Put together by Shetland-Kat

Creativity, creative teaching and a creative curriculum are phrases and words which we are hearing often. But, when I as ed on the !"S forum #So how do you now what you are doing is creative$% it proved to be a hard &uestion but one that got a lot of discussion flowing'
http())www.tes.co.u )section)staffroom)thread.asp*$story+id,-./01.23path,)Primary)3threadPage,3messagePage,2

I thin for me, one of the ey things about a creative curriculum is that through being creative in our teaching and through the activities we do to show the children%s learning we are encouraging the children to

#learn how to learn%.

4!he principle goal of education is to create people who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done - people who are creative, inventive, discoverers.4 Piaget.

5hat is creativity and can you inspire it in others$

to create something is to ma e something yourself 6 7ndrew 8effrey you can inspire creativity in others, but only if they are open to it, and if they are able to ta e a nugget of an idea and ma e it their own. - Brownbear

5hat inds of things can I do to ma e my lessons more creative$

I provide the children with a little info, then 9ust ta e a step bac , let them find their own way :with perhaps a litttle guidance; and see what happens.... Im rarely let down.

Put together by Shetland-Kat By finding their own way, they often get to choose how to show their learning, what they are going to find out or how they are going to do that. !hey then find their own way to their learning.

7ll too often we feel that we must have things written in 9otters, wor sheets completed and so on to #show% the children%s learning. !his type of wor is often uninspiring and perhaps doesn%t necessarily show real learning. If you want to be more creative in your teaching and the children%s learning it is important to #let go% of that, be more free and allow the children to be more free. 7 digital camera is very handy for recording wor and to have as evidence of the learning that has ta en place. <ou could decide that #today we are all going to ma e a powerpoint or a poster% or you could be free-er than that and give the children the complete choice. !hat may mean that you have a group doing a drama s etch, a group ma ing a poster, one child ma ing a boo , one child ma ing a podcast= It can seem a bit daunting but it can wor ' >epending what ind of wor your children have done before, perhaps initially you might need to ta e a handful of ideas every wee and let the children e*plore how to successfully do them. !his ensures that the children now how to do a variety of activities so they don%t avoid some because they are unsure of how to tac le it 6 or so they don%t 9ust stic to ma ing posters because its easy.
?!he curriculum in many schools focuses on nowledge. Coverage seems to be more important than the s ills or understanding children have. 7 more balanced curriculum is needed. By using a s ills based approach to teaching it we can start to redress the balance. By developing creativity in children we help them to understand more. @any see creativity as the bells and whistles approach - role play, drama and e*pressive arts - but this could turn out to be the yet another one of those fads that seem to come and go in education. Instead, lets get the right balance of activities that one hand shows children how to do things and on the other, lets them decide how to do something. Aets also get the right balance between learning s ills in core sub9ects and applying them across the curriculum. !he principle at play here is recall for retention the more children use these s ills the more they will retain them.% Chris Buigley
I thin that is the scary aspect of creativity - how much singing and dancing do I have to do to ma e my classroom creative$ 7nswer - none because the creativity comes from letting the children do and e*plore and try things out - there could 9ust be one hell of a mess to clean up at the end' Brownbear So, at the simplest level, being creative could simply mean trying something that is a little ?off-piste? rather than ploughing religiously through :for e*ample; Scholastic?s latest offering. Cowever, I am in no way implying that using the ideas of others is wrongD many people spea very highly of the Scholastic series :and other planning-style boo s;, and they may well contain the perfect template for your particular lesson. 5here creativity comes in, I

Put together by Shetland-Kat

guess, is when we start to deviate from the plan, at which moment it becomes something we have created)adapted, and hence it could be described as creative. 6 7ndrew 8effrey

So, for something a little #off6piste% here are some suggestions' !he following ideas came from stormies ye, 9mb, moospanE2, bluerose 3 shetland- at
http())www.tes.co.u )section)staffroom)thread.asp*$story+id,-.10F0.3path,)Primary)3threadPage,3messagePage,2

