One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was a Magic Orange Peeler. (And no, this blog does not have sponsors!) We all have small things in life that annoy us. One of mine is struggling to peel an orange, ending up with broken nails and orange (if delicious-smelling) fingers. Enter the Magic Orange Peeler. … Continue reading
Few things concern teachers more than student motivation. The degree to which students are invested and engaged in classroom activities is basic to their success. We may sometimes talk of “unmotivated students,” but the truth is, every student is motivated. Every student attends to and puts effort into something—it just isn’t always the things we … Continue reading
Math in the News is exactly what it sounds like—a website, with related weekly newsletter—that uses math to explore issues in the news. Produced by Media4Math, Math in the News activities range from probability maps predicting landfall for Hurricane Sandy to an exploration of pumpkin costs per hundredweight or the statistics of the presidential election. … Continue reading
CREATIVITY: A Celtic Knot I’m coming near the end of my first year of creativiteach.me, and like most anniversaries, this one has prompted some reflection. In the past year I’ve been honored by thousands of visits from 114 countries. Creativity, it seems, is on people’s minds. But, in the face of all the challenges of … Continue reading
One of the challenges and delights of creativity is that things often don’t turn out the way we plan. A year (or was it two?) ago, I made gingerbread houses with some of my favorite children. The houses were pretty impressive, given the ages of the architects, surrounded by green jellied-leaf trees. One child used … Continue reading
A few weeks ago I had the interesting opportunity to be interviewed for BAM Radio, an internet radio station that addresses all manner of important issues in education. I was part of a conversation with writer/researcher Dr. Yong Zhao and Justin Snider, who teaches creative writing. We talked about the dilemmas posed by “One Right … Continue reading
The International Children’s Digital Library is a wonder.It is a free online library of books targeted at children from preschool into early adolescence, but I could easily browse there all day. Certainly it is wonderful for children, but don’t underestimate its value to older students. And what a great place for summer browsing! The library … Continue reading
Last Thursday I introduced the variables designated as “creativity killers” because they have been found to inhibit intrinsic motivation: evaluation, surveillance, reward, competition, and lack of choice. I know, the list is depressing. Procedures that are so familiar and common in classroom life can, vampire-like, suck the creative lifeblood from our classrooms. To add to … Continue reading
Today I wanted to share two of my favorite pocket-sized toys. They are good for language arts (and other) lessons, for carrying on airplanes, for rainy-day entertainment on camping trips, and a host of other occasions. And they are all about thinking creatively. So much creativity in such a small space! And the best part … Continue reading
Today’s “bonus post” was prompted by a walk. Strolling through my hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan these days is more interesting than usual. Attached to a number of the lampposts downtown are WhirlyDoodles, wonderful lighted sculptures that combine art and science into whirling wind-powered light pinwheels. They’ve been covered on Detroit television and are bringing … Continue reading
creativiteach 