of writing.
Modelled through the teacher's own formative marking, pupils know what the expectations are. They
are well trained in searching for successful examples of the learning intention, articulating their
responses to the work, checking the writing matches any targets and giving constructive feedback.
Seeing the children learn from each other in this way is hugely positive; you know you've done your
job well.





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Techniques for creative teaching
Creative teaching
In order to teach creativity, one must teach creatively; that is, it will take a great deal of creative
effort to bring out the most creative thinking in your classes. Of course, creativity is not the only
required element for creative instructors. They must also know their fields and know how to create
an appropriate learning environment. When will it be most important for you to offer direct
instruction? When is discovery most important? What are your expectations and how can you best
communicate them?
Because answers to these questions are so diverse even for individual instructors teaching
different courses or at various times of the semester no one technique will fit all needs. Here
are several approaches or techniques for teaching creatively, both general and specific to certain
fields. More examples of field-specific approaches or techniques appear in the Creative
teachers section.
General Techniques
These creative thinking techniques were culled from the Internet and summarized by Yao Lu, a
graduate student in AESHM (Apparel, Educational Studies, and hospitality Management). Some
of the techniques listed below are used in business training or in K-12 settings but can easily be
adapted for college students.
Assumption Busting
What: An assumption is an unquestioned, assumed truth. Assumption busting is particularly
effective when one is stuck in current thinking paradigms or has run out of ideas.
Benefits: Everyone makes assumptions about how the world around us, which in creative
situations, can prevent seeing or generating possibilities. Deliberately seeking out and addressing
previously unquestioned assumptions stimulates creative thinking.
How: List assumptions associated with a task or problem, for example, that a solution is
impossible due to time and cost constraints; something works because certain rules or conditions;
and people believe, need or think of certain things. Then ask under what conditions these
assumptions are not true, continue the process of examination as old assumptions are challenged
and new ones are created. An alternative way of proceeding is to find ways to force assumptions
to be true. This is the opposite of challenging assumptions in the previous step.
Brainstorming
What: Brainstorming, a useful tool to develop creative solutions to a problem, is a lateral thinking
process by which students are asked to develop ideas or thoughts that may seem crazy or
shocking at first. Participants can then change and improve them into original and useful ideas.
Brainstorming can help define an issue, diagnose a problem, or possible solutions and resistance
to proposed solutions.
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How: Define the problem clearly lay out any criteria to be met. Keep the session focused on the
problem, but be sure that no one criticizes or evaluates ideas during the session, even if they are
clearly impractical. Criticism dampens creativity in the initial stages of a brainstorming session.
Ideas should be listed, rather than developed deeply on the spot; the idea is to generate
possibilities. Accordingly, participants should be encouraged to pick up on ideas offered to create
new ones. One person should be appointed as note-taker, and ideas should be studied and
evaluated after the session.
Negative (or Reverse) Brainstorming
What: Negative brainstorming involves analyzing a short list of existing ideas, rather than the
initial massing of ideas as in conventional brainstorming. Examining potential failures is relevant
when an idea is new or complex or when there is little margin for error. Negative brainstorming
raises such questions as: What could go wrong with this project?
Benefits: Reverse brain-storming is valuable when it is difficult to identify direct solutions to a
problem.
How: After clearly defining a problem or challenge, ask How could I cause this problem? or
How could I make things worse? As with brainstorming, allow ideas to flow freely without
rejecting any. Evaluating these negative ideas can lead to possible positive solutions. See
also Negative Brainstorming.
Concept Mapping
What: Concept maps represent knowledge graphic form. Networks consist of nods, which
represent concepts, and links, which represent relationships between concepts.
Benefits: Concept maps can aid in generating ideas, designing complex structures, or
communicating complex ideas. Because they make explicit the integration of old and new
knowledge concept maps can help instructors assess students understanding.
How: Create a focus question specifying the problem or issue the map should help resolve. List
the key concepts (roughly 20-25) that apply to the area of knowledge. Put the most general,
inclusive concepts at the top of the list, and most specific at the bottom.
Build a hierarchical organization of the concepts, using post-its on a wall or whiteboard, large
sheets of paper, etc. Revision is a key element in concept mapping, so participants need to be
able to move concepts and reconstruct the map. Seek cross links between concepts, adding
linking words to the lines between concepts.
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Adapted from Novak, J. & Caas, A. (2006). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use
them.
