What is Brainstorming?
Brainstorming is a large or small group activity which encourages children to focus on a topic and contribute to the free flow of ideas. The teacher may begin by posing a question or a problem, or by introducing a topic. Students then express possible answers, relevant words and ideas. Contributions are accepted without criticism or judgement. Initially, some students may be reluctant to speak out in a group setting but brainstorming is an open sharing activity which encourages all children to participate. By expressing ideas and listening to what others say, students adjust their previous knowledge or understanding, accommodate new information and increase their levels of awareness.

Teachers should emphasize active listening during these sessions. Students should be encouraged to listen carefully and politely to what their classmates contribute, to tell the speakers or the teacher when they cannot hear others clearly and to think of different suggestions or responses to share.
What is its purpose? * to focus students' attention on a particular topic * to generate a quantity of ideas * to teach acceptance and respect for individual differences * to encourage learners to take risks in sharing their ideas and opinions * to demonstrate to students that their knowledge and their language abilities are valued and accepted * to introduce the practice of idea collection prior to beginning tasks such as writing or solving problems * to provide an opportunity for students to share ideas and expand their existing knowledge by building on each other's contributions
How can I do it? * In a small or large group select a leader and a recorder (they may be the same person). * Define the problem or idea to be brainstormed. Make sure everyone is clear on the topic being explored. * Set up the rules for the session. They should include:
- letting the leader have control.
- allowing everyone to contribute.
- ensuring that no one will insult, demean, or evaluate another participant or his/her response.
- stating that no answer is wrong.
- recording each answer unless it is a repeat.
- setting a time limit and stopping when that time is up. * Start the brainstorming. Have the leader select members of the group to share their answers. The recorder should write down all responses, if possible so everyone can see them. Make sure not to evaluate or criticize any answers until done brainstorming. * Once you have finished brainstorming, go through the results and begin evaluating the responses. Some initial qualities to look for when examining the responses include:
- looking for any answers that are repeated or similar.
- grouping like concepts together.
- eliminating responses that definitely do not fit. * Now that you have narrowed your list down some, discuss the remaining responses as a group.
It is important for the teacher to: * Establish a warm, supportive environment. * Emphasize that a quantity of ideas is the goal. * Discourage evaluative or critical comments from peers. * Encourage and provide opportunity for all students to participate. * Initially emphasize the importance of listening to expressed ideas, and model printing and recording of the ideas, then read each contribution to or with the group.
How can I adapt it? * Use this procedure to plan a classroom activity such as a research project, a field trip, a concert or a party. * Display brainstormed lists of words to be used as spelling resources.
Add to brainstormed lists regularly. * Groups and individuals can use brainstorming to generate prewriting ideas for stories, poems and songs. * Categorize brainstormed words, ideas and suggestions. * Use brainstormed words and sentences for exploring sentence structures and for key vocabularies.
Assessment and Evaluation Considerations * Observe students' ability to focus on a topic or task in a group situation. * Note students' participation in the oral expression of ideas. * Monitor listening behaviours. (Do students take turns speaking? Do they ask for clarifications?) * Periodically record students' oral language strengths, weaknesses and development in their files.
Brainstorming
Generating many radical, creative ideas

Brainstorm better with
James Manktelow & Amy Carlson.

Brainstorming is a popular tool that helps you generate creative solutions to a problem.
It is particularly useful when you want to break out of stale, established patterns of thinking, so that you can develop new ways of looking at things. It also helps you overcome many of the issues that can make group problem-solving a sterile and unsatisfactory process.
Used with your team, it helps you bring the diverse experience of all team members into play during problem solving. This increases the richness of ideas explored, meaning that you can find better solutions to the problems you face.
It can also help you get buy in from team members for the solution chosen – after all, they were involved in developing it. What’s more, because brainstorming is fun, it helps team members bond with one-another as they solve problems in a positive, rewarding environment.

