If you find yourself trying to motivate students and make them excited about learning something new, try activities that allow them to be creative. Don’t limit your students to just coloring and cutting pre-drawn pictures or merely pasting magazine pictures onto construction paper. These can all be fun activities for students, but sometimes they need something more. Instead, find ways for students to actually create something on their own. It may be their own city with buildings, farms, and residential areas. It might be a game for others to play. You’ll be amazed at how excited kids get when they find out their imagination will be let loose in one way or another. Below are some ideas to help your students create in the classroom.

Games

Have students create a game to teach a skill, practice vocabulary or spelling, or review facts. Students love creating board games that require rolling dice or spinning a spinner and moving around the board. Other fun games to create include mazes, word searches, and cross word puzzles. You might have students create a game that can be played outside, such as a relay, tag, or team type game. Don’t limit their creativity, but definitely offer guidelines. For example, with a board game you might expect a set of rules for game play and that at least ten facts/skills be practiced or reviewed by the game. You might also ask students to identify the skills/information to be learned through the game. I always emphasize the importance of every project being colorful, creative, and correct. You might bring in several educational board games and have students play them in small groups to see how this kind of game should operate. Students can then see sample rules as well.

An Ideal World

Have student groups create their ideal city, colony, country, biome, house, business, etc. to complement your unit of study. This type of creation helps students to see the whole picture of what they are studying rather than just the parts. It also helps them to think at higher levels as they adjust their plans for various problems introduced. Once students have created their ideal _____, present several different scenarios and have them determine what would happen as a result. What would change? What would stay the same? What would the ultimate outcome be for each scenario? Have students discuss the outcome and the meaning of this to their ideal _____. This is a wonderful activity that relates to the real world. As adults we are faced with changing circumstances on a daily basis. Various events affect us, our community, and the world around us. We must adapt to cope with these changes and then live with the consequences. Be sure to have this discussion with students.

An Object or Creature

Depending on what you are studying, have students show what they’ve learned through creating an object or creature. For example, if studying biomes, you might have students create a creature that could adapt in a certain ecosystem. Students would then show adaptations, food cycle, and other traits of the creature that also show knowledge about that particular ecosystem. If you have been studying certain shapes or physical properties, students might create an object that conforms to these properties. What is it’s use/purpose? You might have students invent something to solve a problem posed to them based on your unit of study.

Problem Solving

Pose a scenario or problem to student groups and have each work together to develop a solution. This is a different type of creation, but one that is equally as motivating, especially if you plan to publish the findings/results of each group. Try to make your scenarios/problem as close to home as you can so that students see the relevance of it to their lives. For example, in a middle or high school math, economics, or business class, you might pose the scenario/problem of saving for a car without having a steady job. Many students will see this as a pertinent problem they will be facing soon and will be motivated to work with others in creating solutions.

Modifying for various ages

Depending on what age/grade you teach, you’ll want to modify these. Of course the younger students will need far more simple requirements than older students. Your creative activity should meet the objectives laid out for your grade level and/or course. Don’t require a kindergarten or first grade student to create an animal and show five adaptations to its environment. That is more appropriate for a fifth grade student. Instead, you might have students create an animal; tell where it would live and why. (Ex: a small rodent type animal – lives in the forest – because it needs the trees and bushes to hide)

These are just a few ideas for creating in the classroom. Do you have other ideas you’d like to share with the group? If so, please email me and I’ll put them in our next newsletter! Or, go to the Inspiring Teachers facebook page and share your ideas on our wall! Networking and sharing ideas with each other is the greatest resource we have available, so please share with us and let us pass on the great ideas to others! We all want to have inspiring classrooms and be inspiring teachers!