Using Creativity in the Content Areas

Starko (2010) stated that “[t]eaching content is at the heart of most schools” (p. 173). Creativity is a vital tool that teachers need to use when they are making lessons and activities for all content areas in school. I will provide websites and activities that teachers can use to implement in their classrooms. The contents areas I am covering are language arts, social studies, art, science, and math.

Language Arts:

What I love about language arts is that most strategies and ideas that are used for this content can be integrated in other areas. Students can grow in language arts at the same time as they learn about other content knowledge.

Read/Write/Think Webbing Tool:

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/readwritethink-webbing-tool-30038.html

This website provides graphic organizers that students can manipulate online. There are many lesson plans on this site that integrate these webbing tools and other content areas.

SCAMPER:

I absolutely loved the 4^th little pig SCAMPER lesson. Students have to think outside the box and use their imagination to help the 4^th little pig from the popular story "The three Little Pigs".

Social Studies:

Social Studies is an area where teachers can really be creative when they teach it; however, it takes effort. I have had a difficult time finding web tools and sites that support creative thinking and social studies.

Primary Games

http://www.primarygames.com/social_studies.php

This website has games for primary students to help them learn facts about social studies, but it does not promote creativity. It is a great site because students can be engaged online.

Art:

Students have to use creativity in art. The teachers, however, need to learn to allow students to use their mind and creativity to create something.

Manipulating Art:

Students can use editing programs to manipulate photographs.

Virtual Tours:

Students can take virtual tours and see famous museums and other collections of art. They can view each piece like they would in a museum, and they would not have to watch slides from a PowerPoint.

Google Art:
www.googleartproject.com

Students can go on virtual field trips for any museum in the world. Students can even make their own galleries. 

Science:

Ted Talks:

http://www.ted.com/talks

This website has the cutting edge research. Scientists and researchers are asked to speak about the research they are conducting. Most videos are about 15 – 20 minutes, and they are fascinating. Students and teachers will love this site.

Bad Piggies:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/how-big-are-the-bad-piggies/

This is an app/game for smart phones where people have to manipulate objects so that the bad piggies can make it to the end. This game requires physics and other scientific ideas. The website introduces the scientific ideas in the game.

SmartScience:

http://www.smartscience.net/SmartScience/SmartScience.html

This website is an online laboratory where students can do labs and experiments. It is not a free site.

SchoolTool:

http://schooltool.us/labs.html

This website is a list of sites that have experiments teachers can have their students conduct.

Math:

Lure of the Labyrinth:

http://labyrinth.thinkport.org/www/

This website allows students to explore mathematics through an online game. This game is for middle school students.

Math Manipulatives:

http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/node/1201/print

This website includes a list of sites that have math manipulatives.

Illuminations:

http://illuminations.nctm.org

This website offers many resources for teaching math. It includes lessons and activities that students can do in the classroom that promote creativity.