Creativity

A Lunar Survival Mission

A favorite of mine! This task is delightfully complex and ambiguous, forcing students to make choices without enough information and with no right answer. How will they survive on the moon for three days?

SCAMPER: Scaffolding Creativity

Asking students to "think creatively" won't get you far. They won't know how to start, they'll get stuck with simple ideas, or they'll just go completely wild. SCAMPER is a tool for scaffolding the process of creativity.

Building Creative Analogies

We'll take two seemingly unrelated pieces of content (say volcanoes and the human body) and then build analogies to connect the two ideas. In the end, students can create a skit, comic, or story relating the two concepts.

Educational Valentines

Let's make valentines with an educational twist!

New Uses for a Paperclip

So what are some new ways to use a paperclip?

Squiggles Introduction

What do you see in this squiggle?

Back to School: Rewriting The Beatles’ “Help!”

Can your students come up with a one-syllable word to sum up their time away from school? And then rewrite The Beatles' song Help!?

Squiggles Collection 1

Students start with the same squiggle and then draw on it, turning it into whatever they think it might be.

New Uses For A Pencil

So, what can a pencil be used for other than writing and drawing?

New Uses For A Cardboard Tube

So, what can a cardboard tube be used for other than holding wrapping paper?

Squiggles Collection 2

Students start with the same squiggle and then draw on it, turning it into whatever they think it might be.

New Uses For A Chair

So, what can a chair be used for other than, you know, sitting in?

New Uses For An Aluminum Can

So, what CAN a CAN be used for other than storing liquids?

What If… No Sleep?

What would the consequences be if no one had to sleep anymore?

Squiggles Collection 3

Students start with the same squiggle and then draw on it, turning it into whatever they think it might be.

What If… Unreliable Water?

What would the consequences be if a town's tap water became… unreliable?

What If… Long Life?

What would the consequences be if all people lived much, much longer?