Why Use Brainstorming?
Conventional group problem-solving can be fraught with problems. Confident, "big-ego" participants can drown out and intimidate quieter group members. Less confident participants can be too scared of ridicule to share their ideas freely. Others may feel pressurized to conform with the group view, or are held back by an excessive respect for authority. As such, group problem-solving is often ineffective and sterile.
By contrast, brainstorming provides a freewheeling environment in which everyone is encouraged to participate. Quirky ideas are welcomed, and many of the issues of group problem-solving are overcome. All participants are asked to contribute fully and fairly, liberating people to develop a rich array of creative solutions to the problems they're facing.
“Brainstorming 2.0”
The original approach to brainstorming was developed by Madison Avenue advertising executive, Alex Osborn, in the 1950s. Since then, many researchers have explored the technique, and have identified issues with it.
The steps described here seek to take account of this research, meaning that the approach described below differs subtly from Osborn's original one.

What is Brainstorming?
Brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem-solving with lateral thinking. It asks that people come up with ideas and thoughts that can at first seem to be a bit crazy. The idea here is that some of these ideas can be crafted into original, creative solutions to the problem you're trying to solve, while others can spark still more ideas. This approach aims to get people unstuck, by "jolting" them out of their normal ways of thinking.
During brainstorming sessions there should therefore be no criticism of ideas: You are trying to open up possibilities and break down wrong assumptions about the limits of the problem. Judgments and analysis at this stage stunt idea generation.
Ideas should only be evaluated at the end of the brainstorming session – this is the time to explore solutions further using conventional approaches.
Individual Brainstorming
While group brainstorming is often more effective at generating ideas than normal group problem-solving, study after study has shown that when individuals brainstorm on their own, they come up with more ideas (and often better quality ideas) than groups of people who brainstorm together.
Partly this occurs because, in groups, people aren’t always strict in following the rules of brainstorming, and bad group behaviors creep in. Mostly, though, this occurs because people are paying so much attention to other people’s ideas that they're not generating ideas of their own – or they're forgetting these ideas while they wait for their turn to speak. This is called "blocking".
When you brainstorm on your own, you'll tend to produce a wider range of ideas than with group brainstorming - you do not have to worry about other people's egos or opinions, and can therefore be more freely creative. For example, you might find that an idea you’d be hesitant to bring up in a group session develops into something quite special when you explore it with individual brainstorming. Nor do you have to wait for others to stop speaking before you contribute your own ideas.
You may not, however, develop ideas as fully when you brainstorm on your own, as you do not have the wider experience of other members of a group to help you.

Tip: When Brainstorming on your own, consider using Mind Maps to arrange and develop ideas.

Group Brainstorming
When it works, group brainstorming can be very effective for bringing the full experience and creativity of all members of the group to bear on an issue. When individual group members get stuck with an idea, another member's creativity and experience can take the idea to the next stage. Group brainstorming can therefore develop ideas in more depth than individual brainstorming.
Another advantage of group brainstorming is that it helps everyone involved to feel that they’ve contributed to the end solution, and it reminds people that other people have creative ideas to offer. What’s more, brainstorming is fun, and it can be great for team-building!
Brainstorming in a group can be risky for individuals. Valuable but strange suggestions may appear stupid at first sight. Because of this, you need to chair sessions tightly so that ideas are not crushed, and so that the usual issues with group problem-solving don’t stifle creativity.
How to Use the Tool:
You can often get the best results by combining individual and group brainstorming, and by managing the process carefully and according to the "rules" below. That way, you get people to focus on the issue without interruption (this comes from having everyone in a dedicated group meeting), you maximize the number of ideas you can generate, and you get that great feeling of team bonding that comes with a well-run brainstorming session!
To run a group brainstorming session effectively, do the following: * Find a comfortable meeting environment, and set it up ready for the session. * Appoint one person to record the ideas that come from the session. These should be noted in a format than everyone can see and refer to. Depending on the approach you want to use, you may want to record ideas on flip charts, whiteboards, or computers with data projectors. * If people aren’t already used to working together, consider using an appropriate warm-up exercise or ice-breaker. * Define the problem you want solved clearly, and lay out any criteria to be met. Make it clear that that the objective of the meeting is to generate as many ideas as possible. * Give people plenty of time on their own at the start of the session to generate as many ideas as possible. * Ask people to give their ideas, making sure that you give everyone a fair opportunity to contribute. * Encourage people to develop other people's ideas, or to use other ideas to create new ones. * Encourage an enthusiastic, uncritical attitude among members of the group. Try to get everyone to contribute and develop ideas, including the quietest members of the group. * Ensure that no one criticizes or evaluates ideas during the session. Criticism introduces an element of risk for group members when putting forward an idea. This stifles creativity and cripples the free running nature of a good brainstorming session. * Let people have fun brainstorming. Encourage them to come up with as many ideas as possible, from solidly practical ones to wildly impractical ones. Welcome creativity! * Ensure that no train of thought is followed for too long. Make sure that you generate a sufficient number of different ideas, as well as exploring individual ideas in detail. * In a long session, take plenty of breaks so that people can continue to concentrate.

