Creativity Journal

A Creativity
Journal
sponge activities to bring out the
inherent creativity in your students
compiled by Shannan LaPorte, TAG teacher
based on the work of

E. Paul Torrance
in
The Search for Satori and Creativity, 1979
Introduction to the Creativity Journal
 Creativity is digging deeper.

 Creativity is looking twice.
 Creativity is crossing out mistakes.
 Creativity is talking/listening to a cat.
 Creativity is getting in deep water.
 Creativity is getting out from behind locked doors.
 Creativity is plugging in the sun.
 Creativity is wanting to know.
 Creativity is having a ball.
 Creativity is building sand castles.
 Creativity is singing in your own key.
 Creativity is shaking hands with the future.
From The Search for Satori and Creativity by E. Paul Torrance
Research shows that creativity is something that needs to be nurtured in order for
it to reach its fullest potential in young people. This creativity journal, inspired by
activity ideas in the book listed above, is meant to provide a springboard for bringing out
the creativity in elementary school students. The activities can be used as a daily journal,
or as “sponge” activities when a few minutes present themselves during the day. They
can also be used to generate other related activities.
It is important to give students time to work on the activities independently, as
well as time to share and discuss the ideas generated by the activities.
Creativity Journal: Fairy Tale Twist
Take a fairy tale that you know well (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood,
etc.), and change one aspect of the story to make it funny. Write your new
fairy tale.
Creativity Journal: Poetry
Write a poem about any topic you choose. Use any form of poetry that you
choose.
Creativity Journal: In Another’s Eyes
Describe an argument you have recently had with someone else or observed
between two people. Write about the event from someone else’s point of
view. What was that person thinking? How did that person feel?
Creativity Journal: Inventions
Think of something you do every day, and how it could be made better,
easier, or more fun. Invent something that will help accomplish that goal.
Draw and describe it below.
Creativity Journal: Transportation
Brainstorm as many different and unusual ways as you can of transporting

someone or something from one place to another.
Creativity Journal: Word Connections
Make a list of 10 words that don’t seem to have anything to do with one
another. Then choose two of the words and explain how they are related.
Choose another two, and repeat. Continue.
Creativity Journal: The Seed
Imagine that you find an unusual seed lying on the ground. You take it
home and plant it. A few days later, it starts to grow from the ground. Draw
and describe the plant that is made from the seed. Explain why it is an
unusual plant.
Creativity Journal: Questioning
Draw an interesting picture in the top half of the rectangle below. Then
switch papers with a partner and write at least 5 questions about your
partner’s picture underneath it.
Creativity Journal: Pictures
In the space below, draw some lines, curves, and shapes that could be almost
anything. Then switch journals with a partner who has done the same thing.
Complete your partner’s picture.
Creativity Journal: Using Senses
Think about an experience lately, either at home, at school, outside, or

somewhere else, where you were able to use all or almost all of your senses.
Describe that experience, and include details about the senses in your
description.
Creativity Journal: Making Changes
Answer one or all of these questions in the space below:

What would you make invisible so that it would be funnier?
What would you make louder so that it would be more pleasant?
What would you make go backwards in order to improve it?
(source: Invitations to Thinking and Doing, Myers and Torrance, 1964, p. 13)
Creativity Journal: Play
Write a play for 2-3 characters. Include one or more elements of fantasy in
your play.
Creativity Journal: Possibilities
Answer one or more of the following questions below:

What would happen if pigs had wings?
What would happen if everyone’s hair turned green overnight?
What would happen if lions were the size of cocker spaniels?
Creativity Journal: Similes
You may be familiar with words that would complete the similes in the
traditional way. Whether you are or not, though, complete each simile with
something unique and interesting that no one else would think of.
funny as…
hard as…
wet as…
soft as…
nervous as…
crooked as…
Now make up a few interesting similes of your own?
Creativity Journal: Common Threads
Look at each group of three words below. Think carefully about the words,
and for each row write what all three words have in common.
nail ball drum
watch wagon airplane
blood newspapers air
poem skipping rope music
whale gopher horse
spelling diamond cutting arithmetic
Now write three words of your own, and explain what they have in common.
Creativity Journal: Titles
Write a really interesting story below, but don’t give it a title. When you are
through, swap journals with a partner. Give his or her story a title, and he or
she will do the same for your story.
Creativity Journal: Interesting Names
Sometimes stories contain characters with really interesting names. Create

three names (both first and last) for characters in a story. Swap papers with
a partner and write a story containing his or her character names. He or she
will do the same with yours.
Creativity Journal: What if…?
What if you woke up one day and everyone’s houses were right side up, but
the rest of the world was upside down? What would such a world be like?
Write about it.
Creativity Journal: Synthesizing
You will find a box in the attic. In the box are: a magnet, a can opener, a
baseball glove, a pair of panty hose, a saw, a tricycle, a jar, a sweater, and a
tennis racquet. You combine two or more of the items to make something
new. Describe what you made.
(Source: Invitations to Thinking and Doing, Myers and Torrance, 1964, p. 33)
Creativity Journal: Title First
Write down the most interesting story title you can. Then swap papers with
a partner. Write a story to go with your partners’ title, and your partner will
do the same for your title.
Creativity Journal: Explanations
You get on the bus one morning and the seats have been replaced with
canoes. What possible explanations are there for this? List as many as you
can.
Creativity Journal: Consequences
The Department of Transportation cuts down 100,000 trees in order to make

a new highway. What possible consequences are there from this action?
List as many as you can.
Creativity Journal: Humor
Draw a funny cartoon with a caption.

Creativity Journal: Solutions
You are in charge of the school store. You arrive one morning to find that
all of the things to sell at the store are gone. What possible solutions are
there to this problem?
Creativity Journal
Bibliography
Bartholomew, R. (1994). Assorted Creative Thinking Activities.

http://www.eduref.org/cgibin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/
Interdisciplinary/INT00007.
Mildrum, N. K. (2000). Creativity Workshops in the Regular Classroom. Roeper Review,

22(3), 162-165.
Myers, R. E. & Torrance, E.P. (1964). Invitations to Thinking and Doing. Boston: Ginn
and Company.
Smutny, J. F.(2001). Creative Strategies for Teaching Language Arts to Gifted Students
(K-8). ERIC Digest E612.
Torrance, E. P. (1979). The Search for Satori & Creativity. Buffalo: Creative Education
Foundation, Inc.

Creativity Journal

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Creativity Journal

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Creativity Journal

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Creativity

based on the work of

 Creativity is digging deeper.

From The Search for Satori and Creativity by E. Paul Torrance

Brainstorm as many different and unusual ways as you can of transporting

Think about an experience lately, either at home, at school, outside, or

Answer one or all of these questions in the space below:

Answer one or more of the following questions below:

Now make up a few interesting similes of your own?

nail ball drum

watch wagon airplane

blood newspapers air

poem skipping rope music

whale gopher horse

spelling diamond cutting arithmetic

Sometimes stories contain characters with really interesting names. Create

The Department of Transportation cuts down 100,000 trees in order to make

Draw a funny cartoon with a caption.

Bartholomew, R. (1994). Assorted Creative Thinking Activities.

Mildrum, N. K. (2000). Creativity Workshops in the Regular Classroom. Roeper Review,

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.