Synopses & Reviews
Creativity in secondary English lessons today is a democratically conceived quality that all pupils are expected to achieve and a resource on which all are entitled to draw. But what exactly is creativity? And how does it relate to English? Creativity and Learning in Secondary English answers these questions, and others, by arguing for a version of creativity that sees it as an ordinary, everyday part of successful classroom practice, central to processes of meaning-making, dialogic interaction and textual engagement. In this construction, creativity is not just linked to learning; it is the driving force behind learning itself, offering pupils the opportunity to transform their knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
This book borrows from a range of theories about creativity and about learning, while remaining largely practical in focus. It contains numerous examples for teachers of how to apply ideas about creativity in the classroom. In doing so, it attempts to maintain the subject 's core identity while also keeping abreast of contemporary social, pedagogical and technological developments. The result is a refreshing challenge to some of the more mundane approaches to English teaching on offer in an age focussed excessively on standardisation and teaching to tests.
Practical applications of creativity include:
- Using picture books and graphic novels to stimulate multimodal responses
- Placing pupils in the role of the teacher
- Devising marketing campaigns for class novels
- Adopting experimental approaches to redrafting
- Encouraging extreme forms of re-creative writing
- Focusing on how to listen to texts
- Creating sound-scapes for poems
Thought-provoking and provocative, this textbook draws on current best practice in English teaching and will equip trainee and practising teachers with a wide range of strategies that will lead to greater creativity in the classroom.
Synopsis
Creativity is at the heart of English teaching. But what exactly is creativity and how does it relate to English?
Creativity is central to any discussion of English teaching and firmly embedded within the curriculum, yet its exact nature remains loosely defined. This book repositions the terms in which creativity is discussed in relation to English teaching and argues that creativity is a participative and social process open to all students that can be activitated through careful structuring of lessons rather than simply through the teacher being creative .
Drawing on current theories of dialogic learning and classroom talk, the book explores the possibilities brought into being when creativity is seen as a social process. It then provides practical guidance on how to these practices can be incorporated into various aspects of the English curriculum focusing on the centrality of meaning-making and the concept of re-creativity. With examples of real classroom practice, case studies and strategies for teachers to implement, the book suggests exciting ways to enable creativity in the English classroom including:
- creating sound-scapes for poems, with a focus on the meaning of the whole text
- using re-creative writing in order to engage critically with a literary text
- Exploring the processes involved in various media productions, including developing adverts and producing a music video
- developing a marketing campaign for the text they have chosen
- re-creating aspects of novels in different media
- using exploratory talk to generate critical creativity
This thought-provoking textbook draws on current best practice in English teaching and will equip trainee and practising teaching with a wide range of stategies that will lead to greater creativity - and by extension learning - in the classroom.