Substitution builds upon our natural tendency to wonder how things might work if key elements were substituted out. For example; how would we play the game of baseball if we used a basketball for a ball, instead of a baseball? Similarly, how would the story of the three little pigs be different if the wolf wanted to give the pigs a prize, instead of eat them? Substitution activities call for children to identify a key element of a story, game, puzzle or idea and then swap out that key element for something new so as to imagine or experience the new story, game, puzzle or idea.
As the name suggests, combining activities call for children to join two ideas or activities together to create a new and wholly unique activity. For example; what if the rules of tennis were combined with the rules of hockey? Or, what if Cinderella interacted with the seven dwarfs, and Snow White interacted with the evil step sisters?
Adaptation activities require children to brainstorm solutions to problems, rather than rely upon the guidance of others to help them out of those problems. For example; what can you do if you find yourself locked in your own room? Or, what would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island? Adaptation activities spark children's imagination and problem-solving skills as they attempt to develop unique solutions to problems.
Modification activities typically focus on accentuating some aspect of a story, game, puzzle or idea so as to imagine how that accentuation might effect the original. For example; would golf be easier or harder if the clubs were smaller and the balls bigger? How might the parable of the grasshopper and the ant be different if the ant hadn't stored enough food for himself and the grasshopper?
"Put to other uses" activities require children to identify other potential ways in which an object can be used, either in a story or in real life. For example; can we imagine a world in which umbrellas were used as weapons? What would life be like if our currency revolved entirely around left-footed shoes? As with modification and combination activities, "put to other uses" activities challenge children to re-conceive their surrounds.
Clear-cut and straightforward, elimination activities require children to perform an activity, imagine a story or play a game in which one of the major elements is removed entirely. For example; how could you play ping pong without paddles? Would Goldilocks be as enjoyable if she never found a bed or porridge that was "just right"? Elimination activities allow children to reorder elements of a story or game.
Rearrange or reverse activities require children to do things backwards or in alternative orders. For example; would foot races be fun if you ran them backwards? Would it be possible play baseball by running to second before first? And, what if Hansel and Gretel ate the witch's house after they escaped from her clutches? Rearrange and reverse activities require that children properly sequence different events in stories or activities, before shifting those events around to create a new story or activity.