The Top Ten Tips Things You Should Know About a Creative Classroom 10. Realize that creativity can be learned and developed. Time and time again, I have heard teachers comment that they are incapable of engaging students in creative lessons because the teachers themselves do not believe they are creative. If this applies to you, practice trying to think more creatively, and you will be surprised with the results. As you read through the following tips, you will find ways to implement creative thinking in a variety of ways; you will also learn about common mistakes teachers frequently make when trying to add creativity to their lessons. If you make a commitment to practice creativity, your thought processes (as well as those of your students) will be affected. As a student, I was the type of learner who wanted everything to be precise and correct— I hated open-ended assignments because I wasn‟t sure I‟d have the “right” answer. I was a good student, but no one ever referred to me as a creative thinker. It was not until I was two or three years into my teaching career that I began to evolve. I was actually inspired by students—I had such admiration for those who thought in new or different ways; I wanted to be more like them and to encourage others to see the value of their talents as well. I set off in a quest to be creative— and yes, I did it methodically like any precise, Type A personality would do. An amazing thing happened: it worked. Ask any ten teachers who know me three words to describe me, and one word will always be in the list: creative. 9. Focus on the curricular objectives first. Mention creativity around a group of teachers, and the conversation almost immediately turns to test scores and accountability. How can one have time for creativity when test scores drive so much of what we do? To me, the answer is simple: ‧ Students are tested to see if they have learned the curriculum. ‧ Creative activities enable students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the curriculum. ‧ Therefore, carefully planned, creative activities actually help students to learn the curriculum at a much deeper, meaningful level. The content is truly learned, not just memorized briefly and then forgotten the next day. (How many times have you taught the kids something that they completely forgot the following month?) So… here is the bold statement: creative teaching and thinking can actually lead to higher test scores. I believe it. I‟ve seen it in my classroom. Just remember, the key is careful planning. Do not spend time on creative activities that are in no way linked to your curricular objectives. You must keep the curriculum standards as your goal, no matter what the lesson. 8. Embrace the effectiveness of teaching lessons with the Multiple Intelligences, different learning styles, and the components of brain-compatible learning. If you have not read research on all of the above, start immediately. We know more now than ever about the way the human mind works, and as educators, we need to capitalize on that knowledge. Below are some simple, clever ways to start: Music: Write songs about academic content to help students remember it better. Don‟t think you can do it? I didn‟t either until I tried. In my classroom, we sing about prepositions to Avril Levigne, commas to Smashmouth, pronouns to Shania Twain, and verb conjugation
to „N Sync. Grammar rules can be dull, but singing about them helps students remember them long after the lesson is over. Besides, my kids love it. My songs led me to collaborate on a CD with Ron Clark that is available on this website. Together we created educational rap songs that are kid-approved and educationally sound. The CD also contains lesson plans that can easily be implemented in your classroom. If you‟ve never added music to your lessons, the CD is a great way to get started. Board games: An easy way to teach skill and drill more creatively is to use a board game format. I have several different generic game boards that are laminated and ready to use at a moment‟s notice. I keep a box full of dice and spinners as well. Simply take a worksheet and give it to each group of students. Ask the students to complete the number they roll or spin, and if they are correct, they advance on the game board. Another way to use these is to give students a key with six different categories. When the student rolls, he/she must do the task that corresponds to the number rolled. For example, when working on verbs, the categories could be as follows: Roll 1 Write a sentence in the present tense. 2 Write a sentence in the past tense. 3 Write a sentence in the future tense. 4 Write a sentence in the past perfect tense. 5 Write a sentence in the present perfect tense. 6 Write a sentence in the future perfect tense. The options for games are endless—try to think of creative ways to implement them in your classroom. If done well, you students will practice reviewing the content while learning to work cooperatively at the same time. Multiple Intelligences Learning Centers/Stations: For some reason, we often move away from learning centers as students get older, but I believe that well-planned learning centers are a great way to foster creativity and emphasize the Multiple Intelligences. Here is an example of learning centers that I use for teaching poetry: Station #1: Students listen to CD‟s of nature sounds and write sensory poems. Station #2 Students create greeting cards that contain poems. Station #3 Students listen to a sound effect CD and write poetry that contains onomatopoeia. Station #4 Students learn about meter and read poetry to the beat of a metronome. Station #5 Students draw illustrations that depict their interpretations of a poem. Station #6 Students write poetry using magnetic words on cookie sheets. Station #7 Students write concrete poetry. How could this work with a subject like science? Pretend you are studying weather. Your stations could be as follows: Station #1 Students watch videos about weather phenomenon and take notes on graphic organizers. Station #2 Students write and videotape a television weather report, complete with weather maps. Station #3 Students write a newspaper story about an incident involving severe
