Tag: creative thinking

Art, Books, Creative Thinking, Education, K-12, Student Products, Websites

International Dot Day

Terri Eichholz

Mark your calendar for September 15th, which is International Dot Day!  Sponsored by FableVision Learning in coordination with Peter Reynolds, author of The Dot, this is a day on which educators pledge to encourage their students’ creativity.  You can sign up formally to participate in International Dot Day, or you can choose your own way to celebrate this day of imagination.  The website offers ideas for ways in which to make this a memorable day for your students as well as videos from some of last year’s participants.  You can also go to this link for some ideas from Peter Reynolds on how to incorporate his wonderful book into your classroom.

Thanks to Cari Young, librarian at Fox Run Elementary in N.E.I.S.D., and author of The Centered School Library, for this great tip!

Apps, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Education, Games, K-12, Problem Solving, Science

Bubble Ball (Reblog)

Terri Eichholz

For the summer, I have decided to use my Tuesday and Thursday posts to reblog some of my favorite posts that some of my readers may have missed the first time around.

Bubble Ball is one of my favorite iDevice apps.  It is a free download, and has 48 levels.  You can purchase more after you finish the 48  for  99 cents.  The purpose of this game is to use the various materials that appear on the screen in each level to direct a ball to roll toward a flag.  I don’t usually like to recommend game apps for the classroom, because students seem to get enough of those at home.  But this Physics challenge encourages problem solving and creative thinking.  Many of the levels have more than one solution.  This could be a fun center in which the students could take screen shots of their solutions and explain them using the free Screen Chomp app or other methods.  It would be interesting to compare the different solutions groups develop, and have them explain their thought processes.  Of course, I highly recommend that you play around with the app yourself – just to get familiar with the levels, of course 😉

3-12, Apps, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Education, Games, Problem Solving, Science

Bubble Ball (Reblog)

Terri Eichholz

For the summer, I have decided to use my Tuesday and Thursday posts to reblog some of my favorite posts that some of my readers may have missed the first time around.

Bubble Ball is one of my favorite iDevice apps.  It is a free download, and has 48 levels.  You can purchase more after you finish the 48  for  99 cents.  The purpose of this game is to use the various materials that appear on the screen in each level to direct a ball to roll toward a flag.  I don’t usually like to recommend game apps for the classroom, because students seem to get enough of those at home.  But this Physics challenge encourages problem solving and creative thinking.  Many of the levels have more than one solution.  This could be a fun center in which the students could take screen shots of their solutions and explain them using the free Screen Chomp app or other methods.  It would be interesting to compare the different solutions groups develop, and have them explain their thought processes.  Of course, I highly recommend that you play around with the app yourself – just to get familiar with the levels, of course 😉

Art, Creative Thinking, Education, Games, K-5, Student Products, Websites

She Wears Many Hats

Terri Eichholz

Here is a cute printable from Fuel the Brain just in time for Mother’s Day.  I love the thought of brainstorming all different types of hats with my younger kids, and then guiding them to think about how their mother “wears” them.  “In what ways is your mother like a police officer?” I might ask – and I might just be surprised by some of their answers!  Fuel the Brain, by the way, has lots of games and interactives that you might want to check out in addition to the printables!

UPDATE: Here are some examples from the books my students made!

3-12, Creative Thinking, Education, Games, Problem Solving, Teaching Tools, Videos

Caine’s Arcade

Terri Eichholz

Sometimes I feel like I live under a rock.  Two of my co-workers were talking about this video at lunch the other day, and I admitted that I had never heard of it.  Considering that the video has gotten over 2.5 million views, you would think that I might have come across it at some point.  Even after they discussed it, I still didn’t watch it until today when I saw it referenced in an on-line article.  “Oh, yeah, that did sound interesting,” I thought, and clicked on the link.  I am so glad I did!  It was definitely 11 minutes of my time not wasted.  Caine’s imaginative cardboard arcade will inspire you with its creativity, and his personality will endear him to you.

I read a book to my Gifted and Talented Kindergartners every year called Christina Katerina and the Box.  After we read the book, I dump a bunch of boxes I have saved onto a table along with random bits and pieces of things.  Then I let the kids create.  After seeing Caine’s Arcade, I realize that I need to do this more often – and with all of my classes.

You might want to show Caine’s Arcade to your students.  There is one part that I caught, when they were showing comments on social networks, that briefly flashes an inappropriate word.  If you are concerned about this, or you just want to show key parts of the video, I recommend TubeChop.

Learn more about the Global Cardboard Challenge inspired by Caine’s Arcade here.

Caine’s Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

Creative Thinking, Education, K-5, Teaching Tools

Summer Pool Party Creative Thinking Packet

Terri Eichholz

My Summer Pool Party Creative Thinking Packet is now available on Teachers Notebook.  It is $1.50, and includes 12 pages of fun activities plus a cover sheet.