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Do you keep hearing about how important creativity in the classroom is but have no idea how to teach such a skill? There seems to be an understanding that creativity is something that one is born with and not something that is taught. This article offers reasons why it is important to teach creativity in your classroom and offers examples on how you can accomplish this seemingly incredible task. Creativity is not a bestowed gift; if can be experienced and learned by students in a classroom setting. The article emphasizes that there is a desperate need for creative thinkers in the world; we are in the midst of a creativity crisis. A sustainable future depends on having creative thinkers think up innovative solutions to complex problems. Creativity is a set of skills that must be taught to the future generations. The article provides examples of teaching creativity in the classroom. For example, As part of their social studies report, high school students developed a strong sense of empathy when they worked with the art teacher to create masks representing the emotions embodied by people from significant historical events: Polish Jews during the Second World War; a mother and her children leaving Ireland during the Irish Potato Famine in 1847; and parents receiving news that their son or daughter has been killed in action in Afghanistan. Students' creativity cannot be constantly held back by the tight constraints of producing a specific product to exhibit their understanding in a specific way. Creativity should be further explored in our education system if it is a skill that future generations will need to deal with our future complex concerns; not pulled away from simply because it is a concept that many people have not quite figured out how to explain and teach in a school setting.

In this article John Fielding, discusses how many of Canadian students learn history - through memorization and lecture - and how instead we need to engage students in history lessons through role play, field trips and storytelling. For many it is easy to identify how history should NOT be taught, but to make history memorable we need to make it come alive for the students. John also offers a list of strategies in teaching history which are not valuable, strategies which may be successful, and finally interesting and imaginative learning strategies, all with reasons why they are, or are not, effective.

John Fielding a retired history professor from Queens University wrote this short article to encourage History teachers to be passionate and creative in their teaching. Teachers need to get students involved in History and show them how it is relevant today. According to Professor Fielding "the most important element for a strategy to be effective is, however, that it must activate the historical imagination of the student." So as teachers we need to find ways to start their imagination and let them enjoy the past without always having to write a two page essay. Fielding suggest that teachers allow students to be creative allowing them to use historical fiction to demonstrate their understanding of the people and their times. Teachers should incorporate drama, role playing and storytelling help develop a historical imagination of the student. When you can capture the imagination of the student you can then develop a passion in the student for the things of the past.

This journal article describes the benefits of utilizing children's literature in teaching history and geography. With the TECs in the process of learning about how to plan a unit which incorporates a topic in multiple subject areas, I feel that this article will give us additional ideas of how to teach historical events in new and creative ways. Whether using picture books or children's novels, literature brings history to life and can give students a better understanding of real-life situations in which the characters can give better insights of their thoughts and decision making process.

This journal article provides several examples of creative activities to engage students in learning about their community and government. Although this can be viewed as a rather dry topic, utilizing the ideas given in the article new TECs can pique the interests of students and give them a sense of belonging to the community in which they live.