weather. Station #4 Students create a brochure about weather safety. Station #5 Students create a children‟s picture/storybook that explains weather facts in simple language. What about social studies? Here are ways one could teach about the Civil Rights Movement: Station #1 Students take notes on bookmarked Internet sites. Station #2 Students write poetry about illustrations that evoke strong emotions. Station #3 Students listen to music from the time period and write what the lyrics mean to them. Station #4 Students pretend they were present at an event, such as the March on Washington, and they write letters or journal entries about the experience. Station #5 Students read the “I Have a Dream Speech,” and illustrate it with a mind map or collage. Station #6 Students create venn diagrams that compare Martin Luther King and another great leader. Does teaching this way reinforce the content? Yes. Are students forced to demonstrate understanding of the curriculum? Absolutely. Do these activities foster creativity? Without a doubt. Try implementing this type of teaching, and you will see how students will be motivated and academically prepared. Once again, however, I must stress the importance of careful planning before implementing lessons like these. Students must know your guidelines and expectations; scoring rubrics are also a must if you want quality products from each and every student. There are unlimited other ways to add creative activities to each and every unit of study, but those listed above are just some ways to get started. When planning these activities, however, but sure that you… 7. Discern the difference between substance and fluff. There are many lessons that are taught under the guise of creativity that are in actuality nothing more than fluff. Just because an activity produces a colorful bulletin board display or is really fun, don‟t think it necessarily has substance. Ask yourself, “Does this activity help my students understand, interpret, analyze, evaluate, summarize, or synthesize the content in some way? Does it lead to higher order or creative thinking?” If your answer is along the lines of “No, but it will make really cute posters for others to see,” then you have fallen into the category of fluff. Understand me—great, creative lessons can produce fabulous displays and can definitely be fun, but they should also do far more. They should enhance your content objectives, not take away from meaningful academic time. 6. Promote creative thinking, but stress the importance of accuracy. There are times when open-ended assignments are the best way to help students fully explore topics, and alternate assessments should be a part of every single classroom. Projects, essays, dramatizations, art pieces, and other opportunities should be offered in addition to traditional tests to give all students the opportunity to demonstrate understanding in unique and creative ways. One word of caution: when offering alternative assessments, always stress the importance of content accuracy. For example, imagine that an artistic student in your class produced a beautiful masterpiece that depicted a scientific concept. The illustration
is colorful, neat, and visually appealing, but some of the content is incorrect. What do you do? You must place a higher weight on content accuracy. After all, remember #2? It is easy to avoid such situations if you give students scoring rubrics when the assignment is given, specifying the content criteria for the assignment. Help your students understand that you celebrate their creativity, but you also hold them accountable for the knowing the curriculum. 5. Strike a balance between variety and structure. Even the most creative classrooms should have established routines and structure. Without them, pandemonium will result. Without them, many of the learners will be lost in a sea of confusion. Without them, the teacher will lose her mind! Determine routines that will help your classroom procedures flow more efficiently. Establish a structured environment so that when the most creative lessons and activities occur, there is still order. The classrooms that I‟ve seen that strike this balance remind me of a symphony—they are something to behold! If you are one who is extremely creative and your creativity leads to disorder, you cannot use this as an excuse and let it affect your classroom. Poorly organized resources, fragmented lessons, student behavior problems—these will hinder even the most creative students. An environment must exist where students feel safe, relaxed, and organized before creative thinking can occur. 4. Know your research. When teaching a lesson, always be prepared to articulate why you are teaching it with the strategies you have chosen. Let‟s face it—if you are engaging your students in innovative lessons, there will be some who will question you. Some will say you are just playing. Others will accuse you of ignoring the curriculum. Still others will say your classroom is just plain loud. While there are some who may never understand your methods, there are others who simply need an explanation. Give it to them—you might even transform them in the process. In order to articulate your purpose, be well-read. Stay current on educational research. Take time to reflect on your teaching to make it better, and always ask yourself if your philosophy is being implemented in your classroom. In other words, do you teach the way you believe that you should be teaching based on what you know about meaningful instruction? 3. Do what is best for your students. Sounds obvious, right? Not necessarily. It takes a lot more effort to do what is best for our students. It is easier to teach the same way, day after day. It is easier to grade multiple-choice assignments and tests than alternative assessments. It is easier to turn to the next page in the textbook and ask the students to answer the questions. It is easier to keep students in straight rows and to require them to give simple, short answers. It is easier to laminate your lesson plans and use the same ones every year. It is easier to forget about creativity altogether. There is nothing wrong with traditional teaching methods and they have value, but they should not and cannot be the only things a teacher does in the classroom. Master teachers put the needs of their students first. They know that creative lessons require more planning, organization, and effort, yet they implement them because they know that they are beneficial for their students. No one ever said teaching would be simple! 2. Remember that teaching should be cooperative, not competitive.
