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Thinkers
Interpretations Key
Give possible interpretations for:
Keys
Your neighbour making large circles in his
back garden by pouring oil from a can.
2 people crying and hugging each other.
A mouse running towards a cat.
A person smiling and talking on a phone.
2 people talking and then laughing hysteri-
cally.
Your neighbour sweeping the roof.
Your teaching coming into school with a suit-
case full of jelly beans.
A man walking backwards and forwards in
your living room.
5 people standing in a field
waving their arms above
their head.
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Reverse Key Alternative Key
List: List ways of doing tasks without normal imple-
ments. Work out 3 ways to:
Comments friends wouldn’’t make to each.
other. Brush teeth without a toothbrush.
Things you can’’t measure with a ruler. Measure the depth of a well without a tape-
measure.
Things you can’’t do with a piece of paper.
Wash clothes without a washing machine.
Things you can’’t eat with a fork.
Mark out a football pitch without paint.
Things you can’’t put in water.
Eat porridge without a spoon.
Things you can’’t do with your feet.
Secure your house without a key.
Things you can’’t do when sitting down.
Dig a garden without a spade.
Things you can’’t change shape.
Stir your cup of tea with a knife, fork or
Bugs that aren’’t insects. spoon.
Things you would not find on a beach. Brush hair without a comb or brush.
Eat your dinner with no cutlery.
Sleep outside without a tent.
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Forced Relationships Key What If Key
Use 2 or more unrelated objects to solve a prob- What if...
lem. Solve the problem of:
...we each had 10 cars.
Litter in the playground using a packet of
mints, a rubber band and a pencil. ...friends only lasted a week.
No games to play at lunchtime with a ball, 2 ...you could only eat sweets once a year.
sticks and a drum.
...you had 1 million pounds.
An argument between 2 friends with a pencil
sharpener and a chair. ...there were no schools.
Noisy neighbours with a red nose and a ...you were stranded on a desert island.
broomstick.
...there was no sea.
Children running in school with a ball, a tam-
bourine and a pair of sunglasses. ...we could all bring an animal to school.
Getting wet in the rain using newspaper and ...everyone had 10 brothers and sisters.
a piece of wool.
...nobody smiled.
...we had an extra day in each week.
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Disadvantages Key Construction Key
List the disadvantages and improvements to: Construct a:
An umbrella. Measuring device using 2 paper plates, string
and a block of chocolate.
Car seats.
Ladder using newspaper, toothpicks and
Slippers. masking tape.
School. Clock using sticks and a plate.
Chopsticks. Robot using bottle tops, matchboxes and
straws.
School bags.
Musical instrument using paperclips, elastic
A lawnmower. bands, tin foil, box and cotton reel.
A chair. Somewhere to sit using a piece of string,
stick and balloon.
A wheelbarrow.
Table using cardboard, string and rulers.
Cars.
Egg timer using a candle, paper and marker
Trainers. pens.
Toy car. Baby’’s toy using paper, a ball and 4 sticks.
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Dispute Key Combination Key
Consider statements which are usually accepted Combine attributes of two products to make a new
without question and try to dispute them: one.
Every school much teach history. Car and plane.
You have the right to smoke. Scissors and teddy bear.
You must do what your parents say. Train and umbrella.
You must follow instructions. Book and pram.
You do not have to learn how to do maths. Pram and umbrella.
You must save endangered species. Magazine and bicycle.
Children should go to school. Bus and fountain pen.
Children must sit on the carpet at story time. Elastic band and a bag.
Everyone should be able to vote over the age Chair and a spoon.
of 18.
Television and a fridge.
Washing machine and a car.
Chair and a fridge.
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Alphabet Key Invention Key
Place the letters A to Z down the side of the page. Invent a:
For each letter name:
Machine for peeling oranges
Leisure activities.
A combination knife and fork.
Modes of transport.
Shoes that carry you to school.
Countries.
Chair with a book holder.
Animals.
A spider catcher.
Girls names.
A sandwich making machine.
Boys names.
Clothes that don’’t need ironing.
Things people enjoy.
Flying machine.
Rivers.
Machine that turns book pages for you.
Towns / Cities.
Machine for catching mice.
Pop groups.
Machine that gets you dressed in the
Toys. morning.
Machine that cleans all the house.
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Brainstorming Key BAR Key
(Bigger, Add, Replace)
Think of as many ways as you can to:
Use the B.A.R. key to:
Ways to encourage people to use public
transport. Improve your bike.
Of catching a rat. Redesign school.
Make a computer game.
Of getting your parent buy you a dog.
Improve your house.
To eat pizza.
To use a pencil. Redesign the Blackpool tower.
To encourage people to eat healthy food. Change the games of tennis.
Crossing a river. Redesign the pen.
Redesign the Playstation.
Cool down.
Improve the school tables.
Build a den.
Improve the school teacher.
To encourage people not to drop litter.
To encourage people to skip.
Use other materials to
make clothes.
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Variation Key Question Key
How many ways can you: Give five questions with the answer:
Get to school without a car. Friendship.
Make new friends. Centimetre.
Communicate with someone without Fish.
speaking.
Zoo.
Make someone laugh.
Brown.
Keep dry in the rain.
Vegetables.
Change your expression.
Motorways.
Create art.
Bicycle.
Order a takeaway.
Car.
Get to Spain.
Summer.
Write your name.
Orange juice.
Blue.
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Commonality Key Prediction Key
Find common points between: Predict:
A ruler and ice-cream. How schools with operate in 100 years.
A friend and a present. The most important form of public transport
in 50 years.
A jumper and a mountain.
What foods we will eat in 100 years.
A sock and a monkey.
How you will look when you are 20.
A clock and a door.
What the country will be like in 1000 years.
A dog and a sheep.
What kind of clothes we will wear in 100
A bicycle and a newspaper. years.
A basket and a glass. What your computer will look like in 100
years.
A teddy and a goldfish.
What the house of the future will look like.
Grass and a carpet.
What books will be like in 50 years.
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Different Uses Key Ridiculous Key
How many different uses can you think of for: Make a statement that would normally seem
ridiculous and reason why it might work:
A broken rulers.
The whole world has the same time zones.
Empty drink bottle.
6 year olds can drive.
A carrier bag.
Dogs can play tennis.
An empty cardboard box.
10 year olds go to work.
A bin bag.
You only go to school 1 day a week.
A piece of string.
We don’’t need to wear shoes.
A plastic cup.
Everyone speaks the same language.
A paper cup.
Children should be teachers.
A plastic straw.
Old people can go to primary school.
An old 2p.
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