Role-playing
What: In most role-playing exercises, each student takes the role of a person affected by an issue
and studies an issue or events from the perspective of that person.
How: Role plays should give the students an opportunity to practice what they have learned and
should interest the students. Provide concrete information and clear role descriptions so that
students can play their roles with confidence. Once the role play is finished, spend some time on
debriefing. See also Role-Playing Games: An Overview.
Storyboarding
What: Story-boarding can be compared to spreading students thoughts out on a wall as they
work on a project or solve a problem. Story boards can help with planning, ideas, communications
and organization.
Benefits: This method allows students to see the interconnections, how one idea relates to
another, and how pieces come together. Once the ideas flow, students become immersed in the
problem and hitch-hike other ideas.
How: Use a cork board or similar surface to pin up index cards or use Post-it notes on a
whiteboard. Begin with a set of topic cards, and under each place header cards for general points,
categories, etc. Under these, place sub-heading cards that will be contain ideas and details
generated that support the headers.
During a story board session, consider all ideas relevant, no matter how impractical they appear.
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DO IT
What: DO IT stands for Define problems, be Open to many possible solutions, Identify the best
solution and then Transform it into effective action. Ten catalysts or prompts are designed to help
students with each of these steps.
Benefits: DO IT accelerates and strengthens ones natural creative problem-solving ability and to
stimulate a large number of good, diverse ideas. When time allows, students can take advantage
of incubation (unconscious thinking) and research processes (find out what ideas have already
been tried).
Random Input
What: Random input, a lateral thinking tool, is useful for generating fresh ideas or new
perspectives during problem solving.
Benefits: It offers new perspectives on a problem, fosters creative leaps, and permits escape
from restrictive thinking patterns.
How: Select a random noun, whether from a prepared set, from the dictionary, or ones own list of
60 words. It is helpful to get new insight by selecting a word from outside the field being studied.
List the words attributions or associations, then apply each to the problem at hand. With
persistence, at least one of these may catalyze a creative leap.
Example: Students thinking about reducing car pollution have so far considered all the
conventional solutions, e.g. catalytic conversion and clean fuels. Selecting a random noun from
the titles of books in a bookcase, a student may see Plants. Brainstorming from this, the class
could generate a number of new ideas, such as planting trees on the side of roads or passing
exhaust gases through a soup of algae, to reduce carbon dioxide.
Decision Tree
What: A decision tree is a visual and analytical decision support tool, often taught to
undergraduate students in schools of business, health economics, and public health.
Benefits: They are simple to understand and interpret, have value even in the absence of hard
data, and can be combined with other decision techniques.
Example: A decision tree used in a finance class for deciding the better investment strategy.
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Questioning activity
What: In this exercise in questioning, students create a list of 100 questions. There are no
directions regarding what questions to ask and no judgments or criticism of questions.
Benefits: Students will ask a wide range of questions, increasing student productivity and
motivation. As students focus on what they want to discover and generate their own questions,
they pursue answers without prodding. Questions can be general or based on a particular topic or
reading; instructors can give several examples from their own lists.
Slip writing
What: This method can gather ideas from large groups, numbering from the dozens to the
hundreds. Participants are given slips of paper and asked to write down ideas which are
discussed or evaluated.
Benefits: This method collects a large number of ideas swiftly and creates a sense of
participation or ownership at the same time.
How: Each student is given a stack or note-pad of at least 25 small slips of paper. The pads can
contain idea-jogging graphics or be designed so that ideas can be sorted and separated easily. A
question or problem is read to the group (e.g., How do we? or What would it take to?).
Students write down one idea per sheet, in any order. When writing begins to slow down, collect
pads from students and offer quick feedback in the form of examples. If the group is very large,
present examples from a limited sample of booklets. After the early feedback, analysis and
evaluation can continue at a steadier pace to identify the most useful ideas and develop them into
practicable proposals.
Laddering
What: Laddering or the why method involves toggling between two abstractions to create ideas.
Laddering techniques involve the creation, reviewing and modification of hierarchical knowledge.
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In a ladder containing abstract ideas or concepts, the items lower down are members or sub-sets
of the ones higher up, so one moves between the abstract and concrete.
Benefits: Laddering can help students understand how an expert categorizes concepts into
classes, and can help clarify concepts and their relationships.
How: Beginning with an existing idea, ladder up by asking, of what wider category is this an
example? Ladder down by finding more examples. Then ladder up again by seeking an even
wider category from the new examples obtained from step 2.
