Creative Class Projects: The Cherry on Top of Your Completed Unit

A "Minecraft" version of the 74th Hunger Games arena.

There's no better way to end a unit than assigning a creative project. It allows students to loosen up and have some fun with the content they've just learned. Creative projects work for all content areas, grade levels, and subject matter. Students need to practice creative thinking more often; it will help them later in life with problem solving and give them a leg-up in the job market.

So I'd like to share a slideshow of my students' latest creative projects. I'll be adding more to the mix in the next few days. And if you need some help with how to assign the projects, check out my past posts (there are links on the right side of the page to older posts), which have loads of ideas for creative projects. I also have several handouts and bundles in my teacher store.

So the next time you serve up a unit, allow your students 
to put the cherry on top!

The Best Birthday Cake Ever!

So for my 40th birthday today my students surprised me with a Hunger Games inspired cake! They made it themselves and I think it is so cool--and so sweet! 

As a high school teacher, it's a treat to have a student wish you Happy Birthday. Heck, it's a treat to have a student acknowledge you, period! ha ha We don't get the pleasure of receiving positive feedback from our students like elementary teachers...many of our kids are so wrapped up in their teenage lives that their teachers are the last people on earth they would want to bake a cake for. Which, of course, made today even more special!

Here are more pics of this awesome cake. Thank you Breanna, Marissa, Stephanie, Delaney, and Nick! You made my day! :)

 Close-up of Katniss, the girl on fire. Love the orange flames coming from her head! LOL

Oh, and that nipple-looking thing is the cornucopia. It was a truffle...and so delicious!

The gel-frosting mockingjay!

My students (missing Delaney and added a second Stephanie) posing by the cake they made 

(actually, I think Bre did most of it! ha ha). My 1st period class was welcoming the 

distraction from learning, I'm sure. ;) If you look in the background, you can see my 

Hunger Games movie poster--which was given to me by another teacher 

& her daughter (who is a former student).

Notice the tootsie-roll arrow in the top right corner and the parachute (top). :)

The Coolest Cake Ever...

Pikko from Adventures in Bentomaking created this beautiful Hunger Games cake.

Is this the coolest cake, or what!? It's almost too pretty to eat.

Pikko from Adventures in Bentomaking created this for a cake contest. She earned second place for the "People's Choice" award and tied for first in the "Most Book-Like" category.

I think she deserved first all around, but that's just my opinion. Too bad she doesn't live nearby as I would LOVE to ask Pikko to make a cake for my students and me!

Bravo, Pikko! And way to spread The Hunger Games love!