Clik here to view.
Sparking Student Creativity
If you are looking for a practical resource for adding some “sparks” of creativity to your curriculum planning, ASCD has a resource that may help. Patti Drapeau’s Sparking Student Creativity is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Curiosity Conversations: Curiouser and Curiouser
Brian Grazer, producer of such movies as Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and Friday Night Lights, is on mission. He wants to promote curiosity. He is passionate about it. And from that passion comes a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Runway of Dreams, and Inspiration
If you were a parent whose child asked to wear jeans to school on “Jeans Day,” what would you say? No problem, right? What if that child had a disability that meant he could not put jeans on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Inventors Challenge!
It’s a new year and a new time for thinking creatively about our world. And just in time to get us started, the Imagination Foundation has teamed with AT&T Aspire to sponsor the 2017 Inventor’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Inventor’s Challenge: Cure Those January Blues
I can’t decide if I should begin, “Oh my, is January half over?” or “Really? Is January only half over?” It seems the time since the all-too-short holidays has flown by, but I’m already pretty tired of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Discussing Like a Historian–Or a Scientist, or a Scholar
Last week I wrote about my hope that helping students see the variety of historical perspectives—and the conflicts that ensued—might allow them to more readily navigate today’s often-gridlocked...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Star Wars at the DIA: Learn You Will, Part 1
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is hosting a wonderful exhibit of Star Wars costumes. For anyone who has enjoyed the movies, the chance to see the original costumes is a treat. Unlike theater...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Star Wars at the DIA: Learn You Will, Part 2
As I said last post, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is hosting an amazing exhibit of Star Wars costumes. I went to the exhibit to see costumes, but I found myself enjoying lessons in creativity...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Curious Are You? Do Your Students Know?
How do your students think about you? How would they describe you? In the case of younger students, the ways they think about their teachers can be a bit of a mystery, and often amusement. I remember...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Innovate with the Innovators!
The year 2020 will be known for many things, but one of them certainly will be innovation. All of us have had to flex in ways we never expected. Individuals, businesses, and organizations of all sorts...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jarrett Lerner to the Rescue
Want to make a comic book? Create a character? Play a scribble game? Do you really really need some summer fun when activities are closed? Author/illustrator Jarrett Lerner has your back. Lerner,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Inventors’ Challenge: Have Some Creative Productive Fun!
If there is one thing teachers and parents could use about right now it is something new, something productive, something that kids will enjoy, right? As a bonus, how about something that can teach a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lotus Blossoms for Brainstorming
I’ve used a lot of brainstorming techniques, but here’s a new one I’m anxious to try. It is called the Locus Blossom Creative Technique and was developed by Yasuo Matsumura. The technique uses a grid...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Power of Curiosity
I love it when I find a website that really makes me think. I did that this week, with the site for the Global Oneness Project. The Global Oneness Project says its goal is to “to plant seeds of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Creating a Sonnet
I finished writing a sonnet today. In French. I make no claim that it was a good sonnet. In fact, when explaining it, I labeled it ”A sonnet that wasn’t a real sonnet,” since the patterns of rhymes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Chalk Art Handbook: Chalk Art for All of Us
David Zinn is an Ann Arbor treasure. I’ve written before about the seeming magic of his chalk art, in which fantastical creatures briefly appear in the nooks and crannies of the city, only to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Story of AND
I’ve always loved picture books, and I read them to anyone from visiting preschoolers to graduate students. I also love folk music and, in particular, the Midwest’s own Carrie Newcomer. This week I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Creativity: Facts or Myths?
“Creativity comes from the right side of the brain.” “Children are more creativity than adults.” “Creativity happens primarily in art.” “Only a few rare geniuses are really creative.” Not true. None...
View ArticleClik here to view.
AAPI Youth Rising: Creative Problem Solvers
At its best, creativity allows individuals to pursue new ideas, express themselves, and explore problems that are important to them. This month I read about a group of middle school students who did...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Imaginary Worlds?
Ever since I was young, I have loved inventing new worlds. I have quite vivid memories of sailing into space in a rocket constructed among the clothes in my closet, visiting planets unlike those...
View Article