Story Sparks Slides
Creative Sparks Workshop • Part 1
45 Minutes • Zero Prep Needed
Story Sparks:
The Imagination Engine
Today you become the master of brand-new worlds, wild heroes, and unexpected adventures!
1
Object Morph
Warm up your creative eyes
2
Hero & World Forge
Mash up original ideas
3
Lightning Sprint
Unleash the story spark
WARM-UP 5 Minutes • Spark Your Vision
Rule: There are no wrong answers!
🌂
A Plain Umbrella
What if this is NOT an umbrella?
Look with your story eyes:
A portable forcefield against meteor showers
A giant soup ladle for an underwater sea monster
Mechanical wings built by an inventive squirrel
Quick Turn & Talk (60 seconds):
Spot 1 thing on your desk. Whisper 2 secret superpowers it has!
STEP 1 The Hero Mashup Formula
8 Minutes
Great heroes are never boring!
Combine three opposite ingredients to make instant magic:
Ingredient 1
Unusual Being
Not just an animal or kid—add an unexpected twist.
E.g., A barn owl who loves tap-dancing
Ingredient 2
Weird Obsession
Something they care about way too much.
E.g., Collecting shiny silver gum wrappers
Ingredient 3
Secret Vulnerability
A funny fear or problem they hide from everyone.
E.g., Terrified of fluffy cotton balls
Result: Barnaby the tap-dancing owl who hoards foil wrappers but flees in panic from cotton balls!
ACTION Forge Your Hero on Paper
7 Minutes • Write or Sketch
Pick ONE from each column, OR invent your own crazy combinations!
Column A: Who Are They?
- 🐢 A jetpack-wearing turtle
- 🌵 A polite cactus detective
- ⚡ A toaster with feelings
Column B: Their Obsession
- 🧁 Baking the world's tiniest pie
- 🎷 Practicing terrible jazz solos
- 🗺️ Mapping every puddle in town
Column C: Their Big Secret
- 💨 Burps sparkly purple bubbles
- 🐭 Terrified of friendly mice
- 🤫 Can whisper to house plants
Task: Give your hero a name and write 2 quick sentences about them on your paper right now!
STEP 2 Build an Impossible Setting
8 Minutes
Bend ONE rule of reality!
Where does your hero live? Choose an upside-down world or invent your own:
🫧
Soda Bubble Swamps
Gravity is sleepy! Everything floats in fizzy orange soda clouds. Walking sounds like bubble wrap popping.
⚙️
Clockwork Sky City
Streets made of giant ticking brass gears. Buildings chime every hour, and lampposts run on stored lightning.
📚
The Whispering Library
Books fly like swallows through the rafters. Walls are built of giant hollow encyclopedias that echo secrets.
Sensory Detective Check:
What is the weirdest SMELL or SOUND in your world?
STEP 3 The Trouble Spark
5 Minutes
A normal day is ruined!
Every thrilling story starts the exact moment ordinary life goes topsy-turvy.
Spark A
The Missing Cog
The main lever that keeps the sun rising has vanished—and was seen in your hero's backpack!
Spark B
The Runaway Shadow
Your hero's shadow woke up, packed a tiny suitcase, and refused to follow them anymore.
Spark C
The Backward Spell
Every animal in town started speaking fluent English, but humans can only quack!
The Golden Question: Why must YOUR hero be the only one who can solve this?
MAIN EVENT Lightning Creation Sprint
8 MINUTES SPRINT
Put your spark onto paper!
1
Keep your pencil moving: Don't stop to erase. If you get stuck, write "Suddenly..."
2
Draw or write: Comic strips, bullet points, full sentences—anything counts!
3
Surprise yourself: If an idea feels weird or unexpected, keep going with it!
Sprint Starters:
"It was supposed to be a normal Tuesday until..."
"Nobody knew the cactus had a secret gadget until..."
"The first rule of the floating city was never touch the..."
Quiet Focus Time • You have the power!
Teachers: Play gentle background music if you wish. Give a friendly 2-minute and 1-minute time warning!
WRAP-UP Share & Celebrate
4 Minutes • Debrief
The Story Circle!
Turn to a neighbor and share your creation.
Share (60s each)
Read your favorite sentence, or tell your partner:
"My hero is ______ and the biggest mess they got into was ______!"
The Golden Compliment
Give your partner this exact creative compliment:
"The most surprising part of your idea was ______ because it made me picture ______!"
⭐ Today's Truth: Every book, movie, and game in the world began as a tiny spark just like yours!
Brave Sparks Slides
Creative Sparks Workshop • Part 2
45 Minutes • No Wrong Answers
Brave Sparks:
The Creative Courage Gym
Creativity isn't about being perfect. It's about being daring, trusting your own brain, and making awesome messes!
1
The Oops Lab
Squiggle transformation
2
Bad Idea Bonanza
Shatter the fear of failure
3
Risk Laboratory
Invent fearless mashups
INSIGHT The Secret Power of Oops
5 Minutes
Mistakes are just surprise ingredients!
Did you know some of the greatest inventions were total accidents?
🍪
Chocolate Chip Cookies
The baker ran out of melting cocoa, so she tossed chunks in. Instead of melting into dough, they stayed gooey!
🟡
Play-Doh
It was originally invented to clean coal soot off dirty wallpaper! Kids played with it, loved it, and made it legendary.
📑
Sticky Notes
A scientist tried to make super-strong glue. It turned out super weak instead! Now millions use them daily.
Rule #1: When your pencil slips, don't erase it. Turn it into a surprise!
CHALLENGE 1 The Beautiful Squiggle
8 Minutes • Hands-On
The 3-Step Dare:
1
Close your eyes for 3 seconds.
2
Draw ONE wild, loopy, messy scribble on your paper.
3
Open your eyes and turn it into something cool!
Look what a messy loop can become:
🦩
Roller-Skating Flamingo
🚀
Cosmic Submarine
🐲
Mustache Dragon
Zero erasers allowed! Every line is part of your invention now.
You have 5 minutes to transform your squiggle. Ready? Eyes closed... Scribble!
CHALLENGE 2 The Bad Idea Bonanza
7 Minutes
Try to invent the WORST shoe ever!
When you stop trying to make "good" ideas, fear disappears and the funny magic starts.
🧈
Butter Boots
Made of 100% warm butter. Extremely slippery and melts as soon as you step into sunlight!
🔔
Squeaky Alarm Sneakers
Screams like a car alarm with every single step. Impossible to sneak to the fridge for a midnight snack.
🧲