Generally, laddering up toward the general allows expansion into new areas while laddering
down focuses on specific aspects of these areas. Why questions are ladders up; so-what
questions are ladders down.
See also Laddering Techniques.
Exaggeration
What: Exaggeration includes the two forms of magnify (or stretch) and minimize (or compress),
part of the SCAMPER heuristic.
Forms of Exaggeration Type Examples
Exaggerate upwards Magnify I have a million photocopiers standing idle
Exaggerate downwards Minify My photocopiers are barely used at all
Exaggerate scope Invade context The whole organization is underused
Exaggerate significance Aggrandize Our over-capacity is a nation scandal
Exaggerate selectively Caricature Reprographics Rest Home!
Benefits: This method helps in building ideas for solutions. It is useful to illustrate a problem, by
testing unspoken assumptions about its scale. It helps one think about what would be appropriate
if the problem were of a different order of magnitude.
How: After defining a problem to be addressed or idea to develop, list all the component parts of
the idea or if a problem, its objectives and constraints. Choosing one component, develop ways of
exaggerating it and note them on a separate sheet.
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Brain-sketching
What: To solve a specific problem, students make sketches and then pass evolving sketches to
their neighbors.
How: Students sit in a group of 6-8 around a table or in a circle. Questions or problems should be
well explained and understood by each student. Each participant privately makes one or more
sketches and passes the sketch to the person on the right when it is finished or when a brief set
time has passed. Participants develop or annotate the sketches passed to them, or use them to
inspire new sketches which are also passed in turn. For effective learning, sketches could be
posted are discussed by students.
Reversal
What: The reversal method takes a given situation and turns it around, inside out, backwards, or
upside down. Any situation can be reversed in several ways.
Benefits: Looking at a familiar problem or situation in a fresh way can suggest new solutions or
approaches. It doesnt matter whether the reversal makes sense or not.
Example: In a marketing class, instead of asking how can management improve the store?
reversal questions can ask: How can the store improve management? How can the store improve
itself? How can management make the store worse?
Fishbone
What: The fishbone technique uses a visual organizer to identify the possible causes of a
problem.
Benefits: This technique discourages partial or premature solutions and demonstrates the relative
importance of, and interactions between, different parts of a problem.
How: On a broad sheet of paper, draw a long arrow horizontally across the middle of the page
pointing to the right. Label the arrowhead with the title of the issue to be explained. This is the
backbone of the fish. Draw spurs from this backbone at about 45 degrees, one for every
likely cause of the problem that the group can think of; and label each. Sub-spurs can represent
subsidiary causes. The group considers each spur/sub-spur, taking the simplest first, partly for
clarity but also because a simple explanation may make more complex ones unnecessary. Ideally,
the fishbone is redrawn so that position along the backbone reflects the relative importance of the
different parts of the problem, with the most important at the head.
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Fishbone Example
Adapted from Mycoted wiki.
The Mystery Spot
What: Instructors set up a mystery story (videos, animations) that evolves a key concept such as
DNA. Students try to solve the mystery by applying their knowledge. Meanwhile, the story evolves
as students investigate on the problem, allowing the instructor to incorporate different
knowledge/concepts, and different knowledge depths.
Benefits: The mystery integrates science learning within an exciting narrative. The narratives
have wide appeal and involve students in learning. It is also a very flexible tool with which
instructors can invent stories based on their lesson purposes/ targeted key points.
Example: The Blackout Syndrome
In this exercise, students are medical investigators. And as a blackout paralyzes the city, they are
called in to investigate outbreak of a new disease. They need to take steps to identify how its
transmitted, characterize it, and figure out how to treat it.
The mystery tests literacy, problem solving skills and deductive reasoning. Students investigate
why people have fallen ill, do lab tests in order to decide what kind of pathogen is involved, and
work on solutions and how to best counter the disease. A conclusion offers further research
readings.
Field-Specific Techniques
Creativity Based Information Resources is a searchable database which includes items on
creativity in many disciplines. In addition, you may try
Agriculture (but useful for everyone)
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Business (a commercial site, but useful, especially the Techniques and Thought Experiments
sections)
Entrepreneurship Education
Innovation Tools for Business
Language Learning
Problem-Based Learning in Science





















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September 2012 Issue
Teaching Kids About Nutrition Creative, Fun-Filled Education Captures This Crowds Attention
By Lori Zanteson
Todays Dietitian
Vol. 14 No. 9 P. 14
Information and quotes in the following article were taken from How to Teach Nutrition to Kids: Secrets and
Strategies for Success, a FREE 1 CPE webinar with Connie Evers, offered by Skelly Publishing. Available here.
