Power Down to Power Up!Getting students to think critically and creatively!!

1, 2, 3… Sit and Think!

Direct students to do a brainstorming activity as soon as they walk into the class and sit down.

• Don’t waste class time• Get students focused quickly• Set the tone for the class

Sit and Think Examples

• English Class • Journaling Activity• Vocabulary Word of the Day

• Math Class• Daily Story Problem• Puzzle

• History Class• Response to a Current Event

Start with the small stuff….

Use low-level questions to build students’ confidence and knowledge base.

Questions that start with:• Who• What• Where• Why• When

“So this is what happens when….”

Study guides can be used to help students glean and gain knowledge about the subject area or topic being studied that day. Lay the foundation….

Work your way up the ladder….

Create a go-to list of open-ended, higher-thinking level questions to use for each topic or lesson.

Examples of open-ended questionsfor discussion of Shakespearean plays:

Through this character, what is Shakespeare saying about the treatment of women during the Elizabethan time period?

How does Shakespeare use language to make us laugh? Make us understand a character’s personality?

How does Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony in this scene enhance the plot?

It’s a team effort!!!

Put students in groups where they compare notes, discuss and debate their ideas, and answer assigned questions, as well as their own.

Now that I’ve got them thinking critically,

how do I get them thinking creatively?

“So…what do YOU think?”

Group students together, perhaps with peers who are outside of their personal circles, so that they can “teach” each other about the material at hand. This could open them up to ideas or observations they would not have made on their own or with their own friends.

“Yes, but how does that pertain to me?”

Make the facts contained within the lesson you’re teaching, along with the ideas your are attempting to convey, meaningful and relevant to your students.

“You want me to what?”

Give students questions and materials that encourage them to “think outside the box” and come up with creative answers.

Keep the group dynamics dynamic!

Use group dynamics to lead you down instructional paths you didn’t know were there to encourage the group’s journey to their own answers.

“What’s the good word?”

Encourage students, both as individuals and within their group settings, with positive, and specific, compliments and guidance.

Now, “make it work!”

Photo courtesy of www.nypost.com, Sept. 23, 2010