5rite down what you now about G >raw and label a picture about G !a e a photo about * and write a caption @a e a poster about G including a, b and c. @a e an information boo about G @a e an information leaflet about G @a e up a game to teach others about G Create a set of ?top trump? cards to give information about aspects of G >raw a mindmap that shows everything you have found out about G @a e a model to show G :you could use 9un , plastecene, playdoh, sand, Aego, K?ne*; Create a short play to show what you have learnt 7ct out a !H)radio interview with G Compose a song)9ingle to teach others about G Create a comic strip to show what you have learnt 5rite a poem about * @a e a powerpoint presentation about * Iind)create a recipe and if possible ba e it to support your understanding of * do some Internet research about * and show what you?ve found @a ing lift the flap boo about * ma e something to share your nowledge of * with a younger child 5rite a blog about * Carry out an interview to show your understanding of * use >igital photo images to show freeJe frames eg. ey scenes in a story Puppetry Create a dance to show ey facts about G using digital camera to ma e a story or piece of writing with pictures ma ing a short play script lift the flap &uestions)answers use plastecene 3 webcam to ma e animations ta e the class to a beach and as them to display their learning of... G - could use debris, driftwood, sand, stones etc 7llowing the children to choose their way of showing their learning ma e a machine for G write a rap showing * create an animation using simple programme create a piece of drama)movement to a set piece of music @a e a pop up boo about G Podcast

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"*amples 8uliateacher ids have used digiblue to ma e animations and films of restaurant drama - I use camcorder to records Cow Cot is my 5riting$ >one li e !H Kameshow have microphone set up to record using I5B :sound files; e*plaining writing or written methods in maths etc or for showing story board and reading poems Shetland-Kat - "ach child chose which ?first? in space they wanted to find out about :children aged .2-; and choose how they want to show their learning.. Ior the younger ones, they now how to ta e it further with support as over the term they have done a lot of group wor with the older children :this is where mi*ed stages really wor s; so they have seen how its done, been part of it and achieved success - and now they are 9ust transferring their learning from the group stuff to independent wor . - I didnt really plan the two hours at all. :Shame on me'; 5e spo e about lots of things around the topic and did a couple of things li e putting the ?firsts? into chronological order on the board but then we 9ust let the children go for it. !hey now where are the resources are and they are always allowed to use things li e glitter and so on. It was a .yr old who as ed for the glitter first to surround his poster of Leil 7rmstrong - for the stars of course'' I had posters, images, powerpoints, lift the flap posters boo s, pictures... the standard of wor was amaJing from every child. !he buJJ of activity for over - hours was stunning. !hat?s the ind of thing which goes on regulalry in my class....

It is important that you have a good supply of resources for this ind of wor in your room : card, big sheets of paper, coloured pens, sellotape, glue, play doh, etc; that the children now how to access and are allowed to access. If they feel they #cant use big coloured paper as that is only for special wor % or #we cant use glitter as it%s not Christmas% then their creativity will be stifled and perhaps their initial idea cant be ta en forward. @y children have the freedom of all the cupboards and resources but we spea about using resources wisely.

So how can we, as teachers, be creative 6 or what ma es us creative$

7 ey thought that came across often was to mi* up the curriculum, show the children that things connect and= =7llow the children to see more of a purpose to what they learn and have the freedom over how to show that' 0

Put together by Shetland-Kat I thin >illsage had a really good point It?s tric y getting a balance between being

creative ourselves and getting the children to be creative - I suspect that sometimes I err too far on the side of me being creative rather than them.