Within the last several decades, the message of childrens nutrition has gotten lost in the wave of convenience foods
and supersize portions. Generations of kids have grown up dependent on what has become a normal diet of high-fat,
high-sugar foods and beverages. Coupled with widespread physical inactivity, its no surprise that childhood obesity
is more prevalent than ever.
Fortunately, the nation has turned its attention to this epidemic in hopes of turning the tide. Dietitians, leaders in this
battle for change, are using innovative strategies to teach kids about nutrition when given the opportunity to promote
healthful lifestyles.
Obesity in children aged 2 to 19 has almost tripled since 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Our environment has a lot to do with it, says Connie Evers, MS, RD, author of How to Teach Nutrition
to Kids. Not only are processed foods, solid fats, and added sugars consumed in excess, Evers explains, but portion
sizes are larger. Families are eating out more than ever, and even the plates they eat on at home are bigger.
Combine this with the reduction in physical activity in children aged 9 to 15, and the results arent very shocking.
Compounding the issue are societal factors such as homes with two working parents, the onslaught of video games,
and fewer nutrition and physical education classes in schools. But despite these obstacles, Evers says, dietitians can
help children find a balance and form healthful habits and attitudes even amid challenging lifestyles.
Its all in how you deliver the message, according to Evers, who calls for an FIB approachone thats fun, integrated,
and behavioralto teach nutrition to children. Evers book discusses how to teach nutrition to kids of any age in any
setting in as little as 10 minutes to an hour. Of course the educator, whether a schoolteacher, cafeteria worker,
parent, or RD, has to be fun and engaging before behavioral change can begin. If its another lecture, she says, its
not going to be successful.
Hands On
Teaching preschoolers often involves children and parents in a preschool setting, a WIC waiting room, or an RDs
office. Kids aged 5 and younger love to manipulate with their hands, Evers says, so drawing, cutting, and pasting are
great ways to integrate nutrition education. Evers suggests asking children to draw a picture of themselves eating a
meal with their family. Equipped with paper and crayons, dietitians can encourage children to pay special attention to
the food on their plates. Dialogue should flow freely about what types of foods theyre drawing, which are their
favorites, and what they like most about enjoying a meal with their family.
Alternatively, RDs can give the children magazines that have lots of food pictures in them to cut and paste onto their
drawings. This exercise makes it easy to guide children toward healthful food options and for parents to see the
better choices as well. RDs can bring parents into the discussion by asking how the family can make a particular
meal healthier by including more nutritious foods.
Integrate
When it comes to elementary school-aged kids, books and stories are the spark to get me going, says Evers, who
borrows loads of childrens books from her local library to teach kids how to eat healthfully. Fairy tales, modern
superhero stories, or whatever else the kids love is the place to start, she says. Thats the fun. Kids love to read and
share their favorite stories.
To integrate nutrition messages, Evers asks kids to add a twist to their favorite fairy tale by drawing, retelling, or
writing a new version of the storydepending on their age and skill levelwith a nutrition component. For example,
for Hansel and Gretel, Evers may ask the children to tell the story as if the witch were really a nice witch who wanted
to feed her young guests healthful snacks and have the kids describe what her house would be made of instead of
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candy. Next, Evers may provide graham crackers or whole grain flatbread, vegetables, dried fruit, and various nut
butters for the frosting and have the kids actually build and decorate a house with those ingredients. The best part for
Eversand no doubt the childrenis when they ask to eat it.
Role Play
Weight management is an especially sensitive issue for tweens and teensand its not just a touchy subject for girls
anymore. Boys are increasingly experiencing angst about their weight, muscle mass, and issues surrounding steroid
use to bulk up. Tweens are the perfect candidates for role playing because it allows them to act like someone else in
a group setting. A teacher, counselor, or RD can have the kids act out a scenario involving nutrition issues, such as a
girl responding to a friend who wants her to join her on a cleansing diet that she heard her favorite celebrity uses. As
the girls get more comfortable, Evers suggests having them create their own real-life scenarios. Follow-up
discussions can be helpful for this group to prevent them from feeling isolated in their experiences and equip them
with tools to make healthful choices.
