Are you ready for a little creative thinking this morning? In this activity, you’re encouraging flexible thinking as your students look for interesting similarities between a range of inanimate objects and their own lives.

At ‘The Writer’s Club’ we explored how to add action and pace into our writing. This is what we discovered!

Donald Graves was the guru of Process Writing. In my first years of teaching, his books lined up along my desk. Yesterday, feeling nostalgic, I decided to reacquaint myself with this wise and creative man, to whom I owe a great debt. I found this wonderful (and short) interview with him on You Tube, where he talks about how to get a class writing.

In a research paper conducted by Paul Gardner, teachers identified a range of characteristics that were common to reluctant writers. I certainly recognise characteristics of both of my children in this list, at various stages of their development. (I hate to admit it, but I also recognise myself in this list too!) Although we think of children who struggle with literacy belonging to this group, reluctant writers are found right across the developmental spectrum of any classroom or group.

Today I’m sharing three resource books that I often recommend to parents and teachers in my workshops. All three books develop both creative and critical thinking skills which are foundational storytelling skills. I’ve chosen books which spark curiosity as I consider this to be a fundamental learning skill across all curriculum levels. All three books cater for a range of ages and stages so lots of possibilities for families.

I sometimes hear teachers say; “I’m not creative.” I always find this amusing because teaching is one of the most creative professions I know. If you're a teacher, I can make a sure bet that you're invested in the art of being creative.