ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author provides examples of some of his most imaginative activities, and offers the 6 C’s for getting the most out of students. In social studies, creativity involves connecting history to current events and students’ lives. Some of the more palpable forms of creativity are new exercises that link seemingly unrelated topics, lessons that give students an opportunity to be imaginative, discussions that are conducive to an exchange of fresh ideas and humor, and hands-on assignments that foster critical thinking, problem solving, creating, and presenting. In the spirit of Bill’s class, the author incorporates experiential learning exercises into his curriculum and tries to bring history to life by bringing in guest speakers. Based on the author’s experiences, the six most important ingredients for engaging students in social studies are creativity, competition, comedy, camaraderie, connections, and chinos. Sir Ken Robinson gave a poignant and humorous talk about how schools kill students’ creativity.
