Many teachers who work with gifted students or teach STEM programs are familiar with the brainstorming strategy S.C.A.M.P.E.R. If you have not taught it or used it with your students, there is a very good explanation here and here is an introductory slide show you can use to introduce the strategy to your elementary students.
My students have fun using the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. technique to innovate and create, and sometimes their imaginations go wild, especially in kindergarten through second grade! However, I’ve always wanted to design some activities that would help students appreciate the power of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. strategy, explore it in different ways, and include some content about innovation over time.
These sample activities from the advanced K-2 mini-unit are all about creativity with numbers. The lessons in the mini-unit include problem-solving and puzzles that result from substituting and rearranging numbers, a discussion of why number symbols were invented and why, as well as opportunities for students to practice the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. technique.
The complete mini-unit ($4) is available here. Because it took a while to create, I added it to my TPT store. It includes several additional activities and a teacher guide with extensions and links to additional resources.
If you are aware of any other resources or TPT products that highlight the power of S.C.A.M.P.E.R., especially those designed for use with 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students, please leave a comment below to share with subscribers and readers! And if you personally have some in your TPT store, please consider submitting them to be added to our list of resources! I hope to add more to my store.
Also, if you use the free sample activities or mini-unit with your students, please take a moment to send me a MESSAGE about your experience or leave a comment below!
This is a great activity to use with all elementary grades. I used it with my 5th graders today as a review of SCAMPER. In the last 5 minutes kids did a quick draw of a chair using one or more SCAMPER “areas.” We had some flying chairs, one with a back massager, a snail chair to lounge on and a book chair with a backpack for the back and books for the seat and legs. Lots of fun.
Mel, that is awesome! I love how imaginative kids can be! I’d like to order one with a back massager, please! I’m glad you were able to use the slide show. 🙂
This was amazing! I had just introduced SCAMPER with my 2nd and 3rd graders so it was a great way to go over it and show examples! The students loved the slideshow and had great ideas! We then SCAMPERed other items. So much fun!
I’m so glad your students enjoyed the slides, Dawn! Thanks for taking the time to comment here!