#8ust as it is important to ma e the curriculum fit the children, so should teaching. >espite this, teachers are forever being told what is good practice Because of successive strategies, teachers are so busy teaching they dont now if children are learning. Its time to de-to* our teaching. Instead of starting another to-do list, perhaps it s time to create a stop doing list. Kood teachers help children to develop Knowledge s ills and understanding at the right level for them, at a rate that is right for them, in ways that are right for them. Cow they get there doesnt really matter as long as they get there.? Chris Buigley

7 list of ideas of what ma es a creative teacher was compiled by @yrtle, Brownbear, Shetland-Kat, IiJJy, 5hiJJ, Mosiegirl
ensure both the children and myself are having fun' having children learning ?through? do things in different ways and be confident that standards will not fall. giving wor that caters for all learning styles finding new ways of doing things someone who is able to ta e chances and ris s a creative teacher has the ability to wal in to any class with no plans and wor and ?by instinct? move the class on from where they are in a lively and interesting way @aybe some of the ?being creative thing? is actually being able to thin in a similar way to the children. Sometimes I feel that I am 9ust a big id at heart and so I get a gut feeling for what children will en9oy)learn from. >o things on a bigger scale than normal and so ma ing learning memorable. Involving the children more in their learning, finding out what they already now and what they want to find out and planning from that info. Kiving children a conte*t for their learning to ma e it real and worthwhile. 7lso, creating some e*citement and buJJ at the starting point, so they become really involved. Kood lin s between sub9ects so children are applying s ills they?ve used in one sub9ect to another, and developing them further. Aearning is based on the development of s ills( sub9ect specific s ills, ey s ills :Chris Buigley helps here';, thin ing s ills and spea ing and listening s ills. try to ma e)find)use stimulating resources, use sound, colour and ?effects? to try to ma e learning memorable. ma e up rhymes on the spot to help with whatever and find the children remember the rhymes well. not having children sitting on their bums with a pencil in their hands for most part involving art, drama, dance, music into the core curriculum If a topic is going down really well, the children are loving it 6 go with it. >on%t feel you have to stop because on the Erd day of the .th wee of that term you are meant to start #!oys%. If toys doesn%t happen, toys doesn%t happen'

Put together by Shetland-Kat

starting on a topic and seeing where it goes, if you now what I mean. Iollowing the childrens? interest - they often go off at tangents from what we e*pect and can gain a huge amount from directing their own learning. thin ing in a more creative way about the learning e*periences I would want to give the children.

5hen planning=
@ost of us are more creative than we thin - each time we select, use and adapt an idea from anywhere it becomes our own creation. 7ndrew 8effrey

5hen I start planning, I thin right, what do I want the children to now by the end of this lesson$ I then thin 6 o how can we get to that nowledge without sitting on our seats with a pencil in our hand$ 5hat would be a fun, challenging way to reach this learning$ 5hat can I use at the beginning to get the children #hoo ed% $
>on?t assume all creativity is spontaneous' Some of my best lessons were spontaneous and gained a life of their own, however, planned creativity is much better' @adPhil ?Nur generation doesn?t learn)thin in the same way as we do)did,? ...so everytime I thin ...hmm...I rethin using this comment. Nne e*ample is the !imes 7ttac maths game - my first thoughts were, ?Lope, it?s a video game, not using that,?.....then remembered the comment and as ed some children to evaluate it for me, they loved the game' !heir evaluation was that it doesn?t teach you your times tables as it is a game but what it does is ma e you want to now your times tables so you can play the game and be really good. - @yrtle I thin I now when I am being creative as I will google)search for a lesson plan)unit and find there is nothing so have to write it myself. I find a plan is a mental rehearsal and chance to see the learning 9ourney. I usually add several things on the way and sometimes do something that was not on the plan. @y C! said to me that if I had an amaJing idea on the way to school one day and I wanted to teach it then do it. She is not interested in anyone?s planning but she e*pects &uality first teaching and children to ma e progress and en9oy the learning. I have started to plan using the teaching se&uence style from new framewor as I thin this allows for more creativity. Being narrowed down to a lesson plan might hold some people bac . 8uliateacher IiJJy 3 @adPhil I thin I would do a lot better if I 9ust had a list of s ills)ob9ectives for the wee . !hen I could really be creative' Ior e*ample( Communication Independent thought Se&uencing Measoning Kroupwor