Taking Your Brainstorming Further...
If you're still not getting the ideas you want, try using these approaches to increase the number of ideas that you generate: * The Stepladder Technique - This improves the contribution of quieter members of the group, by introducing ideas one person at a time. * Brainwriting - Brainwriting uses a written approach to brainstorming to generate and develop ideas. This helps you get ideas from all individuals, and develop these ideas in depth. * Brain-netting - This is similar to Brainwriting, but uses an electronic document stored on a central server. * The Crawford's Slip Approach – The Crawford's Slip Approach helps you get plenty of ideas from all participants in your session, and gives you a view of the popularity of each idea.
The techniques below help you in specific brainstorming situations: * Reverse Brainstorming – This is useful for improving a product or service. * Starbursting – Starbursting helps you brainstorm the questions you need to ask to evaluate a proposal. * Charette Procedure – This procedure helps you brainstorm effectively with large groups of people. (Conventional brainstorming is cumbersome and increasingly ineffective when more than 10 to 12 people are involved.) * Round-Robin Brainstorming – This technique helps you ensure that people will contribute great ideas without being influenced by others in the group.

Where possible, participants in the brainstorming process should come from as wide a range of disciplines as possible. This brings a broad range of experience to the session and helps to make it more creative. However, don’t make the group too big – as with other types of teamwork, groups of between 5 and 7 people are often most effective.

Key Points:
Brainstorming is a useful way of generating radical solutions to problems, just as long as it's managed well. During the brainstorming process there is no criticism of ideas, and free rein is given to people's creativity (criticism and judgment cramp creativity.)
This tends to make group brainstorming sessions enjoyable experiences, which are great for bringing team members together. Using brainstorming also helps people commit to solutions, because they have participated in the development of these solutions.
The best approach to brainstorming combines individual and group brainstorming. Group brainstorming needs formal rules for it to work smoothly.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a group technique for generating new, useful ideas and promoting creative thinking.