Tween and teen girls may respond well to a discussion built around popular teen, womens, and celebrity gossip
magazines. Teaching this age group how to deconstruct the media also is a valuable tool. A discussion of how
models look and how society, the media, and these kids define beauty is a great beginning. With guidance, they start
to see the disconnect in advertisements that show a very thin model promoting potato chips or other junk food.
Alternatively, dietitians can have them look for athletic bodies and note, perhaps, how underrepresented they are and
why that is. Lastly, dietitians can ask if these models represent the majority of students.
Market It
Kids, no matter the age, respond to marketing. So one of the best tools nutrition professionals can employ is
creativity. This generation responds to the wow factor, so in the name of creating healthful habits, why not give it to
them? School foodservice RDs are doing amazing healthful food marketing by educating youngsters about new foods
and incorporating them in the cafeteria in fun, innovative ways, Evers says. Theyre providing food tastings; serving
on black plates to make food more attractive; offering make-your-own pizza, sandwiches, and salads; and even
renaming foods with catchy, fun monikers, and the kids are responding. The great thing about these ideas, Evers
says, is that theyll work in any setting. Parents can do this at home, and RDs can host tastings in their office so
young clients can learn to enjoy nutritious foods hands on. The bonus is that the kids learn to like coming to the RDs
office.












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22 Simple Ideas for Harnessing Creativity in the
Elementary Classroom
DECEMBER 14, 2011
Share
30

Photo credit: Thinkstock
(Updated 2/6/14)
Here's an experiment you can conduct in many schools, maybe even the school where you teach. Look
through the door of one classroom and you might see the students hunched over, not engaged, even
frowning. The teacher looks frazzled, tired and wishing he or she were somewhere else. You might think,
"Well, everyone has a bad day." But you might witness this scenario in this teacher's classroom no matter
what day you look through the door. For the second part of the experiment, look through the door of
another classroom, and you might see a room full of lively students, eager, engaged and participating.
The teacher is full of energy and smiling. This happens no matter what day you look through that door.
What is the second teacher doing that the first one isn't? He or she is using creativity in that classroom.
Creativity makes a huge difference. Creativity is vital for a classroom to be successful. There is a
common misconception that the word "creative" has to do mostly with the arts. But being artistic is only a
small part of creativity. While any classroom environment would benefit from a teacher blessed with the
gift of artistic talent, creativity is many other things.
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Creativity is innovation.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. If
something isn't working, then it's broken and needs to be fixed. Come up with something else that will
work for your students.
Creativity is thinking outside the box.
Everything doesn't always have to be black and white. Sometimes the oddball activities are the ones that
work.
Creativity is improvisation.
Things don't always turn out the way you planned. When I've realized that a lesson wasn't working
midway through, I literally tossed it out and started over. I tried a different angle (in this case,
incorporating a movie that my students liked), and it worked.
Creativity is professional growth.
We don't always have all of the answers. If you can't figure out what to do, use your coworkers as
resources. You might find some really great ideas that make sense for your students. Also, look at
research and see what has worked for other teachers around the world. Use resources
like KS2,hubbardscupboard.org, and starfall.com for some fun engaging activities.
Creativity is being a risk taker or mold breaker.
I have had many crazy ideas for things to try in the classroom. Some have worked and some haven't, but
I found that trying was better than being stuck in the same pattern that isn't working.
Creativity is passion.
Be passionate about what you are doing. You are there to inspire students to become lifelong learners. If
you want them to love learning, you have to love what you are teaching.
Suggested Activities: The Game of Learning
For the first six activities, seat your students in a circle and introduce a ball or something else they can
pass easily between them.
1. "I know a word"
You can begin this skills game by saying, "I know a word that starts with the same sound you hear at the
beginning of butterfly." Students will raise their hands, and you choose one to tell you a word the starts
with "B." Once they tell you the word, toss them the ball. They choose someone else to tell them another
word that begins with that letter, passing the ball to the student who gets it right. As the game continues,
change the letter every so often. Play until everyone has had a turn. You can use this game for beginning
sounds, ending sounds, middle sounds etc.
2. Rhyme time
Say, "I need a word that rhymes with cat." Pass the ball to someone once they give you a correct rhyming
word. Keep changing the starting word and continue the game until all kids have gone.
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3. Practice counting
You can have your class practice counting by twos, fives and tens. Pass the ball clockwise or
counterclockwise, with the student who receives it saying the number that comes next. For example, you
say, "We are going to count by fives. Five!" The person next to you says "ten," the next one says "fifteen,"
and so on.
