Fueling First

Isabel the Inventor introduces divergent production with brainstorms to find lots and lots of answers. Isabel is able to see extraordinary possibilities in ordinary, everyday items. Like Isabel the Inventor, students will use their “Brainfocals” to help them to look at familiar things in new ways.

With Divergent Thinking students:

• Imagine extraordinary possibilities and think like an inventor

• Understand there are many correct responses

• See things creatively

• Piggyback ideas from those of others

  Students who demonstrate divergent production skills:

• List many responses
• Elaborate (They spend a long time adding details that other students do not think of or piggyback on the ideas of other students.)
• Display a sense of humor
• Share off-beat, original responses (Their ideas may be so wacky that they could not actually be implemented.)
• Able to change course (They are flexible in their thought process and are able to see items in a variety of new ways.)
• Demonstrate an advanced vocabulary (They are able to correctly use words not expected at their age and sound very adult in the way in which they express themselves.)

Research some inventors and their inventions with your child. Discuss with them what they think are some of the most important inventions. Point out the difference between inventing something and discovering something. For example children may try to suggest that Ben Franklin invented electricity. Franklin discovered electricity but did not invent it. A generator to produce electricity is an example of an invention. A discovery is something that already exists. An invention is a new idea or creation thought up by someone. The inventor is the first person to conceive the idea. The inventor may not actually make the object. Sometimes an inventor will hire someone else to make it.