It can be used to help 1) define what project or problem to work on, 2) to diagnose problems , 3) remediate a project by coming up with possible solutions and to identify possible resistance to proposed solutions.
Roles
There are three roles for participants in a brainstorming session: leader, scribe and team member.
Leader
This person needs to be a good listener.
Before the session they need to refine a statement to help the others on the team focus on the reason for the brainstorming, and prepare the warm up activity.
During the session the leader will need to relay the ground rules of the session, and to orchestrate the session.
The Problem Statement * needs to be specific enough to help participants focus on the intent of the session, but it must be open enough to allow innovative thinking. * should not be bias so it favors a particular solution or excludes creative ideas.
Ground Rules for Brainstorming 1. All ideas are welcome. There are no wrong answers. During brainstorming, no judgments should be made of ideas. 2. Be creative in contributions. Change involves risk taking, it's important to be open to new, original ideas. Every point of view is valuable. 3. Attempt to contribute a high quantity of ideas is a short amount of time. 4. Participants should "hitch hike" on others' ideas.
Scribe
This person needs to write down EVERY idea - clearly and where everyone in the group can see them. Check to be sure the materials provided will allow you to write so everyone in the group can clearly see what you are writing. The scribe could be the same person as the leader.
Team Members
The number of participants should be no less than five, and no more than ten. The ideal group number is usually between six and seven. Sometimes it is helpful to include a person on the brainstorming team who has worked with the subject in the past.
Team members will follow this brainstorming procedure: 1. Team members will make contributions in turn. 2. Only one idea will be contributed each turn. 3. A member may decline to contribute during a particular round, but will be asked to contribute each round. 4. Participants should not provide explanations for ideas during brainstorming. Doing so would both slow the process down, and allow premature evaluation of ideas.
Set the Stage * If possible the group should know what the brainstorming session is about before the session begins. This will allow them to think about the session. * Provide appropriate places and ways to record ideas. This could include: flip charts, chalk or white boards, Post-Its, or large monitored computers. * Provide a mental and physical environment which allows for creativity. Putting out thing such as magazines, clay, books, water colors, slates, a kaleidoscope, or jacks.
Steps for the Leader on How to Brainstorm 1. Introduce the Session.
Review the reason for the brainstorming session, discuss the ground rules, and the team member procedure to be used. 2. Warm-Up.
Provide a warm up activity (5 to 10 minutes) that helps the group get use to the excitement possible in a brainstorming session. This activity should be on a neutral subject that will encourage participants to be creative. The leader may want to end the warm up by having the members discuss what could be said about the ideas that would prevent brainstorming from being successful. 3. Brainstorming.
This is the creative part! Set a time limit of 20 to 25 minutes. Sometimes it is effective to call time and then allow 5 more minutes. Stop when there is still excitement, do not force the group to work. Guide the group to generate as many ideas as possible. All suggestions made must be noted by the scribe. The scribe should use the speaker's own words. If the speaker's idea is long, the leader may need to summarize it and verify with the originator if the summary is correct. 4. Process the Ideas.
Review ideas for clarification, making sure everyone understands each item. Similar ideas should be combined and grouped. At this point you can eliminate duplicate ideas and remove ideas. Next the group should agree on the criteria for evaluation. This could include: time allotments, talents and skills of the group, and more. 5. Establish a consensus if appropriate.
Have the group vote on ten ideas to consider, then have the group vote on five of the ideas and tally the results to get a priority of feelings of the group.
After refining ideas give each team member 100 points to allocate on the idea list. Team members can use their points however they wish.
Have team members pick the five ideas they favor. Then ideas with the most picks can be prioritized.
The Step by Step Guide to
Brainstorming
Brainstorming can be an effective way to generate lots of ideas on a specific issue and then determine which idea – or ideas – is the best solution. Brainstorming is most effective with groups of 8-12 people and should be performed in a relaxed environment. If participants feel free to relax and joke around, they'll stretch their minds further and therefore produce more creative ideas.
A brainstorming session requires a facilitator, a brainstorming space and something on which to write ideas, such as a white-board a flip chart or software tool. The facilitator's responsibilities include guiding the session, encouraging participation and writing ideas down.
Brainstorming works best with a varied group of people. Participants should come from various departments across the organisation and have different backgrounds. Even in specialist areas, outsiders can bring fresh ideas that can inspire the experts.
There are numerous approaches to brainstorming, but the traditional approach is generally the most effective because it is the most energetic and openly collaborative, allowing participants to build on each others' ideas.
Creativity exercises, relaxation exercises or other fun activities before the session can help participants relax their minds so that they will be more creative during the brainstorming session.
Step by Step 1. Define your problem or issue as a creative challenge. This is extremely important. A badly designed challenge could lead to lots of ideas which fail to solve your problem. A well designed creative challenge generates the best ideas to solve your problem. Creative challenges typically start with: "In what ways might we...?" or "How could we...?" Your creative challenge should be concise, to the point and exclude any information other than the challenge itself. For example: "In what ways might we improve product X?" or "How could we encourage more local people to join our club?" Click here to read Dr. Arthur Van Gundy's The care and framing of strategic innovation challenges (PDF document: 537kb) 2. Give yourselves a time limit. We recommend around 25 minutes, but experience will show how much time is required. Larger groups may need more time to get everyone's ideas out. Alternatively, give yourself an idea limit. At minimum, push for 50 ideas. But 100 ideas is even better. 3. Once the brainstorming starts, participants shout out solutions to the problem while the facilitator writes them down – usually on a white board or flip-chart for all to see. There must be absolutely no criticizing of ideas. No matter how daft, how impossible or how silly an idea is, it must be written down. Laughing is to be encouraged. Criticism is not. 4. Once your time is up, select the five ideas which you like best. Make sure everyone involved in the brainstorming session is in agreement. 5. Write down about five criteria for judging which ideas best solve your problem. Criteria should start with the word "should", for example, "it should be cost effective", "it should be legal", "it should be possible to finish before July 15", etc. 6. Give each idea a score of 0 to 5 points depending on how well it meets each criterion. Once all of the ideas have been scored for each criterion, add up the scores. 7. The idea with the highest score will best solve your problem. But you should keep a record of all of your best ideas and their scores in case your best idea turns out not to be workable. Brainstorming!Thomas Edison said, “To have a great idea, have a lot of them.”