Some of the best ideas I ever had were sparked from discussions/interactions with others. (And yes, like all teachers, I‟ve stolen some great ideas, too!) I have had the privilege of working with some very creative teachers who have encouraged me and supported even my most unusual ideas. Without collaboration, this can be a very lonely profession. I have also had the opportunity to work with numerous teachers in many schools. The most miserable, unhappy teachers I know are ones who work in competitive, not cooperative environments. It still appalls me when I hear of teachers who will not share ideas or work together. Even more appalling are those who complain about or attempt to sabotage those who are doing wonderful things. Teachers who are extraordinary should never feel pressure to be merely ordinary, yet this happens far too often. Petty jealousy can destroy a school. Great things occur when teachers see each other as incredible resources and allies. 1. Transform their world. I‟m often asked to share my favorite educational books. Without a doubt, ITI: Integrated, Thematic Instruction by Susan Kovalik is one of the books at the top of my list. This book focuses on how the brain works and ways to teach that will promote authentic learning. Kovalik discusses the benefit of real-world field trips and “being there” experiences (a favorite point of Mr. Clark as well). Kovalik then goes on to say that if you cannot take students to the beach, mountains, etc., immerse students in some other way—transform your classroom into the place itself. This is a very small part of the book, yet for some reason, it struck a chord with me. This idea has led to my greatest acts of creativity, and it has transformed the world for my students. Listed below are ways that I have integrated immersion into my classroom. I do not recommend that you try to do all of these at once; try one or two a year. And by all means, do not forget the other points I‟ve made about tying such things to the curriculum, providing structure, etc. Mount Olympus- During our study of mythology, I hang white sheets and columns around the room. Vines hang from the columns, and a fog machine provides a mystical atmosphere. Students dress in sheets (over their school clothes) as we reenact different myths. Students pose in tableaus that depict key scenes from the myths and we take pictures; these are later downloaded into PowerPoint presentations where students summarize the myths. Punctuatiano‟s—After learning rules of punctuation, my classroom is transformed into an Italian restaurant, complete with music, lights, menus (of rules) and checkered table cloths. Students actually use different shapes of pasta to punctuate paper place settings that contain sentences. (With older students, I create the House of Ing, a Chinese restaurant, to review gerunds.) I create a hospital emergency room to review parts of speech (we operate on Grammarians who have lost their parts of speech); we recite Shakespearean soliloquies at our version of the Globe Theatre; students write descriptive poetry when the room becomes a beach, and our descriptive writing fashion show has become well-known. My classroom has been a far away planet, a campsite, a rainforest, a colonial village, a poetry coffeehouse, a newsroom, and snow-capped mountains. Each and every time, the content was taught, reinforced, and most importantly, truly learned. Yes, I have a storage closet full of strange items—fog machines, strobe and black lights, sound effects, lots and lots of sheets, table cloths, tents, costumes, silk plants, wigs and
more. How do I get such items? Most are given to me by people who are cleaning out their closets—I just let people know that their trash is my treasure! My final advice: start with baby steps, but move forward. Make it a goal to step out on a limb at least once a semester. If you plan carefully, your creative lessons might be the most meaningful, memorable ones you teach all year long. Your kids deserve such experiences, and so do you. -Kim Stewart