Issue #24 - September 9, 2025

Hi there, .

This week’s strategy introduces SCAMPER, a powerful tool that gives students a framework for creativity.

It helps them take any idea or object and stretch it into something new.

This Week's Strategy: SCAMPER

SCAMPER is an acronym of 7 thinking prompts that guide students through structured creative thinking. Here's what it stands for:

• S – Substitute: What could you replace? A material? A person? A setting?

• C – Combine: What could you merge? Could you blend ideas or tools?

• You can run this as a full brainstorm activity or focus on 1–2 prompts at a time.

• A – Adapt: What could you borrow from something else?

• M – Modify (or Magnify/Minify): What could you exaggerate or minimize?

• P – Put to Another Use: Could this be used for something else?

• E – Eliminate: What could you take away or simplify?

• R – Rearrange/Reverse: What if you changed the order or perspective?

Classroom Example:

Let’s say students are exploring backpacks:

• Substitute: What if straps were replaced with magnets?

• Combine: Could it store power and charge devices too?

• Adapt: How do kangaroo pouches work—and can that idea be used here?

• Modify: What if it were invisible? Tiny? Massive?

• Put to Another Use: Can it be a pillow? A flotation device?

• Eliminate: What happens if it has no zippers?

• Rearrange: What if all pockets were on the outside?

Why This Works:

💡 Provides structure to creative thinking
🎯 Encourages innovation and iteration
🤲 Works with any age, subject, or project
🧠 Builds confidence by making creativity tangible and repeatable

Ways to Make Connections:

You can use this strategy to:

• ELA - SCAMPER a character, plot, or poem to explore alternate versions.

• Math - Use SCAMPER to rethink how a math tool (like a ruler or graph) could be improved.

• Social Studies - SCAMPER an invention, law, or system from history to spark civic imagination.

• Science - Reimagine a process, tool, or environmental solution using SCAMPER prompts.

• 
  

  Music - SCAMPER a melody or instrument. What if a trumpet had no valves? What if you reversed a rhythm?

• Visual Art - Apply SCAMPER to remix a famous artwork or design a new tool for artists.

Happy creating and connecting,

Susan