Put together by Shetland-Kat

etc. Irom there you might feel the need to adapt your activity to ma e it fit more with the s ill you are teaching. 7fter a while you will start loo ing at the s ill and planning the activity from that - Aess content more learning' I agree about planning focussing your thoughts. it also means you investigate and research materials yourself. Cowever, we are bogged down in planning and I have to eep reminding myself that we are dealing with 1 and F year olds. Planning in my school is shared and this is where i feel I go wrong. Planning needs to be for you:as the teacher;, for your class and when appropriate, for a supply or CA!7. It does not need to be detailed but can be if you need it. Basically, it is a tool and should not be a mill stone around your nec . IiJJy

Cow to eep trac of wor that is not in 9otters or on wor sheets$

N , so we need to have evidence that the children have achieved AN%s etc. But it doesn%t necessarily have to be on paper with #AN achieved% written beside it. I ta e lots of photos of my class and their creative wor . 7t the end of the activities we all feedbac on what we have been doing and what we have learned. !his is where we will discuss AN%s etc. So much of our stuff is posters, powerpoints, models, drama etc that at the end of a topic there is no 9otter you can see bursting with stuff. 7t the moment all these photos are stored on the computer but there are some good ideas around. I thin ne*t term I will build a little 9otter for each child using their photos of their creative wor into a 9otter so they can see what they have learnt ) been wor ing on ) produced.

I also photocopy pages from the ids? boo s and put them on the learning wall of the topic of the moment so they can see how the theme comes together then at the end of the unit all these and some photos go into a theme boo as evidence and a record for the ids to loo at. photos of everything they do that is not written to show them' I am waiting for the Cead to buy an AC> tv with dvd player for the foyer :I have O2P1 pound argos card from collecting old phones from parents; so we can have all photos we?ve used on slideshows for everyone to see. @ooSpanE2 I am creating an e-portfolio for every child a - good for assessment of S3A b - great pressie)remembering of year as a cd for leavers present c- you can watch again and be inspired again ne*t year

Put together by Shetland-Kat

Aove recording those unforgettable moments 8ulia !eacher

7re children naturally creative$

I thin they are naturally creative and that all children can show their creativity, given the opportunity to.
!he BC7 have identified the following behaviours and signs of creative thin ing( - &uestioning and challenging - ma ing connections and seeing relationships - envisaging what might be - playing with ideas, eeping options open - representing ideas in a variety of ways - evaluating effects of ideas and actions :Aittle !igger;

5hat seems to be stopping our creativity$

Aist compiled by IiJJy, thefairyteacher, >illsage, Sniggle, Brownbear, @adPhil
too formal a classroom. !he children are not very creative and li e everything to be laid out on a plate for them :they li e to be taught;. So I am trying to help them at the moment develop the s ills to be creative. - Children without the s ills needed to develop their creativity <- S7!S Qninspiring curriculum shared planning too detailed planning standards driven school 57A!S, 5IAIS, Success Criteria............... I 9ust don?t have the ideas'''' I?ve really en9oyed the opportunity and encouragement to be ?creative? in my planning over the last couple of years, and have had &uite a bit of very positive feedbac about it, but also have a snea y suspicion that the paperwor hasn?t been rigorous enough and that some areas have 9ust got missed out. !rying to ma e sure all the ob9ectives are fitted in somewhere can be pretty stifling for creativity :eg trying to ma e sure all science ob9ectives are covered for year 1 S7!S - ended up 9ust having to cram in all the missed bits at the last minute, to paper over the gaps left by others? creativity';.

Put together by Shetland-Kat

BC7 is very content driven - for e*ample in history, you can end up feeling li e you?re trying to stuff the children with as much nowledge as possible but without any real emphasis on s ills - en&uiry, interpretation and communication. 7s Kat says, if you can pinpoint e*actly what you want the children to now) understand) do at the end of your unit, then you have a bit more ownership over how you get them to that point. !imetables are as restrictive as you want them to be' In a middle school where sub9ects are taught as discrete sub9ects the only way to brea through creatively across the curriculum in a normal wee is to generate common ideas NM collapse the timetable for a day)wee etc to enhance sub9ect nowledge.

