Looking for FREE morning work that gets students thinking without adding more prep to your plate?
These FREE creativity challenges by Carly and Adam are a simple way to start the school day while helping students practice creative thinking and problem solving.
The activities are short, easy to implement, and require only basic classroom supplies. They can also be used as brain breaks, bell ringers, early finisher activities, or quick warm-ups before a STEM challenge.
Why Use Creativity Challenges?
Creativity is an important part of STEM learning. Scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and computer programmers all need to generate ideas, think differently, and find solutions to problems. These creativity challenges give students regular opportunities to practice those skills.
The activities encourage divergent thinking, or the ability to generate different and unique ideas. Best of all, most of the challenges take only about 3–10 minutes, making them perfect for FREE morning work when students first arrive.
The Circles Challenges
FREE morning work creativity challenge for elementary students featuring a 6 Circles drawing activity with colorful student-created designs.
Try the Circles Creativity Challenges.
Students have just three minutes to turn as many circles as possible into recognizable objects. The goal isn't to create perfect drawings. Instead, students should focus on generating as many different ideas as they can.
The resource includes different versions so you can easily use the activity across grade levels:
6 Circles for Pre-K and Kindergarten
12 Circles for Grades 1–2
30 Circles for Grades 3 and up
A circle could become a basketball, flower, planet, face, fruit, or something completely unexpected. The sample on page 11 shows circles transformed into objects such as a strawberry, flower, ladybug, basketball, Earth, and a cat—but teachers are encouraged not to show the sample beforehand so students can develop their own ideas.
Students probably won't finish every circle, and that's okay! You can repeat the challenge throughout the school year so students can see how their ability to generate ideas grows over time.
Finish the Picture Activities
Finish the Picture morning work activity where students use creative thinking to turn a simple box shape into a completely different drawing.
This free resource also includes Finish the Picture challenges.
Students begin with a simple image and must transform it into something new while following a specific constraint. For example, they might see a box but be told, "It's NOT a box!" Their job is to add details and turn it into something completely different.
Another challenge begins with a piece of paper and asks students to turn it into anything except a piece of paper.
These activities are a great reminder that creativity isn't about being the best artist. The focus is on coming up with an original solution and explaining your thinking.
More Ways to Use Them
STEM creativity challenge for kids designed to strengthen creative thinking and problem-solving with quick, low-prep drawing activities.
While these activities make great FREE morning work, you don't have to limit them to the beginning of the day.
Try using creativity challenges as:
Bell ringers
Brain breaks
Early finisher activities
STEM warm-ups
Partner challenges
Quick creativity centers
Because the activities are short and require minimal materials, they're easy to pull out whenever you have a few extra minutes.
Grab Your FREE Morning Work
If you want an easy way to encourage creativity, problem solving, and divergent thinking in your classroom, these FREE Morning Work Creativity Challenges are a great place to start.
Print the activities, grab some pencils or crayons, set a timer, and see where your students' creativity takes them!
Spend Less Time Planning and More Time Teaching!
Hands-on STEM learning starts here.
Find ready-to-use STEM Activities and Science Curriculum, Practical Professional Development, and a Community of Educators to help you teach STEM with confidence.
You can get all 1000+ STEM Challenges by Carly and Adam as part of the STEM Teachers Club. Save 30% on your first month/year using coupon Code: CarlyAndAdamBlog.