Christmas is almost here – and those teaching in the UK should really embrace it. The festive season marks an occasion where you can spark your pupils’ imagination and develop a whole different set of skills. This is important because you don’t want to be the type of teacher who just flicks on a film or encourages their class to bring in a game before term ends. After all, why do this when you can teach your class all about the value of their imagination? Here are four hacks to encourage their creativity.
Creative writing
Start by pushing your class into the direction of creative writing. Be sure to emphasise that they can write whatever they want – from a short story to a poem. Other than the fact that the content should be about Christmas, remind your pupils that there are no rules and encourage them to use exciting language at all times.
Christmas cards
This one is already relied upon quite a lot in many schools. The concept is simple; you just set your class the task of creating a card for their family for Christmas. To really get the creative juices flowing, set up a crafts table and insist that no two cards should be the same. You could even hand out prizes for the most original design.
Performance
The school play is a staple of our education system. Unfortunately, it can be quite rigid. Instead of handing your pupils the dialogue and stage directions, insist they decide upon this themselves – with the only guideline being that the performance should be about Christmas. Explain that they should delegate roles, including who’s in charge of directing, who will be acting and who will be singing. This should also help nurture their ability to work as a team and compromise with each other. Remember, this doesn’t have to be the actual school play and can just be a mini classroom performance.
Arts and crafts
Your class will know all about Father Christmas, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and the Angel Gabriel. So why not ask your pupils to draw them all? Make sure they use a variety of techniques, including shading, blending and tracing. If these are finished in time, they could also make for a rather nifty wall display on the run-up to Christmas day.
Creativity at Christmas
These creative tasks should hopefully be lots of fun for your class. As well as developing valuable skills, it will also make them appreciate how multifaceted their education is. With any luck this should have them bursting with enthusiasm when they return to school in January.
