Paul Torrance, the "father of creativity" identified a
framework for defining creativity (Torrance, 1976). There are four areas of creativity that we will be focusing on this year: fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and originality.
(I'm loving using using the Creativity Creatures developed by Angela Hartle, see TPT)
Fluency is the ability to come up with many ideas in a short period of time. This Creativity Critter wants MORE ! MORE! MORE! That's why he has so many eyeballs and there are so many numbers in his thought bubble. He is always asking, "How many ideas can I think of?" An example of a fluency question might be "How many things can you think of to do with a spoon, besides eating with it?"
Flexibility is the ability to think about a problem in many, many different ways. This creativity critter is very flexible. Not flexible with her body like a ballerina or a football player, but flexible with her mind. This critter will look at a word like “run” and think about running with your feet, running water, running for Governor, running a contest and even running her mouth! That’s a lot of different ways to think about one word! The key question this critter always asks is, “How many different ways can I look at this?” An example of a flexibility question might be "Think of the ways a crayon and a shoe might be alike."
Elaboration is the the ability to provide descriptive details and explanation for any given idea. It is about attention to detail. This creativity critter loves "D"-tails! Adjectives and adverbs are his best writing friends. The key question this critter always asks is "What details can I add to an idea ?" When he describes something, you get a super clear image in your head of exactly what he is talking about. An example of an elaboration question might be "Explain what you think is the sound of Thanksgiving? "
Originality is the ability to have a unique idea. This one of a kind creativity critter makes sure his ideas are so original that he often surprises his friends. The key question this critter asks is "Are my ideas ones that nobody will think of?" An example of an originality question might be "Create a conversation between a snowman and a reindeer."