Cow can I improve my planning and be creative within it when I can?t thin creatively$
5here do you all get your ideas from$ Brownbear= 2. 8oining the creative curriculum yahoo group - loads of great ideas from imaginative people on there' -. Planning using LC ob9ectives and s ills instead of the dreaded BC7 :what a creativity iller that is';. E. Aoo ing at e*amples of topics from Camilton !rust - o you might not be inspired to follow it completely but 9ust seeing an e*ample of how to ma e lin s between sub9ects and how you can give children a range of learning e*periences really helps to spar your own ideas. 0. !he Iolen Belair boo s are geat for spar ing ideas. If you see or hear about something someone else has done which you li e the sound of give it a go'

Cow i start is i thin of what i want the children to achieve - ?understand and use . $ ' 4? I then thin what can the children do that doesn%t involve them being tied to their seats with a wor sheet - can they ma e a model$ 5ell they could ma e models of the different inds of punctuation out of playdoh... - can they ma e a poster$ 7bsolutely' 7 great one for cutting, stic ing and using word art' - could they interview someone$ punctuation cant be seen so an interview would be a lot harder this time. - Could they research$ <es, use lots of story boo s, get them to find the punctuation in the boo s and e*plain its use - could they do a piece of drama - yes, in groups... they could each be the different /

Put together by Shetland-Kat types of punctuation - they could be competing to be used, they could be forgetting about one punctuation so that one is feeling left out... loads of opportunities here - 5hile all this is going on, i would be discussing with the groups why we have punctuation and ensuring that when they present their wor then they can confidently e*plain the purpose of the punctuation and when its used. i loo through the belair boo s for ideas but often i adapt them so its more ?bums off seats? stuff. !here is input and feedbac time. I always ensure the chidren feedbac their wor to one another. Lot on every occasion but on most of these ind of lessons. !"S forum is always great for ideas. Meading different things that others are doing as ing others and sharing ideas. Buite often I read something on there that spar s off a whole different idea.

7ssessing creativity$
http())www.tes.co.u )search)story)$story+id,-.RP01-

http())www.creative-partnerships.com)dscw http())www.risingstars-u .com)uploads)publications)F2.pdf !7SC wheel

I dont now why, but i 9ust have a thing against using wheels and stuff to assess ) monitor progress in creativity.... I worry that creativity isn%t something we should be ?teaching? it should be more of a free flow thing depending on the child$'$'$' I worry that if we have to start assessing it then we?ll have to start ?teaching? it and then it looses its creativity'

@adphil I now what you mean Kat' 7s a former M" coordinator I would have this argument with many consultants and inspectors. !hey would say I wasn?t assessing effectively - I too the view I could only assess the learning about bit not the learning from'' !hey would disagree - I still thin they were wrong' Cowever, I am not loo ing at assessing necessarily from these wheels)PA!S material as such getting ideas on the s ills to be developed is where I am at. !he measuring will happen anyway when the govt breathe down my nec wanting results'' @oo am not saying I would use the wheels for the ids to assess, 9ust be interested to see if the s ills they cover as the same as our planning wheels, then they might lin well. I li e wheels though as they are endless....

2P

Put together by Shetland-Kat

Brownbear 7nother great wheel to help children organise their thin ing and problem solving s ills is the tasc wheel'' Princess Sparkle 7ll KS- children in my school have a creative learning 9ournal which has the wheel in the front and when they meet one of the segments they write a brief description of what lesson it was and what they did - and maybe draw a picture or attach wor if appropriate. 5hen I say assess it isn?t formal, it?s child led and develops an awareness and language of creativity. 5or s very well' 7n e*ample for the 4I can see things in my minds eye4 might be in Aiteracy we had to write a description of where our story too place, I had a picture in my mind of what I wanted it to loo li e and I described it. 7 favourite one for 4I can try out lots of different ways to do things and solve problems4 is a child might describe how they used different methods of addition in maths. !hey start off very simply but fast become more sophisticated descriptions of the process, and it doesn?t ta e long for them to realise they might be meeting more than one segment in one activity. :@y class are <ear E;

>oes it always wor $

Should have wor ed but it didnt....

