| Goal | To introduce and develop creative thinking skills. To show how to think outside the box, generate innovative ideas, and approach problems from multiple perspectives. How to seek out new experiences to stimulate creative thinking. |
| Skills we’ll learn | Problem-Solving, a desire to explore, generating and evaluating ideas, taking initiative, interacting with peers, finding solutions. |
| Time | 1,5–2 h |
| Group size | 10-15 participants |
| Materials | Activity 2: paper and pensActivity 3: ObjectActivity 4: balls, cones, hula hoops, skipping rope, racketsActivity 6: a whiteboard or paper A4 |
| Activity style | Discussion, Visualisation, Drawing, Brainstorming, Collaboration, Teamwork. |
| Warm-up activity/Meditative technique | Random Word Associations |
*Start with a short activity (7-10 min). Depending on the audience and their mood, choose it in the Activity Bank. Use meditation techniques for concentration and mindfulness or warm-up games that create a fun and relaxed environment.
**Use the Thinking Skills Activity Bank to add or replace games.
Choose the duration and type of activities depending on the audience’s attentiveness, excitement and concentration.
To start, conduct a short activity that will relax frozen thinking patterns and activate creative abilities.
Activity 1
Random Word Associations
Call out a random word (e.g., “ocean”), and have them quickly say the first word that comes to mind.
Remind students that creative thinking is about making unexpected connections, just like we did in this activity! Now, we’re ready to explore even bigger ideas.
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
– Albert Einstein
Begin with an accessible definition of Creative Thinking.
What is Creative Thinking? Creative Thinking is like having a toolbox in your mind. But instead of a hammer or a wrench, you’re using your imagination, curiosity, and interesting ways of seeing the world to solve problems, make things, or come up with new ideas.
Why is it Important? Because of Creative Thinking we see things differently, find solutions to problems, and make life more exciting. Whether you want to invent a new app, write an amazing song, or simply come up with a creative solution for homework, it all starts with thinking creatively.
Discuss quotes to generate interest.
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein
Discuss: “What do you think Einstein meant? Can you think of a time when you had fun while coming up with something new?”
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
Discuss: “What happens when you try to come up with creative ideas every day? Does your creativity run out, or do you get better at it?”
Activity 2
Draw Toast
Use the Draw Toast exercise to introduce students to the concepts of visual thinking and working memory. This also works as a nice exercise to get people engaged with each other and thinking visually. Plus, it’s fun!
On paper, ask students to draw “How to make toast/ boil eggs/make tea…” After a couple of minutes, ask participants to share their pictures with each other and discuss the similarities and differences.
Activity 3
The Object Challenge
Show participants a common object (e.g., a paperclip, spoon, or rubber band). Ask them to list as many unusual uses for the object as possible. Students can draw or describe them. Encourage sharing ideas, even unusual and ridiculous ones.
Example:
- A paperclip could be used as a bookmark, an earring, a keychain, a stand for a phone, etc.
- rubber bands could be used to keep items like pens, markers, or paint brushes organized; keep a notebook or diary securely closed by stretching a rubber band around the cover; wrap a rubber band around the handle of a tool (a hammer), to provide better grip.
- A spoon could be used as garden markers to identify your plants; a slightly bent spoon can be attached to a cabinet door; Decorate a spoon to create a fun and easy-to-make puppet for children.
Discuss how each person’s mind worked differently to come up with new uses.
Activity 4
Invent-a-Sport
Let’s develop creative thinking skills by inventing and playing a new sport. The activity also covers many other skills. It teaches how to take initiative, to consider the opinions of others, to work in a team and present team solutions.
- Divide participants into teams and provide each team with a variety of sports equipment (e.g., balls, cones, hula hoops, skipping rope, rackets).
- Teams must work together to invent a new sport that incorporates at least three pieces of equipment. Encourage them to create unique rules, objectives, and strategies for their game.
- Give students time to create rules, practice, and refine a new sport.
- Ask them to demonstrate the game and play with the rest of the group.
Activity 5
Story Building
This game shows the importance of building on ideas and being open to new perspectives. We don’t know the final outcome of life’s situations, but we must believe in infinite options for their resolution.
- Start a short story with a simple sentence: “One day, a white cat found a golden key.”
- Pass the story along, and each student adds one sentence to the interesting ending.
- Discuss how each person’s addition changed the direction of the story. That means that creativity often comes from collaboration and bouncing ideas off others.
Activity 6
Mind Mapping Madness
The goal is to visually organize thoughts and make unexpected connections. Explain to students the importance of putting their thoughts on paper. By visualizing, we can better understand the situation.
- Start with a central idea. Write the main topic in the middle of a whiteboard or paper. For example, “Creative Ways to Study.”
- Branch out. Ask the group to brainstorm subtopics or categories related to the main idea (e.g., “Games”, “Technology”, “Classroom Innovations”, “Group Work”).
- Create further branches. As students add ideas, each one can be connected by lines to show relationships between them. For example, under “Games,” they might have “Flashcards”, “Quiz competitions”; under “Technology”–”Study Apps”, “YouTube channels”.
- Explore connections. Let students draw lines between ideas that can overlap or inspire new ideas.
- Reflect. Once the mind map is filled in, discuss the connections between the ideas and ask students which paths they find most interesting to explore further.
Activity 7
Reverse Brainstorming
We will teach students how to think creatively by looking at problems from a new angle. Like in math, a converse theorem. If a theorem states that “If A, then B,” the converse theorem states that “If B, then A.”
- Present a problem in a familiar scenario (e.g., “How can we make our school lunches more exciting?”).
- Instead of brainstorming solutions, ask the group, “How could we make school lunches worse?”
- After a few ridiculous ideas, flip the discussion to see how those could be turned into creative solutions.
Example: “If we made school lunches gross by serving food that’s cold and unappetizing, maybe we could focus on making lunches super fun and visually appealing!”
Alternatively, imagine solving the problem as someone else (a child, an inventor, a famous person).
Conclusion
Creativity is a skill that improves the more we practice it. There’s no such thing as a “bad” idea in creative thinking. It’s all about experimenting!
Develop creative thinking in daily life.
When you leave school, ask “What if?” questions and let your imagination run wild. For example, What if cars could fly? What if school was taught through games?
Take a different route to school, try a new food, or explore a hobby. New experiences stimulate the brain and encourage fresh ideas.
Even if you’re not an artist, doodling improves problem-solving and imagination. Keep a journal to organize thoughts and spark new ideas.
Talk to people with different perspectives, ages, and social status. New viewpoints help expand creative thinking.
Let students share their favorite moments or ideas from the activities.
Ask: “How do you think creative thinking can help you in school, with friends, or in the future?”