4. Spelling review
For older kids, you can pass the ball and go through your spelling words one letter at a time. For
example, you say, "We're going to spell the word their, as in 'This is their ball.'" The first person says "T,"
the second person says "H," the third person says "E," and so on. If one says the wrong letter, the next
person says correct letter and fixes the mistake.
5. "I need a synonym"
This is a great vocabulary building exercise. You can use the ball or a pair of flyswatters, depending on
the age of your students. You say, "I need a synonym for mad." Choose someone to give you another
word that means the same thing, such as angry, furious and enraged. For older kids, you can put a list of
synonyms on the board and divide the class into two teams. Have one person from each team come up
and compete. Whoever slaps the board with the flyswatter and says the correct synonym wins a point for
their team. In the end all of your students win a better vocabulary.
6. Reinforce other skills
What other subjects are you teaching? You could adapt these games to fit pretty much anything. "I need
a name of an explorer." "I need you to name one of the phases of matter." "I need to know one of the
reasons for the Civil War." Be creative!
7. Roll dice to have your students answer story questions.
"What is the plot of the story?" you might ask them. "What is the setting?" You can introduce more
reflective questions such as, "Why did this character do what he or she did?" and "What was the author's
purpose?" You can write these questions on cards or purchase them fromreallygoodstuff.com.
8. Sight Word Slap Game
Write your sight words on the board. Separate your class into two random teams. Let one person from
each team step forward and hold a fly swatter. Call out one of the sight words. The first one to slap the
correct sight word gets a point for their team. Continue until everyone has gone. This is great for helping
sight word recognition.
Suggested Activities: The Artsy Side of Creative
9. Use different voices or accents when reading stories to the class.
10. Dress in costumes of storybook characters to leave a lasting impression, or let students dress up as
characters to retell stories.
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11. Turn your room into the environment of what you are learning about. When the class is learning
about fairy tales, turn your classroom into a castle. When you're learning about animals, turn your
classroom into a jungle.
12. Create class songs about topics they need to know, or use the music of singers like Hap
Palmer and Jack Hartman. You might also borrow songs and games from coworkers. Songs are catchy,
and children learn quickly from them.
Creative Science
13. When teaching about the properties of friction, use KS2 for interactive projects you can do in
small groups or as a class using a smart board. You might ask your students slide down the hallway first
in their socks, then barefoot, and have them journal about the different amounts of friction.
14. When teaching phases of matter, drop some food coloring into beakers of cold and warm water and
note the difference. Then pour the contents of one beaker in a bag and put it in the freezer. The next day,
compare the liquid bag with the solid chunk of ice and note differences.
15. Use the ice from the above activity and talk about gravity. Stand on a chair and discuss what will
happen if you drop the ice, and if it matters which way you drop it. Let your students predict the possible
outcomes.
Incorporate Your Students' Favorite Things
16. Survey your students at the beginning of the year. Get to know them and what they like. Then
make a point of using their names, favorite foods, games, books, etc. in word problems, writing exercises,
shared reading and many other activities. People do better and learn more when working with things they
like. As adults we know that we don't want to do something if it's not fun. The same goes for kids.
Creative time savers
17. Have your students rely on each other as resources. For each table, pick a team leader to try
answering his or her classmates' questions before they come to you for help.
18. Pair your higher achievers with lower achievers to study sight words, letters or other skills.
19. Put them into literature circles to discuss books.
20. Have them read one another's writing to check for completion or suggest ideas before they come
see you.
21. Use the Leap Frog Tag reading system. You can plug it into the computer to get student scores on
activities, which will provide guidelines for what you need to work on. This is a great way to collect data!
22. Have a "math problem of the day" journal to review skills in which your students scored low on
assessments. Put the problem on the board and have them copy it into their journals at the beginning of
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the day. You can take a minute or two after they have completed it to review the problem with the class.
Check notebooks later for understanding.
Live Like a Turtle
For those of you trying to figure out how you'll find the time to integrate all this into an already busy
teaching day, here's some food for thought. It will take longer to teach a lesson three times than it will to
teach it once using a little creativity. Make time for creativity. Most of the above creative activities take
only a few minutes to do. They also require very little prep time and cost very little money, if any. So go
ahead -- be a risk taker and try at least one of these ideas this week. I'm sure you won't regret it.
