I will never forget the time two students approached me after a unit test on classical short stories. 鈥淲e made something we want to show you,鈥� one of the students eagerly blurted out.
To my surprise, the students had spent their weekend creating a video parody of Edgar Allan Poe鈥檚 classic poem 鈥楾he Raven.鈥� I asked the girls why they had made the video. There was no assignment. No extra credit opportunity. It wasn鈥檛 even a long weekend.
鈥淲e were bored,鈥� replied one girl.
鈥淚t was fun,鈥� added the other.
In almost complete unison, they concluded, 鈥淲e liked 鈥楾he Raven.鈥� 鈥�
This moment reminded me just how important creativity is to the learning process. Especially in a climate of frequent, high-stakes testing, creativity gives students the freedom and encouragement to explore complex topics and analyze intricate details.
Over the last 10 years, the role of creativity in education has been receiving more and more attention. Sir Ken Robinson鈥檚 famous TED Talk鈥斺�攈as over 12 million views. Education Week has published a plethora of articles on creativity, from Nathan Sun-Kleinberger鈥檚 essay 鈥淩estoring Creativity in the High School Classroom鈥� to opinion blogger Larry Ferlazzo鈥檚 column, Even assessment companies such as the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) are publishing
Many elementary school students have benefited from current educational trends such as and , also known as PBL. However, by the time students reach middle school, there tends to be a sharp decrease in creativity-based lessons.
Don鈥檛 fall into the trap of focusing so much on the standards that you forget about the teaching process. The first step toward helping students master standards is in the lesson-planning stages. Try one of the five strategies below to bring creativity back to your classroom, increase engagement, and improve students鈥� understanding.
1. Music
Try teaching concepts through music鈥攖here are so many options out there you don鈥檛 even have to stress about coming up with lyrics. Find by searching online with general phrases such as 鈥済rammar songs鈥� and 鈥渕ath songs,鈥� or find specific content-related videos by searching for 鈥渘oun songs鈥� or 鈥渇raction songs.鈥�
Look for education companies that have recorded complete music albums you can purchase, such as , or try using free music videos posted on . My students love listening and watching , and one year I mixed up grammar instruction by having students create their own lyrics and music videos.
2. Social Interaction
Find ways for students to interact with one another, whether through partners or in small-group activities. are great for getting students to interact and move around the classroom. I鈥檝e found inside/outside circles, jig saws, and traveler to be my students鈥� favorite lesson structures.
Reviewing key concepts has never been more interactive than when my class is having a tea party (with water) or a paper snowball fight. To host a tea party of your own, set a timer for students to walk around with their 鈥渢ea鈥� and mingle. When the buzzer rings, ask students to stand next to a new partner and discuss questions that include different vocabulary words. To stage a snowball fight, pose a question and ask students to write their answers down on paper. At your signal, they should crumble the paper and throw it to the front of the room. When you give them the OK, students rush to pick up a 鈥渟nowball鈥� and respond through writing on the snowball to the last student鈥檚 answer, or to a new question from the teacher.
Don鈥檛 forget that social interaction with adults is equally important. How are you as the teacher making yourself available to students? Feedback and support encourage students to take risks and be honest about their challenges with you.
3. Technology
Our students only know a world full of cellphones, tablets, and 24-hour access to information. To embrace technology in the classroom, ask students to create , , , , , or another digital project to demonstrate their learning.
Thinglink, for example, offers a platform for students to link any digital information to a single graphic. Using this technology, students could demonstrate their understanding of a fictional character by linking to a wordle highlighting character traits, a digital presentation explaining how a character is developed, or an avatar speaking the most important quote from the book鈥攖he possibilities are endless. If you are already using technology like Thinglink in your classroom, then push yourself further by or using .
4. Hands-on Learning
While technology offers a wide range of creative options for students and teachers, going 鈥渙ld school鈥� every once in a while gives students the ability to express themselves using multiple intelligences not always acknowledged in the upper grades.
Instead of asking students to fill out a worksheet, have them create a visual representation of a concept they are learning. Pass out random objects found in the classroom and task students with creating a simile or metaphor using the object and a key concept from class. Then, have them present and justify the simile or metaphor to the rest of the class.
5. Choice
The number one way to bring creativity back to the middle grades is by giving students choice. Encourage students to learn and grow in the way that best fits their personality and learning style. Along the way, they will not only strengthen their academic skills, but will become more engaged in what they are learning because they have ownership of it.
Try assigning a 鈥渄inner menu鈥� of questions or tasks. Break the assignment into appetizers, entrees, and desserts, with desserts being the most difficult questions and/or tasks. Then, assign a specific quota for each section, thus providing students with choice, but still holding them accountable for all of the assignment.
By providing students with choices, teachers have an opportunity to bring all five of the creative elements into play. Tic-Tac-Toe choice boards, for example, require students to complete three activities in a row of their choosing. This is the perfect time to integrate multiple creative elements. One task may focus on music, another may require students to build or design something, and the third task could incorporate technology.
Any teacher can bring creativity into the middle-school classroom with this type of activity鈥攊t just requires intentionality, flexibility, and planning.
