Encourage Creativity in Your Classroom

Every single day presents an opportunity to inspire creative thought in your classroom. Whether you are reading a short story, writing an argument essay, or having a formal classroom debate, you can incorporate quick creative activities in the form of bell ringers, exit slips, enrichment projects, and more.


SHORT & QUICK CREATIVE ASSESSMENTS
Use creative questions during discussions or as bell ringers or exit slips. When you are reading a novel, short story, poem, or even a nonfiction piece, you can use questions that force students to think differently about the characters, plot, setting, tone, and author's purpose. My Creative Questions for Any Novel or Story can help! All of the question prompts (there are 180 total prompts) are aligned with the Common Core State Standards and not only require students to think creatively but critically, as well. They may seem simple, but they do force students to analyze, interpret, and synthesize elements of the text.

Example questions include:

• What is the most embarrassing thing that could happen right now in the story? Why? This question requires the student to think about past events and future predictions, character traits and motivation, and even the author's purpose.

•  Does the theme of the story align more with a country or rap song? Why? Students must identify a theme of the story in order to answer this. It's much more fun and creative than just asking them what is a theme of the story. In addition, you can prompt them to identify a specific song and why they chose that song to represent the theme.

• Which character's (or historical figure's or person in general) actions made you so mad you wanted to scream? Why? I love it when characters make students feel very strongly one way or another. When a student gets worked up over a character, I know they are hooked on the story.

• If the plot is the Tour de France, would you (the reader) be pedaling uphill, coasting downhill, or stuck on a flat, twisty road going nowhere? Why? This question has multiple purposes: it assesses whether the student can identify the parts of a plot, it forces students to analyze the author's structure of the text and the pacing of the plot, and it tells me whether they are engaged in the story--if they answer that the plot is going nowhere when they are, in fact, reading a very suspenseful part, then I know they either aren't reading it or aren't into it.

• Which word from the story would win the "WORST WORD EVER USED IN A STORY" award? Why? If your students are like mine, you'll get a lot of "moist" responses. 😂But I like this question because they have to search for words in the text in a way that actually makes it somewhat fun--or at the very least, interesting--to search for a word in a text.

These are just a few of the 180 prompts in my pack. The categories for the questions include character analysis, theme, plot/events, setting, narration/point-of-view, tone/mood, language (vocabulary and figurative language), and miscellaneous, which includes symbolism among other areas.

Implementing the questions:
If you teach in a 1:1 school, you can share the questions digitally and students can respond back digitally. I liked to use our district's grading app (Skyward), that way their response is already in the grade book, so it eliminated the possibility that I would either forget to put them in the system or lose their responses altogether (yes, both have happened in the past...more than once).

If your students do not have digital devices, you can display the prompt on an overhead projector and have students respond in writing (either on the included handout sheets or in their own journals/notebooks). You can also print the questions and have students respond on the back. Because I include an editable version, you can manipulate the handouts to suit your needs.

Bell ringers/Exit slips: If I want students to recall what we read the previous day, I'll use the questions as a bell ringer. If I want to see if students were paying attention or actually reading during class, I'll use them as exit slips.

Discussion prompts: These can be used in literature circles or stations for small-group discussions, or in a large-group class discussion. I have instructions in the pack for using these in stations according to character, plot, theme, setting, tone/mood, and language analysis stations.

Grading: Usually, I grade them on completion. They are quick assessments to let me know if students are grasping the content. Unless a student obviously didn't read, they get full credit.


LONGER CREATIVE ASSESSMENTS & PROJECTS
You can also foster creative thinking through larger projects and assessments. I usually use these at the conclusion of a unit (after they have taken a written test over the unit) because many of the students' choices require them to be familiar with the text in its entirety.

I draw from my Creative Activities for Any Book pack for these choices.  I think it's important to give students choices so they can choose something that interests them, especially if they did not have a choice in the book or story. I find that they are more excited about the project when it's something they choose. I've also allowed students to work together with a partner or a small group (usually no more than 3) if they wish. The pack includes almost 100 different activity prompts with handouts. It's also editable, so you can pick and choose a few for options for your students.

Examples of these include:

• Create a board game based on the novel, story, play, or historical time period. Students must be familiar with the characters, events, and theme in order to create an effective game. In addition, what is the goal or end result? How does a player "win"? These questions allow students to think differently about the text.

• Create eBay listings for items from the novel, story, play, or historical time period. This project has students look in-depth at the value of artifacts within the text, whether they are symbolic in meaning or imperative to the story.

• Write and record a parody from a scene from the novel, story, play, or historical time period. I love having my students do this after we've read/acted/watched The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. Their parodies are always entertaining and they get to show off their movie-making skills. This project requires larger groups and it's always apparent if someone in the group is not contributing.

