| This post reflects what teachers needed in 2020, during the time of our worldwide pandemic. The links below are all still active as of 9/2024 and there are some great ideas! |
Have you noticed that creativity is playing a major role in how people are handling this pandemic? I am so inspired by people everywhere coming up with inventive ways to help others and find joy in the midst of a crisis!
Also very inspiring are the creative ways that educators are responding to the needs of students during this time. GT teachers are aware of how sensitive students can be when it comes to crises, especially global ones, and are designing some very creative challenges that get students moving, thinking, and imagining!
Establishing a purpose and an authentic audience brings meaning to the creative process and often takes the work to a higher level, as discussed in this article. It can be anything from writing a poem to creating a puzzle to creating a space or an event, but students will benefit from having an end in mind, a goal, or a way to share or present, and differentiation becomes a natural part of the whole messy process. I’ve always learned so much about my students’ thinking, gifts, and interests when I’ve challenged them to create original products (see “Kid-Created” posts).
AUTHENTIC AUDIENCES:
Creating a product or event for an authentic audience automatically infuses enthusiasm, purpose, and a deadline. Students become producers with a common goal, and the more ownership they have in the creation, the better. Creative strategies can intentionally be incorporated into the process, and students’ contributions can reflect what personally excites them. Authentic audiences include classmates, schoolmates, the community, or the world (via Twitter, Padlet, class blogging, Zoom, publications, etc.)!
Hutch magazine invites students to submit art, stories, poems, and photography. This one-minute video is a great example of how students incorporate their unique interests and talents as they approach a creative challenge:
Other magazines that accept submissions from students:
- Stone Soup
- Illustoria (art)
- Ember (writing from students 10-18 yrs.)
- Balloons Literary Journal (writing from students, 12+)
CREATIVE CHALLENGE IDEAS:
DIY.org Challenges – An obvious one, but a goodie! The link will take you to FEATURED challenges, but the menu allows you to select by SKILL and there are dozens of ways to modify these to suit your students.
Some organizations periodically offer creativity challenges, such as the Children’s Creativity Museum did during the 2020 pandemic.
Jarrett Lerner’s Activity Page – Jarrett Lerner, author of EngiNerds, Revenge of the EngiNerds, and author-illustrator of the Hunger Heroes graphic novel series, offers 200+ activity sheets that, at first glance, seem to center around learning to draw and hand-letter. But look again! Lerner says “the philosophy informing the creation of these sheets is “low walls; high ceilings”—meaning kids of all kinds can engage with them, and take them to all kinds of places.
NASA STEM @ Home for Students Grades K-4 – Creative design-build-and test activities that include creating an edible spacecraft.
What creative pursuits have you enjoyed with your students? Please share by commenting below. Better yet, describe it in more detail through a guest blog post!