Hot Pencils

Activity Summary

Students write down their thoughts, everything that comes to their mind on a certain topic.

When nothing else comes to mind, they write: “The thought stopped…” They are encouraged just to keep writing as much as possible.

For example:

Teaching unit: Shakespeare, Hamlet

Topic: Does revenge make sense? (The activity can be carried out on different subjects and different topics.)

Activity Plan

1

1 min

State the topic to the students and tell them that in the next 5-7 minutes they should write down their thoughts, everything that comes to mind on that topic. When they learn that nothing comes to their mind anymore, they write: “The thought has stopped…”

2

5 mins

Students independently write down their thoughts.

3

5 mins

A few students will read what they have written (this can be done in pairs, groups or as a class).

Class, Individual

Setup and materials

Paper and pen.

Intended Learning Outcomes

thinking about the given topic
writing down their thoughts on the topic
comparing their thoughts with other student’s ideas

Pillars insight

Creativity

This activity encourages students to write everything they know down and encourages them to get into a flow.

Co-creation

Students share and compare their thoughts and ideas creating new solutions.

Print or download

For better results, we recommend using Chrome or Edge. This method is not supported by Android devices.

When hitting the button, your browser dialogue box will open and you will see a preview of the activity sheet in print format. Select your printer if you want to print it on paper, select “Save as PDF” instead to generate a PDF file for download.