Catalogue of Critical Creativity

1. Creating with Words - Resume Rationale

I'm currently doing a lot of research into authentic writing and a big piece of authentic writing is real world genre. I love the idea of familiarizing students with the very relevant genre that is the resume but in a fun, engaging, and still challenging way. I think adapting resume rationales to instead take the place of standard book reports, arguments as to why we should read a certain book as a class, or an argumentative paper in general could work really well.

2. Creating with Images - Color Palette

What a fun summative assessment this has the potential to be. Maybe the prompt for the assignment could be that the text's publishing house is coming out with a special edition of the book that will feature a new cover. Students can design a color palette for the cover and 1) give each color a new name and 2) provide a rationale including textual evidence (connection to character, themes, plot, dialogue, etc.) as to why that color represents the text well. Instead of colourlovers.com, I would recommend using coolors.co!

3. Creating with Sounds - Audio Landscape

I think this project would work best at the conclusion of a reader's workshop or literature circles, so that there is a lot of variety in the landscapes students are analyzing. It would be really cool to have a sort of gallery at the end, resources granting, where a student could set up a single computer with their audio landscape and a pair of headphones, maybe along with a summary or book talk script the student listening could read along to.

4. Creating with the Body - Machine Made

At first, I struggled to grasp the potential of this exercise. But then I noticed that one of the ideas for application was constructing machines that translate Shakespeare or provide feedback on writing. That would be so helpful in allowing students to digest the important components and steps in doing things like translating difficult/dense texts or the process of peer feedback in writer's workshops.

5. Creating with stuff - Board Game Remix

This concept could be really fun with any book we read in class, but I think it would be especially helpful when reading a really complex text, like the ones students would need to read in upper-level AP courses. I often felt bored or overwhelmed with these texts, so working in a group to break them down and remix them into familiar board games would have really helped me with comprehension.

6. Creating with Social Media - Fauxical Media Profiles

In a social media dominant world, most students are likely to be very familiar with the conventions of social media profiles. I think it is helpful to blend a foundation of familiarity (in this case, the social media platform) with a concept they are working to master (like point of view or voice, as the book mentions). This could be a great summative assessment for students when we are working on POV and similar learning standards.