Creativity and the Common Core State Standards are both important to today's teachers. Yet, for many educators, nurturing students' creativity seems to conflict with ensuring that they learn specific skills and content. In this book, the authors outline ways to adapt existing lessons and mandated curricula to encourage the development of student…

Toddlers and two-year-olds are in a fluid and dynamic state of development. They have a sense of wonder that is easily activated, and they are always ready to learn. In this book, you will learn how to use hands-on creative projects to engage very young children's interests and nurture their unique ways of exploring and learning. You will be…

Art educators are concerned with exposing their students to contemporary art making practices. They aim to create fresh lessons that expand their understandings of art in today's world while highlighting the importance of imagination. With a personal interest in performance and street art (art forms that have gained popularity in recent years),…

The best corporations know that innovative thinking is the only competitive advantage that cannot be outsourced. The best schools are those that create cultures of imagination. Now in paperback, "Imagination First" introduces a wide-variety of individuals who make a habit of imaginative thinking and creative action, offering a set of universal…

Ten games and exercises designed to help handicapped children express feelings, develop trust and cooperation, and increase their body awareness and imagination are presented. Activities are explained to have been field tested in special education classes of Project PASE (Programs in the Arts for Special Education). Following a brief introduction…

Discusses the goals of creativity training and provides a number of introductory exercises to develop student potential. (SK)

Ten lesson plans are described to encourage creative work and thought in talented art students. Lessons include emphases on brainstorming, fluency, value clarification, logic elaboration, and role playing. (CL)

The article suggests three approaches to giving young remedial readers opportunities for creativity: inventiveness games, branched fiction, and pantomimal and creative dramatics. (CL)

Metaphors, whether universal (ones which apply to common feelings, thoughts, and behaviors) or prescriptive (ones constructed specifically for an individual child) may be used with gifted children in a three-phase process: identification, projection, and insight and integration. (CL)

The article describes basic processes children use to create and imagine, examines the significance of objects in this growth, and shows ways in which objects can serve creativity (exploring, repeating previous actions, replicating, and transforming with objects). (CL)

An adventure consultant shares lessons about creativity. Steps to being creative are: look for connections; be willing to experiment and fail; be open-minded and seek input from others; and practice, practice, practice. Examples of different versions of an adventure activity illustrate several creative techniques. The impact of time deadlines on…

Classroom teachers can provide more creative opportunities in the classroom by providing an atmosphere of psychological safety and by presenting material that encourages divergent thinking. Examples of the bull's eye strategy, brainstorming, and checklisting activities to stimulate imaginative ideas are offered. (CL)

The article describes ways to use picture books with young children to develop the creative thinking skills, including fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration, and evaluation. About 50 recommended picture books are listed. (DB)

Twenty skills are identified and illustrated by example activities which should help the student receive, organize, and analyze data; manipulate it at a symbolic or model level; and treat it in imaginative ways through purposeful distortion and fantasy. (CL)

One of the major problems in advertising courses is that students are expected to generate original, exciting advertising ideas, but often are not taught how to go about the process. Idea generation techniques can help students generate quantities of creative ideas more quickly and fluently. By looking at ads and recreating the workings of the…