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Creating creative thinkers...

8/16/2012

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The First Slogan: Take Risks!

Picture
Creating creative thinkers begins with this slogan: Take Risks!

In fact, sloganeering is an important teaching technique because slogans give students important reminders about your lessons and they are easily repeated throughout the course. No slogan is as valuable as this one: Take risks! Your students should hear you say this every day of the year – soon enough they will say it to each other.

No thinker, no writer, no person can advance without taking risks. Certainly, no teacher can improve without taking risks. 

From this point forward you are herby encouraged to take risks and to teach students to take risks.

In fact, my very first creative lesson begins by instructing students to "Use magic markers and write the slogan 'Take Risks!' on the first page of your notebook. I want you to see it every time you open that book." 

The technique showed there is called "direct instruction" - telling the students what to do. "Write this down ..." or "Take out a notebook and a set of magic markers ..." are examples of direct instructions.

When you give direct instructions, be sure to give students time to comply  with your instructions - and coach them along if they need assistance. 

Today you learned about sloganeering, taking risks, and direct instruction. That's enough for one blog! 

Click here to read more on these ideas....


2 Comments

    Blog Author:
    Daniel Weinstein

    I teach AP Language and Creative Writing at Great Neck South High School on Long Island. 

    Teaching philosophies: Student-centered. Collaborative. Goal-setting. Coaching. Divergent thinking. Portfolio. Writing as therapy. Take Risks! Find your voice. Experiment! Freewrite. Poetry. Memoir. Editing. Layers. Deadlines. Frontload. Rap and hip-hop. Expository technique. Drawing. Art. Magic Markers. Mind Maps. Publishing. Music. Cellphones. Ipods. Wikipedia. Twitter. Facebook. Stay modern. Stay open-minded. Keep learning. 

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© 2013 Daniel Weinstein
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