All AboutCreativity

From Dull To Creative With One Simple Trick

To me, the ultimate goal in crafting a differentiated task is something that: Scales easily, whether for students who struggle with the content or those who are experts. (Read low floor, high ceiling for more explanation) Requires little teacher prep (of course). Works across many grade-levels and content areas. Students do lots of thinking (and […]

Highlighting the Messy Process Behind Beautiful Products

We’re very aware of our own messy processes, but end up comparing that with other people’s beautiful, final products. It’s a sure path to impostor syndrome, thinking you’re the only one who struggles to create.

21st Century Careers

I’ve been speaking recently about a topic dear to my heart: the exciting, 21st careers that await our students. But it’s easy to get caught up in what I call The Three Step Story: Get good grades Go to a good college Get a good job I wrote about this in Success Isn’t A Straight […]

Review: Creativity For Everybody

My friend Kathryn Haydon recently released a book called Creativity For Everybody. It’s a very quick read and a nice overview of creativity. My favorite qualities of this book are: Each pair of pages stand on their own. You can flip anywhere and read the idea without being lost. In fact, the authors expressly encourage […]

Creative Coloring Books

I recently took a trip to New York and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. In the gift shop they had a series of fantastic coloring books based on famous artists, including: Dali, Van Gogh, and Monet.

Start A Lesson With A Music Video

I love collecting intriguing images and videos – things that stop me in my tracks and pique my curiosity. I always figure that if it fascinates me, students would probably be interested also. Often, these visuals work as wonderful hooks for a lesson you need to teach.

Ambiguous Sentences

This type of sentence has great possibilities for classroom application because of its two different interpretations. It’s a perfect tool to: demonstrate careful reading, showcase the need for editing while writing, and encourage creativity and divergent thinking.

Creative Math Warmups

Creativity and math may seem completely incompatible. Math is when students follow predefined steps to arrive at an exact answer! Here are four ideas for quick math warmups that encourage students to use divergent, creative thinking.

An Image for Divergent Thinking Practice

I think this is an interesting way to practice our students’ divergent thinking skills. What else could this trash can’s icon represent?