Description

Can creativity thrive within a structured literacy classroom?

Greg McClure, an elementary educator and literacy specialist, joins us to explore how teachers can bring creativity into reading instruction without treating it as an extra.

Greg shares his experience moving toward the science of reading and explains how explicitly teaching literacy skills can work alongside creativity. Rather than choosing between structure and creative learning, he encourages teachers to find meaningful ways to bring both into the classroom.

The conversation explores how creative questions can strengthen reading comprehension. Greg shares examples from Hatchet, showing how questions that invite students to make connections, imagine possibilities, and explain their thinking can lead to richer discussions while still checking for understanding.

Greg also introduces the idea of clarifying a problem before jumping to solutions through a live activity called “Quest for Clarity.” The activity demonstrates how asking thoughtful questions can help students gather information, understand a problem more clearly, and develop better solutions.

• Creativity and structured literacy can work together rather than being treated as competing approaches.
• Giving students language and strategies for creativity can help them apply creative thinking beyond a single classroom activity.
• Creative questions can deepen comprehension while encouraging students to make their own connections.
• Asking clarifying questions helps students move beyond assumptions and better understand the problem they are trying to solve.
• Teachers can use the curriculum as a foundation while creating opportunities for deeper, more engaging learning.

Greg McClure is an elementary educator and literacy specialist with a master's in Creativity and Change Leadership from SUNY Buffalo State University. He has worked in elementary education for more than a decade and focuses on bringing creativity research into practical classroom experiences. He also develops creative classroom tools and activities through Breakout Brains.

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