Engaging in Creative Thought

Before I go on to post updates from our new unit of inquiry, I wanted to take a moment to write one last post about creativity. Throughout this unit we examined creativity through the lens of four components: fluency, flexibility, elaboration and originality. We examined each component thoroughly and used this vocabulary regularly throughout our days. We also were involved in a variety of learning engagements that encouraged us to grow in these four areas. Here are just a few of these engagements:

We used the iPad app "Story Wheel" to encourage us to elaborate upon our creative ideas. We found that as time progressed and our understanding of creative stories grew, we were able to come up with stories that were more appealing to our audience as they were full of details. We also looked at elaboration closely while making our 'Not A Box' creations, as described in a previous post.

We also examined the concept of originality. So many of our learning engagements dealt with expanding our understanding of this word, including our fiction stories from writers workshop. At first we noticed that many of our ideas were closely linked to stories we had heard before. As the unit progressed, however, our ideas were much more original. Please take a moment to look at these stories when we bring them home this week!
 

Fluency is another component of creative thinking that we examined throughout the unit. One fun game we played that focused on this concept was what we called "Don't Let it Pass!" This was adapted from a reflection game found on playmeo.com. In this game, a small group of students stood around a hoola hoop, holding it loosely in their hands. One portion of the hoola hoop was covered in tape. The hoola hoop was rotated by the group and each time a student's hands fell on the taped portion, s/he tried to give an answer to a predetermined question without letting the tape pass through his/her hands. The goal was also to not repeat an answer already given. In playing this game, we challenged ourselves to think fluently. Take a look at this game in action. As you can see, it was tricky at times!

Fluenct Thinking - KGM from AIS Dhaka on Vimeo.

The final component of creativity that we examined was flexibility (sorry, no picture of the poster!) Within this we looked at thinking from different view points and coming up with ideas in a variety of categories. Another game we loved involved a beach ball and questions that inspired creative thought. We sat in a circle and bounced the beach ball to one another. Each time the ball was caught, we looked at the color on which our thumbs landed and answered a question corresponding to that color. Take a look at this in action:

Flexible Thinking - KGM from AIS Dhaka on Vimeo.

Creative thinking will not end in our classroom simply because this unit of inquiry is over. We will continue to challenge ourselves to think creatively as this is a life-long skill that has proven to be important in future success. Please take time at home to play games with your child and engage in activities that encourage creative thought.