Developing Creativity through Writing and Music

I have begun to see that, just because a child sits in a fine arts class, does not mean that child is going to become creative. What I can hope for though is that some manner of freeing the mind, new ideas, brainstorming techniques, and self-fulfillment will be realized, IF the right lessons are presented with developmental sequencing that makes "sense" to the student. How do we know when a student is really "getting" what we are showing them? One idea shared by many teachers is when the student begins to use a concept in a personal way, an improvisation of what was originally presented in the base lesson. This is called ownership.

Speaking of the "right" lessons, let's try these on for size.

These lessons are a combination of ideas obtained from the writer's personal experience and the following books. I chose the following books for references in activities to develop creativity. Lessons for integrating movement, and singing for stimulating motivation in learning will come from, The Child's Way of Learning: A Handbook for building Creative Teaching Experiences. If the Shoe Fits: How to Develop Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, and The Yippee Book: Creative Ideas for Writing and Drama have lessons focusing on creative writing. These lessons are mixed with creativity lessons designed by the writer.

The Maze Game involves moving to sound. This is a great warm-up game for the following activities to be spaced over a six week period. Individual instruments that are selected for this activity are experienced beforehand so as to familiarize the students with their sound. The students are to move in specific directions depending on the instrument that they hear.

Students can use American Indian symbols to create a story. No words will be allowed. The class should be able to read the story simply by looking at the symbols used.

Allow the students to create their own symbols and generate the sounds that go with those symbols.

Creative poetry can be used for developing the students' writing skills. Students can be given specific words on a tennis ball and allowed to use only the words on the ball to create a sentence.

Have fun using these ideas and send your own ideas if you are inclined.

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