The brain accesses creativity in many ways. One of the most obvious is visual art. You can transform a regular school day into an exploration of the brain’s creative capacity by introducing visual art activities to your class. For example, give your students paper, crayons, colored pencils, markers or paint and encourage them to create a visual representation of anything they desire. Offer incentive for students to be imaginative, telling them to look to their dreams for inspiration and not to fear warping reality as they make art.
Music accesses an entirely different portion of the brain than other creative outlets. Encourage students to explore the musical world by hosting noisy projects in your class. For example, provide students with instruments you can order in bulk for relatively low prices, such as recorders, clay whistles, maracas and other simple percussion tools. Show students how to use the instruments and encourage them to figure out how to play familiar songs, as well as making up their own. Ask permission to use your school’s music room, where you can play the piano and accompany your class as students produce a cacophony of creative sounds.
While older students often engage their creativity through concrete outlets, young children can still be enraptured by the world of imaginative play. Take an elementary or even middle school class on a journey of the imagination that is sure to increase the level of creativity in your classroom. If you teach a history class, immerse students in an imagined version of a particular time period. If you are studying ancient Greece, bring wreaths of plastic ivy for children to wear around their heads, encourage everyone to choose a name authentic to the period and hold class as if you are living in ancient Greece. These activities allow students to combine concrete lessons with creativity.
Writing is a skill students will rely on for the rest of their lives, but it also serves as a creative outlet. Writing projects help students improve their reading comprehension while enriching their imaginations and allowing them to become more in touch with themselves and the world. Host a writing project to increase creativity in your classroom. For example, ask students to write memoirs on any topic they desire. Explain that memoir falls within the genre creative nonfiction, meaning narratives rely on a skeleton of truth but are depicted with creative language and can violate rules of more academic writing, such as following a rigid chronological order. In writing about their lives and observations, students will hone an important craft while increasing their creativity.