CATCH MY WORDS to find help with teaching strategies, resources, or to enjoy a laugh or music. Blog connected to Catch My Products, the gifted department store with resources for K - 12.
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LAST DAY.... We are thankful for teachers! A group of thankful teacher-authors have come together to help one lucky school employee or homeschool parent win...
💚 a $400 Teachers Pay Teachers OR an Amazon gift card. Yes, you read that right! You choose!
Today, is Friday, so you can find a lot of freebies on Teachers Pay Teachers! I'm focused on free reading passages. Just go to TpT and search #fridayfreebie3!
Because we are thankful for teachers, several Teachers Pay Teachers sellers and myself have gathered together to offer an amazing contest. Just think of all you can buy for your classroom with $400!
Please clip on the link provided and enter this fabulous contest, today!
Not only is creativity a part of most gifted programs but also creativity can be taught. The best way to teach creativity is to give kids prompts and have them solve these creatively.
For example: What if everyone is asked to pose multiple ideas for the design a coffee cup and the best creative thinker wins!
The $1,000,000 Question is, "What makes a specific coffee cup the best?" The answer guides students in the creative process.
A. Originality - To receive the most points, students should come up with ideas that no one else has ever thought of. If more than one person has the same idea, maybe it's not so unique.
B. Flexibility - How different are student ideas? You could mention having a golden retriever on the cup for one idea. If your next idea is to place a labrador retriever on the cup, is that a different idea or the same idea with a slight tweak? Flexibility means that your students should devise ideas unlike their previous ones.
C. Fluency - How many unique ideas can each student think of? The more ideas the better. This is a numbers game that relates to flexibility because if the ideas are not new and different, who cares how many they come up with?
D. Elaboration - This is the skill of going into details about a given idea. For example, I would draw a picture of a bright red golden retriever retrieving a coffee cup with another golden retriever on it. Both retrievers would be wearing green Santa coats and hats with dog bones where white fur would usually be. Is this enough detail to picture the cup in your mind? Is this idea original? If so, award points.
With these guidelines, students are ready to engage in a creative activity. You might want to put a time limit on the students brainstorming ideas and then have them go back to revise these before sharing with the class.
You will also receive a FREE No Prep Problem Solving Pack!
Now for Music
Since my post was on creativity, I'm posting creative songs for this Monday Music Moves Me blog hop
First up is an oldie with a new twist. Watch Crazy Frog in "Popcorn" by Gershon Kingsley. This song was written in the early days of the Moog Synthesizer.
Next up is a strangely unique song, "Blue" by Eiffel 65
Finally, how could a post of original songs not be complete without the classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen?
