Open-ended creativity combined with creative learning strategies helps second graders turn everyday experiences and challenges into meaningful works of art.

Elisabeth Wilborn

My overarching goal was for these children to be able to take inspiration from their own lives and to create personally meaningful works of art. This had worked well with my fifth graders, but wasnʼt successful with my second graders. These students needed more context, more scaffolding, and tighter constraints to get their ideas flowing. We needed a structure that they could plug into. But what? Cue our school’s social and emotional development curriculum: Character Strong.

Our first order of business was to review Character Strong traits using a Visual Brainstorming sheet. Students took their paper and folded it into eight rectangles. Each space became a place for a quick sketch, a time to recall when attributes like kindness, respect, honesty, empathy, cooperation, and perseverance applied in their own lives. Students helped one another define the terms, and the activity provided a formative check for understanding and served as the foundation for our unit.

Now that we had a shared vocabulary, students collaborated in small groups to identify commonalities in their Visual Brainstorming sheets. We used the creative learning activity called machine to act out how they might invent a mechanical solution to one of their problems:

“Your shirt is ugly,” Sophie acted out.

“Well YOU are mean!” retorted Elizabeth.

The girls went back and forth, mimicking bullies in a way that was uncharacteristic of them.

“Now, I want you to take a deep breath,” advised Maia, who was embodying the machine. “Each of you, pay a compliment to one another. Now think of a game you can play together.”

“Tag, you’re it!” So began a short game of chase on our art room rug.

The children had identified an issue in their community and modeled several ways to solve it themselves. The class chimed in with observations of how the problem was solved.

Other groups enthusiastically demonstrated their theatrical productions. The stage had been set: As a class, we now had a good understanding of what Character Strong traits were and how they applied to second graders.

Together, we looked at Henri Matisse’s Painterʼs Family and used a Describe, Analyze, Reflect process to carefully examine what we saw: Two boys dressed in red playing a game of chess. A woman holds something yellow—a book. Another woman sits separately, doing what appears to be a sewing project. We continued to analyze the value of such activities and interactions. “They are having fun!” quipped one student. “Yes, and why is fun important?” I asked.

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I tasked students to come up with a work of art that would address one of the Character Strong traits. A month spent on open-ended projects resulted in individual, differentiated artwork. Not only were they solving problems in real time, they were creating works of art that contributed to solutions, to our entertainment, and to our emotional well-being. One student, Prudence, wrote a poem, turned it into a book, and read her story, which exhibits empathy, to the class. Elizabeth made an interactive find-the-bear book, which requires perseverance. Students gathered around and listened with respect on the carpet as Abe and Jack exhibited kindness and demonstrated how to play their game. Nico and Sullivan troubleshot what materials they needed to make their pinball machine work, exhibiting cooperation. Elliott penned a comic strip. Unbeknownst to me when we began, the last Character Strong trait of the year turned out to be creativity. How apropos. We did it. Maslow would be proud.

This is just a glimpse into the creative learning strategies we’ve been practicing for my district’s Creative Learning Leadership Pathway. They help students ideate and make meaning out of life—and thus art—all at a very young age. Students embody the learning by incorporating movement, drama, music, and, yes, visual strategies, activating engagement in ways that make class both more fun and interpersonal. I’m on a mission to share in hopes that other art teachers might bear witness to some of the magic. Try. Fail. Experiment. Try again. You will be so glad you did.

Elisabeth Wilborn is a National Board Certified elementary art teacher in Austin, Texas. You’ll likely find her presenting professional development on Differentiation, Arts Integration, and Choice-Based Art at both NAEA and in her home state. She is a School for Art Leaders Class of 2025 graduate and received her BFA from Cornell University. elisabeth.wilborn@austinisd.org

Get Their Gears Turning: Implementing Creative Learning Strategies