My Creative Solution

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  
  • VA.5.F.3.3 Work collaboratively with others to complete a task in art and show leadership skills.
  • ELA.5.C.5.1 Arrange multimedia elements to create emphasis in oral or written tasks.

   

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson could be taught at any time throughout the year to foster students’ creativity and provide an opportunity for them to develop writing and problem-solving skills.

   

• Career Connection

  
  

  Learning to think creatively enables students to approach challenges with innovative solutions, adapt to changing situations, and develop unique perspectives. The ability to harness creativity empowers them to excel in a wide range of professions by contributing fresh ideas and embracing the continuously evolving demands of the modern workplace.

   

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Explain the importance of creativity in problem-solving.
  • Apply creative thinking skills to solve imaginative problems.
  • Practice effective communication and collaboration with peers.
  • Create an original work of art to support their writing.

   

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with:

  • Working within a group.
  • Explaining their reasoning or thinking.

   

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • What does it mean to be creative?
  • Why is creativity important?
  • How can works of art help clarify your written work?
  • How does collaborating with others influence your artistic vision?

   

• Procedure

  
  

  1. To introduce the lesson, pose the question “What does creativity mean to you?” to students. Allow students time to form their response; students can provide a written response and/or draw a picture to answer the question. Facilitate a whole group discussion using the following questions:

  • Is there a common idea about what creativity is?
  • Did anyone else use these same words to describe creativity?
  • Is creativity limited to art? Why or why not?

  2. Define creativity in child friendly terms. Creativity means using your imagination to come up with new ideas, solutions, or ways of doing things. Ask students to share times when they have been creative.

  3. Explain to students that they will be the creative captains today in charge of solving different fictional problems. Be sure to let students know the problems are fictional and may not make logical sense but we are focused on using our creativity to solve these problems. Pass out or project on the board the Fictional Problem Scenarios. Students should review the list and initially choose 1 problem to address.

  • Students can work in pairs or small groups at the teacher’s discretion. Students should write out their solution to the problem.
  • While students are working, visit students to monitor progress and answer questions.

  4. Once groups finish their written solution, facilitate a brief discussion to have them reflect on working in a group by asking the following questions:

  • What specific actions or decisions helped your group successfully complete the task?
  • How did you demonstrate leadership skills while working in your group?

  5. Pass out art supplies. Explain to students that they will bring their vision (solution) to life by creating an illustration.

  • Once students finish their illustration, have them compare their solution with another group who chose the same problem. If no other group chose the same problem, have student pairs discuss how they would’ve addressed the problem other groups chose.
  • If time allows, student volunteers can share their problem, solution, and illustration with the whole class.

  5. To bring the lesson to a close, have students reflect on the lesson by answering the question “How can you use your creative thinking in other areas of your life, like school or hobbies?”.

   

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • Depending on student progress, this lesson may be broken into multiple days. Day 1 could focus on student’s writing out how to address their problem and day 2 could focus on creating a visual representation of their solution.

   

• Optional

  
  

  Extension Ideas:

  • Student solutions can be used in a gallery walk. Students can discuss what they find interesting, unique, or imaginative about each solution.