• Create a comic book version of the novel, story, play, or historical time period. Depending on the time allowed, you may have to limit it to a section rather than the entire text, especially if it's a longer book. This gives those artistic students an outlet that still requires them to analyze the text for the most important scenes and visualize them.

• Write a poem based on a scene from the novel, story, play, or historical time period. Usually, students will focus on an emotional aspect or theme that resonated with them as they write.

Although these are only a few choices I offer students, you can create your own list for your students with requirements. My pack includes the requirements for each and grading rubrics (all editable).

Grading: While the written test over the unit already covered some areas, I use these creative assessments to determine how well they connected with the text and grasped the overall themes. I usually give students the requirements for completion and a grading rubric for different areas I want to assess. (Such as quality of information, relation to the text, originality, planning, time management, neatness, etc.)

ADDITIONAL IDEAS
For additional ideas on incorporating and encouraging creativity in your classroom, take a listen Betsy Potash's podcast on her Now Spark Creativity blog 045: Memes, Interactive Notebooks, and YA with Tracee Orman. We discuss different ways to foster creative thinking with your students.


What are ways you encourage creativity in your classroom? Comment below to share.

Using Building Blocks in the Secondary Classroom

Several years ago a group of boys approached me and asked if they could recreate scenes from the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee using LEGO™building blocks for their culminating project. This option was not on my original list of projects. 

After determining that they were serious (and not just trying to get out of doing actual work), I caved and let them. And what I observed during the process was unexpected and simply marvelous. While I hoped The boys were constantly referring back to the novel to try to get the details correct. One argument was what color was Atticus's hair. They searched and searched until they found the passage in chapter 15 where Scout contrasts Jem's features with "...Atticus's graying black hair..." (Lee 203). Then they had the problem of not having black or gray hair. One boy suggested to just put a hat on him. "Atticus would never wear a hat!" another argued. I have to admit I enjoyed listening to them argue about these little details, referring back to the text, and deciding how to resolve these problems. (They went with blond for Atticus--see in the image above--making sure to tell me it was supposed to be gray.)

Above, Mr. Avery falling off Miss Maudie's roof in chapter 8 of To Kill a Mockingbird.

What I realized, though, was that this was not only a lesson in finding supporting evidence from the text, but a lesson in negotiating, communicating, and compromising with one another. And let's not forget the creativity involved. A year later when I tried this with small groups, we had the dilemma of having "people" who just didn't seem to work with our novel:

The way the students adapted the figures into the story was priceless:

Student A: Mrs. Orman, where are Spongebob's legs?
Me: I have no idea. Gone, I guess.
Student B: Well, he'll have to be Dill. You know, because he's so short.
Student A: And blond.
Student B: Perfect.

* * *

Student C: Darth Vader is obviously Bob Ewell.
Student D: Obviously.
Student C: So who will Boo be? 
Student D: Are you kidding? Boo is a Ninja. He was always a Ninja. I can't believe we are having this conversation.

* * *

Student E: Why is Tom a Stormtrooper?
Student F: Because his face is black.
Student E: That is so racist.
Student F: How is that racist when it's just a fact?
Student E: Because you are white, Dude. You can't say things like that. And because we have this thing here missing an arm. That's clearly Tom. 
Student F: Now who's being racist?!
Student E: Dude, that's not racist.
Student G (from another group, yelling across the room): There's more to people than just their looks, Guys!  
Student E: Ok, well Stormtroopers are evil and Tom's the innocent one here.
Student F: What about Finn? He's good and he was a Stormtrooper. 
Student E: But Tom didn't start evil and turn good. Tom was always a good man.
Student F: Fine. Tom will be the brown robot with one arm. But what if this thing is just as bad as a Stormtrooper? We know nothing about this robot. 
Student E: He was a caring robot who lived his life helping others. I already created a whole backstory for him...

* * *
I actually prefer using figures who may not fit the mold in order to push students to think more critically and creatively about the characters.

"Boo is a Ninja. He was always a Ninja..."

PREPARING FOR THE ACTIVITY

Before trying this in class, make sure you are prepared with enough building blocks for students (this was the first challenge the group faced). One boy in the group brought in a small box that they thought would be sufficient; unfortunately, the pieces were designed to build vehicles rather than structures. The next day they brought in a five-gallon tub full, which was more than sufficient.