Easy for Tom to say. The average child today finds it very difficult to come up with a variety of ideas in response to a problem. He is most likely to grab the first idea that pops into his head. That idea will be a borrowed one – usually from television. Kids are told that when taking a test and they unsure of an answer, they should go with their first idea; it’s usually the right one. But in creativity, the first idea is almost always a cliché. | Kids need help coming up with a range of ideas | | | That’s why many of my activities include brainstorming. (Parents, here's a brainstorming page for you!)

Brainstorming is a key part to the creative process. It’s the best way to think of a whole pile of potential answers to a problem. It also can be tons of fun. Here are some helpful tips:

Brainstorm in the classroom.
Creativity can thrive in a group if the environment is right. It doesn’t have to be a solitary child staring at a blank piece of paper. Brainstorming can be a team sport. As the teacher, you take the lead -- asking questions, fielding answers, showing enthusiasm, keeping the "what if" spirit thriving.

Accept all ideas. Make the tone positive. Even if an idea obviously won’t work, write it down or hear it out. Not only will the quietest of your kids feel included, that idea may be a stepping-stone to another, more useful answer. However, when I work with kids, there are times I limit them. I do tell them that we want to stay away from violent ideas or bathroom humor. If you have any restrictions like that, tell them up front rather than embarrassing someone right after they’ve shared their idea.

Have a visual focus. It really helps to have something visual to start from. Students can use it as a mental touchstone as they wander in their minds in search of new ideas. It may be a name of a character on the board, or ideas that are listed as they are suggested, or a quick drawing of a character, or a painting as a prompt. | | Push beyond the obvious. As I’ve worked with children, I’ve found they need a gentle, encouraging push to get beyond that first line of over-used ideas. So if you’re all dreaming up names for a super-hero who’s a bear, know the first answer will be “Super Bear!” Gratefully accept it, then say something like, “Great idea! But what else could we name him?” You could even start by saying the obvious answer: "I bet many of us thought of 'Super Bear'. Okay. That's a good idea, but I know we can do better!" Once your students get past the initial shock that there might possibly be another answer, they’ll come up with more.It's good to show them the progress they made. At the end of the brainstorming session, there should be a range of ideas. You may need to highlight a few that have real possibilities, or you may just want to let them individually choose which ones will work for them. In either case, point out how the later answers are so much more interesting than the obvious ones.Most of all, remember to make brainstorming fun! There's an amazing energy that builds in a group as ideas begin to fly. I've seen in creative writing workshops I've done with kids. I've also seen it in ad agencies I've worked in with adults. Whereever brainstorming is done, coming up with ideas is a blast!BrainstormingCreative tools > BrainstormingWhen to use it | How to use it | Example | How it works | See alsoWhen to use itBrainstorming is probably the best-known creative tool. It can thus be used in most groups, although you will probably have to remind them of the rules.It is best done using an independent facilitator who manages the process (so the group can focus on the creative task).Typically takes around 30 minutes to an hour. Can be shorter or longer, depending on the difficulty of the problem and the motivation of the group. Quick | | | | X | | Long | Logical | | | | X | | Psychological | Individual | | | | | X | Group |
How to use itPrepare the groupAlthough brainstorming is one of the oldest and most recognised creative tools, although surprisingly few people know Alex Osborn's original four rules, so do remind them (see next section).Define the problemDescribe the problem for which ideas are wanted and ensure everyone understands it. It is very easy for people to head off in the wrong direction.A good way of doing this is to write it down on a flipchart page and tape it to the wall.Generate ideasIdeas are now created and collected. This is usually done by people calling them out and the facilitator or scribe writing them down on a flipchart. This person should ideally be someone who can write both legibly and fast, as they need to keep up with the torrent of ideas.It is useful for all ideas to remain visible to help trigger further ideas, so when the flipchart page is full, rip it off and tape it to the wall where everyone can see them.All people should remember and follow the four rules of Brainstorming, as below. The facilitator should step in if any of these are broken. 1. No criticism or debate, which are convergent activities and can inhibit people from giving ideas. 2. Quantity over quality, because quality assessment is also convergent. It has also been shown that the best ideas arrive unpredictably spread out over time. 3. Freewheel, which means using one idea as a stimulus for the next. Like the 'Random word' tool, this helps you out of 'stuck rut' thinking, leading you in unexpected directions. It also encourages people to think about each others ideas. 4. Mutate and Combine, where 'Mutate' means to deliberately distort and modify existing ideas and 'Combine' means to deliberately try to build new ideas from combinations of existing ones. Again, these helps you out of ruts and makes people work better together. Wild ideas are just fine in most brainstorming sessions. They keep things moving, stimulate deeper thinking and can lead to other ideas that may just work.When facilitating this, ensure everyone follows the rules - it is very easy to get bound up in your own ideas - and also that all people can contribute. Watch the quiet ones in the corner - they often are the people who come up with really good thoughts that, if others hear, can lead to even better ideas.When ideas start to wane, you can take a break and start again or move to reducing the list to those which will be taken forward.Reduce ideasSeparate from idea generation is idea reduction. Sometimes this is best done another time, another day or even by another group. Usually, however, it is done immediately after the idea creation session.There are a number of ways of reducing ideas such as everyone voting for favourites or just discussing and seeing what comes to the surface.ExampleProblem: How to reduce road accidentsJim: Less carsJoan: Less peopleJill: Teach people to be carefulJack: Teach drivers to be carefulJim: Make drivers more carefulJill: Put dead people in the roadJennifer: Put policemen at every junctionJack: Put cameras at every junctionJoan: Put cameras in every car...How it worksBrainstorming works when people use each other's ideas to trigger their own thinking. Our minds are highly associative, and one thought easily triggers another. If we use the thoughts of others, then these will stop us getting trapped by our own thinking structures.Giving out half-thought-out ideas or strange suggestions is normally socially frowned on and leads to people holding back in normal situations. Brainstorming deliberately gives permission to be 'stupid' and 'child-like'.Brainstorming the Development of one topic

1. Writing workshop mini lesson Using the senses.
Get the five senses involved. Ask probing questions that stir memories. Christmas was fun. How was it fun. Who came? What did they wear? Think about Christmas. Could you hear the sleigh bells jingling. How did Christmas dinner taste? Was the turkey juicy or dry? Did your aunt's special pudding make you gag? How did it taste? How did it smell? What sounds did you hear? What did you see? Was the present as big as a tree? Was the dinner disgusting or the best turkey you've ever eaten? 2. Writing workshop mini lesson I have a topic. Now what?
STEP ONE: Write down everything you can think of related to your topic. Don't worry about spelling, capitalization, complete sentences, etc. JUST WRITE!
STEP TWO: Write some more. Make sure you have answered the following questions about you topic. Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
STEP THREE: Narrow you topic. Make sure you have enough information, but not too much. Use the following questions to help narrow your topic: What or who is affected by the topic? How? Is the topic influenced by other things? How? Why is the topic important? What is the purpose of the topic? Why am I interested in this topic? Who will my audience be? What do I want to tell my audience? What is my purpose for writing about this topic?
STEP FOUR: Tie the similar ideas together. (They'll probably end up in the same paragraph in the paper.) Use a graphic organizer, or create your own.
STEP FIVE: Write the rough draft. Don't worry too much about conventions at this point. Get your ideas into writing first.Lesson Plan : Author! Author! Teacher Name: | Mrs. Blocker | Grade: | Grade 4 | Subject: | Literature Activities | Topic: | The topic is the Author Study research unit. | Content: | The content is biographical information about a children's author. Key vocabulary : biography, career, bibliography, citation, database, website, URL. | Goals: | The goal is for the students to explore the personal and professional worlds of an author in children's literature. The outcome is for students to gather information and learn how to express it in their own words. | Objectives: | The following Oklahoma P.A.S.S. objectives are met: 1.3 (student uses a range of information sources), 1.4 (demonstrates how to access info from a variety of sources), 1.5 (demonstrates knowledge of media center arrangement and knowledge of OPAC usage), 2.3 (determine relevancy of info to needs), 3.1 (organize info in manner that meets assignment needs), 5.2 (understand info presented in a variety of formats), 6.3 (continue to seek and revise until info need is met and communicated accurately and appropriately), 7.3 (returns loaned materials responsibly), 8.3 (gives credit to source), 8.4 (follows guidelines in school's AUP), 9.1 (demonstrate ability to be a contributing group member), 9.2 (respect diversity and backgrounds of group members). | Materials: | Concept web handouts, citation color-coded handouts, author websites list, computers with internet access, Oklahoma's Digital Prarie databases, word processing software (e.g. Microsoft Word). | Introduction: | Students have brainstormed as class activity what kind of information is needed/wanted about an author. | Development: | From the graphic organizer constructed from this brainstorming activity, a biographical sketch of Jan Brett is analyzed to determine if all needed information was adequately recognized. | Practice: | Students are divided into groups by the author which they desire to research. A graphic organizer is constructed for this author using an encyclopedia or a biography (which has been located via OPAC) as the research tool. Teacher rotates among groups offering support and/or suggestions. | Accommodations: | Group members will assist each other and work cooperatively to gather data. If computer accessibility is needed for a special needs child, it will be done. Collabortion on this unit is among the classroom teachers, the special needs teacher, and the library media specialist. | Checking For Understanding: | Upon completion of data collection, students will use the website http://www.oslis.k12.or.us/elementary/index.php?page=citeSources for help in formatting their bibliography. They will type the bibliography using word processing