Foster Creativity in the Classroom

In our classrooms these days, it’s not often that we have the opportunity to foster creativity. Think about the amount of art you do in the classroom. How much is it? Not much, probably.

Or what about empowering students to research and run with their own ideas, like a Genius Hour?  Have you ever attempted one in your classroom? I’d love to hear how it went.

Last year, I saw this awesome Youtube video about a boy who got bored one summer and created cardboard video games. I fell in love with his tenacity and ability to create something out of nothing. There is so much he was able to do with cardboard, tape, and just a bit of creativity.

Foster Creativity: Create Arcade Games

At the end of last year, we had a bit of time during the last few weeks of school, so, I showed that video to my students. They were enthralled with this boy, close to their own age, who was able to create an arcade out of cardboard. This video sparked their imaginations.

So, we ran with it. We decided to create our own video game arcade just like this boy.

After watching the video, we discussed all the different types of arcade games that could be created. I didn’t want to limit students, though, and allowed them to be creative during their product creation.

The only requirement I had was that students had to draw up a plan and show it to me for “approval” before moving forward with their projects. Their plan had to consist of the components on the following anchor chart. My main concern was making sure the game was doable and that they had a good idea of the materials they needed.

Here are a few of their plans. Keep in mind these are second graders. Most basically copied what they had seen in the video, which is an awesome start. Soccer was a big theme – it’s part of their lives.

Getting Supplies

I asked for donations of cardboard from other teachers and parents. My room was flooded with cardboard. I also visited the dollar store for toy soldiers, balloons, and a few other things. In all, I think I spend $10 on supplies.

During the planning stage my goal was that students had a good handle on the materials they need to create their game. I wanted them to really plan and think through the process. Most students had a pretty good list. Some students forgot a few key components. Like those doing the balloon pop games, how were game players going to actually pop the balloons?

Construction Day(s)

I loved watching students create their games. Just building and creating, something that we don’t get to do often, showed me a different side of their personalities. I’m sad that I didn’t do more creating during the school year. We did a few STEM activities, but nothing that required this type of planning and creating.

We spent about two days creating the games. I did have to help students cut some of the cardboard, but other than that, the games were all student created. One pair of students didn’t finish their game. I think it was a bit too complicated or one of the students was absent.

Game Day

During the last week of school, I did a game day, where we basically played games all day long. I purchased a few board and table games (Sorry, Bug Trails, The Great Cheese Chase, Jenga, Connect 4, Chutes and Ladders – affiliates). One of the choices was also to play the arcade games.

Students had a blast! They loved being able to investigate each other’s creations and just play. They got to see how each others’ games were constructed and what worked and what didn’t.

I love how the above students created a score board!

If I had it to do over again

I’d plan more creative projects throughout the year. When I was in school, I learned the most from the projects that asked me to be creative and stretch my learning. I remember creating a book as a book report and creating a Time magazine as an autobiography. I created a whole island, including the government, economy, and social system.  Most of those projects were created when I was in sixth grade.  Something about that year was very project-based.  I know I can definitely take the theme of creativity and projects down to second grade, if I can find the right fit.

Since it was the end of the year I didn’t do enough reflection. If I had it to do over again, I would have had students reflect more on the process. What worked? What didn’t? Did the game function as they had planned? What would they have done differently? I would have worked in more verbal conversations and sharing in each step of the process along the way as well.  The power of collaboration is huge.  I didn’t capitalize on it as much as I could have.

I also would have set up a system to invite other classes to come in and play the games. I wasn’t sure how these games would work (or if they would work!) and it was the end of the year with a ton of business for everyone. I didn’t have other classes come in to play the games and several students asked about it. That would have been a fun component to the process

So, what about you?

How do you foster creativity in the classroom? In some ways, it takes more work, but in other ways, it is way less work. Really, the only thing that I had to do was check over their plan and gather some materials (which older students could totally do on their own).

I would love to hear about any projects like this you have done in your own room that take students outside of our “box” of skill-based learning. Have you done any? Leave a comment below and tell me about it.