4Lot every activity will have a wonderful end result, but the learning and the creativity is in the >NILK. 4 Child "d I had groups ma ing roc ets out of lego, ?ne* and playdoh.

Nne is that being creative does not always necesasrily ?wor ? :in terms of planned ANs etc; but it is always worth trying. !he well-worn story of "dison and the lightbulb is a good testimony to that. So, while creativity is not the Coly Krail of teaching :ie we have not failed if we are not being creative; it is a valuable tool in our arsenal. 7ndrew 8effrey

Curriculum Changes
!he new secondary curriculum is very much ta ing this approach. !he attached lin is supposed to be the basis of the new curriculum( http())www.&ca.org.u )library7ssets)media)PA!S+framewor ....

Buotes on Creativity'

?5e should turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned.? 8ohn Colt

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?Intelligence is nowing what to do when you don?t now what to do.? 7rt Costa 7t the simplest level, creativity is bringing into being something that was not there before "dward >e Bono ?>o not confine your children to your own learning for they were born in another time.? Cebrew Proverb ?In order for children to be creative and innovative, we need to set them free to thin , e*periment, adapt and develop their own ideas, by providing e*citing, open-ended opportunities to fire their imaginations... Child "d 8uly -PP1 Lot every activity will have a wonderful end result, but the learning and the creativity is in the >NILK. Irom the practitioner?s point of view it is 9ust a matter of loo ing at things in a different way. !hin about the ob9ectives you want to cover, plan the activities and then have the confidence in the children and yourself to stand bac and let them pic up the theme and run with it... Child "d 8uly -PP1 If you are used to wor ing with very tight ob9ectives and planning, with a specific outcome in your mind, this can feel li e stepping out of a plane without a parachute, but it really is not. !he ob9ectives are still there, but the way in which they are met may be reached by a different route.? Child "d 8uly -PP1 4Creativity is a dangerous word that is often misunderstood4 Christopher Irayling 4Creativity is one of the most contested and misunderstood concepts.4 !om Bentley ?Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and e*pecting the different results? 7lbert "instein. Shoot for the moon. "ven if you miss it you will land among the stars.? Aes Brown ?5e can easily forgive a child whom is frightened of the dar D the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.? Plato ?<ou see things and say ?5hy?$ But I see things and say ?5hy not$? K.B Shaw ?!oo many young people are being taught to give up their dreams before they have any e*perience attempting to pursue them?. Mobert IritJ ?!he Path of Aeast Mesistance? ?7 shared vision is not an idea...it is rather, a force in people?s hearts...at its simplest level, a shared vision is the answer to the &uestion ?5hat do we want to create$? Peter Senge ?5e need a multiplicity of visions, dreams and prophecies - images of potential tomorrows.? 7lvin !ofler

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?5hy follow the steps of another to find out where our dreams will lead us.? Peter Bloc ?<ou can plan events, but if they go according to plan they are not events.? 8ohn Berger 7rt Critic ?!hin ing precedes literacy and numeracy but nowhere in the curriculum is that recogniJed.? @c Kavin, Klasgow Qniversity ?If a man does not eep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.? !horeau ?!he golden rule is that there are no golden rules? K B Shaw <ou cannot use up creativity. !he more you use the more you have. @aya 7ngelou Ior even more food for thought go here''( http())www.leading-learning.co.nJ)famous-&uotes.html

Ain s

http())www.&ca.org.u )library7ssets)media)PA!S+framewor .pdf http())www.creative-partnerships.com)dscw !he Creativity wheel can capture these statements right across the curriculum and show children how they can transfer their creative s ills and learning http())www.risingstars-u .com)uploads)publications)F2.pdf !7SC wheel http())www.web&uestu .org.u )web&uestu +library.htm http())www.leading-learning.co.nJ)famous-&uotes.html http())www.tes.co.u )section)staffroom)thread.asp*$ story+id,-E1..2R3path,)primary)3threadPage,2 Creative Curriculum <ahoo Kroup http())www.tes.co.u )section)staffroom)thread.asp*$ story+id,-.1-0F03path,)Primary)3messagePage,2E Creative homewor group

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