Brain Breaker

In this activity students will learn about creative ways to solve problems. Even the weirdest solutions sometimes make sense, that’s why this activity is perfectly suitable to enhance students’ creative minds and start brainstorming about innovative solutions to all kinds of challenges.

Teachers need to print out and cut out two sets of different cards for each group:

1. Brain Breaker – Additives Card Set 
2. Brain Breaker – Challenge Card Set

This activity is meant to make students think about different situations and the importance of adaptability once the situation changes. Students must switch gears very fast and adapt to the new situation. What would they do?

Brain Breaker can be done as a whole class, or you can divide the class into groups of max. 6 students.  The idea is to give challenges to the students on how to solve a certain problem. 

Distribute a few challenge cards to each group and ask them to solve the problem making use of one random additive (give the group one Additive Card at a time).

Once they’ve found the solution, you change the additive (give them another Additive Card), so the students must come up with a different solution. 

Use the attached cards to provide example challenges or make your own. Let students discuss new outcomes and solutions and let them talk about their creative problem-solving methods. 

Discuss with the students how the circumstances (additives) influence the solutions they arrive at.

Ask them which additive helped them to find the most innovative solutions.

Ask them about the creative process – how did the best ideas show up?