As I said above, everyone has bad days, but overall my classroom is a happy place to be. It's like this
because I use creativity to make learning fun. I live by these words that Dr. Ruth once said: "Live life
every day like a turtle." To get anywhere, a turtle has to stick its neck out and take a risk. So take risks
every day. It's the only way to truly live and make a difference in the world.
What are some of your favorite tips and tricks for bringing creativity into your elementary students?
















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Ten ways to teach innovation
By Thom Markham
One overriding challenge is now coming to the fore in public consciousness: We need to
reinvent just about everything. Whether scientific advances, technology breakthroughs, new
political and economic structures, environmental solutions, or an updated code of ethics for
21st century life, everything is in fluxand everything demands innovative, out of the box
thinking.
The burden of reinvention, of course, falls on todays generation of students. So it follows
that education should focus on fostering innovation by putting curiosity, critical thinking,
deep understanding, the rules and tools of inquiry, and creative brainstorming at the center
of the curriculum.
This is hardly the case, as we know. In fact, innovation and the current classroom model
most often operate as antagonists. The system is evolving, but not quickly enough to get
young people ready for the new world. But there are a number of ways that teachers can
bypass the system and offer students the tools and experiences that spur an innovative
mindset. Here are ten ideas:
Move from projects to Project Based Learning. Most teachers have done projects,
but the majority do not use the defined set of methods associated with high-quality PBL.
These methods include developing a focused question, using solid, well crafted performance
assessments,allowing for multiple solutions, enlisting community resources, and choosing
engaging, meaningful themes for projects. PBL offers the best method we have presently for
combining inquiry with accountability, and should be part of every teachers repertoire.
See my website or the Buck Institute for methods.
Teach concepts, not facts. Concept-based instruction overcomes the fact-based, rote-
oriented nature of standardized curriculum. If your curriculum is not organized
conceptually, use you own knowledge and resources to teach ideas and deep understanding,
not test items.
Distinguish concepts from critical information. Preparing students for tests is part
of the job. But they need information for a more important reason: To innovate, they need
to know something. The craft precedes the art. Find the right blend between open-ended
inquiry and direct instruction.
Make skills as important as knowledge. Innovation and 21st century skills are closely
related. Choose several 21st century skills, such as collaboration or critical thinking, to focus
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on throughout the year. Incorporate them into lessons. Use detailed rubrics to assess and
grade the skills.
Form teams, not groups. Innovation now emerges from teams and networksand we
can teach students to work collectively and become better collective thinkers. Group work is
common, but team work is rare. Some tips: Use specific methods to form teams; assess
teamwork and work ethic; facilitate high quality interaction through protocols and critique;
teach the cycle of revision; and expect students to reflect critically on both ongoing work and
final products. For peer collaboration rubrics, see these free PBL Tools.
Use thinking tools. Hundreds of interesting, thought provoking tools exist for thinking
through problems, sharing insights, finding solutions, and encouraging divergent solutions.
UseBig Think tools or the Visible Thinking Routines developed at Harvards Project Zero.
Use creativity tools. Industry uses a set of cutting edge tools to stimulate creativity and
innovation. As described in books such as Gamestorming or Beyond Words, the tools
include playful games and visual exercises that can easily be used in the classroom.
Reward discovery. Innovation is mightily discouraged by our system of assessment,
which rewards the mastery of known information. Step up the reward system by using
rubrics with a blank column to acknowledge and reward innovation and creativity. I call it
the Breakthrough column. All of the rubrics on the PBL Tools section of my website have a
breakthrough column.
Make reflection part of the lesson. Because of the coverage imperative, the tendency is
to move on quickly from the last chapter and begin the next chapter. But reflection is
necessary to anchor learning and stimulate deeper thinking and understanding. There is no
innovation without rumination.
Be innovative yourself. This is the kicker, because innovation requires the willingness to
fail, a focus on fuzzy outcomes rather than standardized measures, and the bravery to resist
the systems emphasis on strict accountability. But the reward is a kind of liberating
creativity that makes teaching exciting and fun, engages students, andmost criticalhelps
students find the passion and resources necessary to design a better life for themselves and
others.
This post originally appeared on ThomMarkhams blog.Thom Markham, Ph.D., is a
psychologist and school redesign consultant who assists teachers in designing high
quality, rigorous projects that incorporate 21
st
century skills and the principles of youth
development. He is also the author of the Project Based Learning Design and Coaching
Guide: Expert tools for innovation and inquiry for k-12 teachers.
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