Below is an example of how many blocks it may take to build a simple scene outside a jail cell. Keep in mind that the structures do not have to be complete (only two sides of this jail cell are finished):

  
Here are some other examples requiring a few more blocks:

If your students cannot bring in their own building blocks, they can be purchased at your local superstore. I recommend getting a kit that has windows and doors, as those features seem to work with many scenes from different stories. If you don't want to spend a lot (because they ARE expensive!), you can often find them at garage sales or even on eBay. You can also ask your colleagues if you can borrow some--chances are many of them have some at home. 

IMPLEMENTING THE ACTIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM
You'll want to determine the skills you wish students to practice. The more you ask of them, the longer they will need to practice them. 

GROUP PROJECT: 
The skills I wanted students to practice with the group project (2-3 class periods) included inferring and interpreting scenes from the novel and creating a visual representation of the inferences. I also wanted them to communicate in writing a summary of the project.
  
I required the group of four boys to show me four different scenes from the book and explain (both orally and in writing) why they chose the scenes, which details they wanted to make sure they included in each, why those details were important, and the problems they encountered and how they resolved them within the group. Each member took on the responsibility for writing about one of the scenes but, for the most part, they all had a hand in building all four scenes. The group had three class periods to complete the project. 

END-OF-THE-CHAPTER or EXIT ACTIVITY: 
For a shorter activity (10-20 minutes), the skills I wanted students to practice were similar: inferring and interpreting scenes from the chapter and creating a visual representation based on the inferences. 

Students split into small groups and each group got a little pile of blocks (enough to build at least one or two walls) and two figures. I asked each group to select a scene to reenact from the chapter we had just completed reading in class. If they wanted more blocks, they had to answer a question from the novel (from any of the previous chapters) to earn more blocks or props. Some students negotiated with students from other groups to trade blocks, which was fine with me. At the end of the period, I did not allow them to save their work because I had to reuse the blocks for the next class period. I recommend taking pictures of them, though, that you can display after every class period/section has completed the exercise.

If you wish to incorporate the writing component, you could use it as a bell-ringer the following day. Ask students to reflect on the previous day's activity and write why they chose the scene, which details they made sure to include, and problems they may have faced and how their group rectified them.

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR ANY BOOK
If you like this idea, I have plenty more in my pack: Creative Activities for ANY Book or Story. They are all aligned with the Common Core State Standards, so you don't have to feel guilty for incorporating more creativity into your classroom.  

The following pictures are additional examples from To Kill a Mockingbird. Can you identify the scene?

* The scene depicted is from chapter 4 when the children are acting out the "Boo Radley" game. It's a combination of when Miss Maudie sees them--the screwdriver is her hedge clippers--and when the children are acting out "Chapter XXV, Book II of One Man's Family" and Atticus sees them (Lee 53).


Work cited:
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. 1960. Hachette Book Group, 2010.

Ring in the New Year with a Growth Mindset: Activities for Teenagers

When you return from break this year, take a moment to allow your students to reflect on the things they've already accomplished and look to what they hope to achieve the remainder of the school year. These activities can promote a growth (rather than fixed) mindset for students.

Self-reflection builds self-awareness--an integral component in developing emotional intelligence. My activities challenge students to really think deeply and stretch their minds. For example, one activity makes them come up with 20 things they do well. This is a perfect activity for developing a growth mindset. Even though coming up with 20 things is tough for a teenager, the exercise helps them not only reflect on their own skills and traits but builds self-esteem.

While developing a growth mindset is important, it's also essential to promote creative thinking in your classroom. Start the new year with some simple prompts that challenge your students to think differently. My activities include an acrostic poem using numbers rather than letters. That added difficulty pushes your students' critical-thinking skills.

Another activity adds a fun scavenger hunt (who doesn't like scavenger hunts?) and allows students to create their own. This can get your students moving around the room (and perhaps the school, at your discretion), promoting physical activity in the classroom while improving student performance.

I've also included a reading comprehension activity using the song lyrics to Auld Lang Syne. The creative component of that activity challenges students to write their own New Year-themed song lyrics.

Of course, I did not forget to include the old standby writing prompt, which asks students to think about how their new year resolutions (I define "resolutions" for them within the prompt).

All of my activities include both traditional "print & go" pages and interactive notebook foldable activities.   

The "2018" short prompts make a great bulletin board, classroom, and/or hallway display.

Administrators love to see students visually display a growth mindset and students love reading one another's goals and things they are looking forward to in the new year. I include blank ones so you can have your students decorate them with their Top 20 list if you wish.

Displaying your student's work gives them a daily reminder of the things they hope to improve, achieve, and look forward to throughout the year. I usually take them down after a month or so but at the end of the year I pass them back and ask students to reflect on whether they achieved what they hoped they would. It's another way to reinforce self-reflection and build emotional intelligence.

You can find all of these activities in ONE download (which is updated yearly, so it's a huge bargain!) here: