101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

Materials, Supplies, and Equipment

• For each group: markers, two flip charts, and masking tape for posting flip-chart
  sheets


• For each participant: one sheet each of three different colors of sticking dots
  (^1 ⁄ 2 ” diameter) and one pad of 4 x 6 Post-it®Notes


• An assortment of tabloid weekly newspapers such as The Star, The National Enquirer,
  and, especially, Weekly News

Handout

• Tabloid Tales Handout

Time

30 minutes

Related Activities

• A Likely Story [15]


• Fairy Tale Time [40]

Procedure

1. Distribute at least two tabloid publications to each group.


2. Distribute the Tabloid Tales Handout, review the example with the participants,
   and answer any questions they may have.


3. Instruct each group to list four key facts about their problem, product, service, or
   process.


4. Tell them to distort one aspect of each fact and make it sensational or more
   provocative by stating it as a tabloid headline.


5. For inspiration, suggest that participants thumb through the tabloids.


6. Have them use the distorted facts and review of the tabloids to generate practical
   ideas.


7. Direct them to write their ideas on Post-it®Notes and place them on the flip chart
   for evaluation later.

Debrief/Discussion

This can be a fun exercise for the participants. As some research has suggested, humor

can enhance the creative output of groups. And many tabloid headlines and stories cer-

tainly can provoke mirth. However, the ideas in this exercise, while facilitated by humor,

mostly will emerge from the headlines. This is because they typically are unrelated to the

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