software and proofread and revise into a final draft. A rubric will be used for project assessment. A reflection form with discussion will be used after this step. | Closure: | Students will select a format to share their research with all groups. A final reflection form with discussion will wrap up the Author Study collaborative teaching unit. | Evaluation: | Evaluate how well the groups worked together; did quality of the research done improve from start to end of project?; compare graphic organizers to final project to ensure all areas were covered. | Teacher Reflections: | Meet with each classroom teacher and the special needs teacher to reflect upon students' progress and/or difficulties and to discuss any curricular areas to be addressed the next time we do this unit. | |
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a tool that uses a relaxed, informal atmosphere combined with lateral thinking to solve problems. In spite of its importance in the generation of new ideas, many students do not have enough training to use it. This activity will teach students to brainstorm effectively. It can be carried out in a one-period session. No materials are required apart from a pen or pencil and sheets of paper.
The activity * Elicit from students different ways to generate new ideas. * Tell the students that they are going to try an activity called brainstorming to generate ideas. * divide the class into two groups. * Assign one student in each group to be a leader. Give the group leaders the following tips: * First group leader:
Encourage other students to contribute ideas on how to improve this English class. But, you do not want to waste any time. If a student states an idea which seems useless, tell the student “That’s no good” or “Bad idea”, then move on to another student. * Second group leader:
Encourage the other students to contribute ideas on how to improve this English class. Ask one student in the group to write down all ideas. Praise students’ contributions and don’t criticize any of the ideas. Make sure all ideas are accepted and written down. * Give students ten minutes to do the brainstorming activity. * Get feedback from students about the brainstorming. Ask which group produced more ideas and which group enjoyed the activity more. * Group leaders read out their slips of paper. * Students guess which group was brainstorming the right way. * Write these rules of successful brainstorming on the board: * All ideas are accepted and written down. * Generate as many ideas as possible. * Unusual, even seemingly irrelevant ideas are welcome * You may use other students’ idea and expand on it * Criticism is banned at this stage. * Using these rules students brainstorm other topics. * When they finish, groups choose their three best ideas and write them up on the board.
Brainstorming for Consensus
Grade Levels: Pre-K - 2
Objectives
* Students will learn how to brainstorm. * Students will learn how to come to a consensus.
Materials
* An ordinary object such as a box, a wooden spoon, or a cardboard tube
Procedures
1. Explain that the purpose of brainstorming is to come up with as many ideas as possible in a short period of time, using the following rules: a. During the brainstorm no one says whether the ideas are good or bad, sensible or silly, workable or not workable. b. The point is simply to get out as many ideas as they can. c. Tell students that after the brainstorm is finished, they will evaluate the ideas. 2. Set the object in front of the group. 3. Ask students to suggest all the things that they could do with the object. 4. Write their suggestions on the board. 5. After a few minutes, or after energy for the brainstorm runs down, end the brainstorm. 6. Tell students they will be reviewing each idea individually and voting with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down sign to signify whether they think an idea is workable or unworkable. 7. Put a mark by each idea that the majority of the group thinks could work. 8. Allowing students to vote only once, conduct a poll in which students give a thumbs-up for their favorite idea. 9. Tally the marks to find the students' favorite idea.

Read more on TeacherVision: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/study-skills/lesson-plan/2959.html#ixzz1MeAg8n59