TIP #22: 10 Ways to Jump-Start Creativity
Do your students sometimes need a creativity ‘jump-start’?
When was the last time you assigned a project and immediately a student complained they didn’t have any ideas or even know where to start? Coming up with an original idea can feel completely daunting to both kids and adults alike.
Generating fresh ideas can be intimidating. It helps to know that it’s not so much about finding completely new ideas. It’s more a matter of creating new links between ideas that already exist.
Fortunately, there are strategies we can share with kids to help their brains work more creatively and make connections more easily.
Next time a project requires an extra dose of creative thinking, have kids warm up with a creativity booster.
Below are 10 ways to jump-start creativity, along with an example of each technique being used.
Try adopting one or more of these techniques to spark inspiration for your next creative project:
1. Take some time to study the problem and exchange observations with peers or family members.
“Mona Lisa Meets the Oxford MBA Program”
2. Show examples of how others have approached a similar task.
“Illustrate a Proverb or Verse Inspired by the Fante Asafo Flags of Ghana”
3. Draw or doodle for a few minutes in a sketchbook, to loosen up.
“The 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge”
4. Brainstorm variations on a theme (in this case hearts).
5. Make associations between seemingly unrelated items.
6. Curate a different kind of “collection”.
“Grade 5 Portfolios – Collecting Words”
7. Notice what you notice.
8. Maintain an encouraging and non-judgmental environment.
9. Make a “creative extension spinner” to expand and enhance ideas.
“Creative Extension Spinner for Early Finishers”
10. Have students practice being “art critics”. Use higher-order thinking skills to describe, analyze, interpret, and evaluate what they see.
Warm-up with Echo Drawing
Echo Drawing is a great warm-up activity to use before art class. Echo Drawing develops observation skills and helps students see visual relationships. It’s also a perfect no-prep option for early finishers, “brain breaks”, and emergency sub plans. Check out my “Intro to Echo Drawing” and “More! Echo Drawing” resources on TPT.
an inspiring quote
“Inspiration is for amateurs – the rest of us just show up and get to work.” ~ Chuck Close
Many professional artists and writers have their own version of this popular “Pro Tip”. The pros don’t wait for inspiration to strike. Instead, they discipline themselves to show up and do the work, whether they feel inspired or not. The inspiration often comes while they’re busy working.
Students need to know that inspiration isn’t a prerequisite for creating. Feeling inspired is wonderful, but the absence of that shouldn’t prevent kids from getting started.