Creative & Critical Thinking Activities for the Middle or High School Classroom

These seem like fun ways to keep students actively participating, which is always our goal no matter what the objective is for that day. I think they would have to be modified per discipline to be really effective exercises though. For example, the Whip Around exercise could be fun by having them respond first in their journals and then share. Perhaps it could be a tool to use while reading in class; every few paragraphs have students stop and immediately respond in their journals and then Whip it Around..... like a reader response almost. The Pivotal Person exercise could be fun if you made the pivotal person a character from literature, and then have students practice interacting with him/her.

I think many of these activities are great to use in the classroom. The student's ability to think quick on their feet is becoming lost. With all of the technology that has become available students don't have to think critically or react quickly with a clever response like the Whip Around activity provides. Activities like the Whip Around gives the student the opportunity to share something about themselves in a fun creative and non-threatening way. This activity could be useful in English class by asking the student to comment on a character or a character's behavior or motive they are studying. You always have more success with your class when you can incorporate fun ways to teach the basic skills.