A hands-on Critical Thinking Toolbox that you can put to use in your classrooms everyday.

1. CRITICAL THINKING ROUTINES FOR
THE NEW AGE CLASSROOM
By Divya S Rajagopalan
Bhavan Vidyalaya, Chandigarh

2. WELCOME,
FRIENDS!

3. THE PREMISE
As we prepare students for the demands
of work and life in a rapidly changing
landscape, it is vital that we focus on
skills, not knowledge and thinking, not
knowing.

4. MAKE CRITICAL
THINKING VISIBLE
For students to learn to think critically and solve complex
problems, they need to have opportunities to reason
effectively, make decisions and solve problems in meaningful
contexts. These activities must run across our curriculum and
take an interdisciplinary approach across subjects.

5. SAY HELLO TO 'THINKING ROUTINES'

6. We know that a routine is simply 'a sequence of actions
or patterns of behavior that is regularly rehearsed'.
Thinking routines are short, easy tools designed to
provoke students to think deeply and differently, thereby
enhancing their cognitive processes and outlook.
WHAT ARE THINKING ROUTINES?

7. EXAMPLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Example 2
Literary works In
English can be
analyzed critically
using a clever
thinking routine
called Layers-It
examines layers of
meaning in text,
characters, plays,
and so on.
Example3
Carefully crafted
questions like 'what
do you see?' or
'What makes you
say that?' in a visual
lesson in art or
science may lead to
deeper
understanding of an
idea.
Example 1
Group decision-making
on news, literature or
history or other topics
could be facilitated
with Options
Explosion. This helps
students think about
the obvious options,
then the hidden
options and later
compare options to
arrive at a decision.

8. The true power of thinking routines is only fully realized when they become
patterns of behavior for students and teachers. When routines pass from
effective one-off activities into the realm of 'this is how we do things here',
the transformation of students as learners begins.
The Power of Making Thinking Visible
Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church

9. PZ: Harvard's Project Zero
Founded by philosopher
Nelson Goodman at the
Harvard Graduate School of
Education, Project Zero
offers a variety of thinking
routines ranging from core
routines to routines to find
perspectives and dig
deeper.
Thinker Keys by Tony Ryan
Specifically designed for
school children, these are 20
powerful strategies to teach
children how to think
critically and creatively.
From researching to
organizing ideas to taking
action and reflecting, these
keys are a teacher's best
friend..
YOUR THINKING ROUTINES TOOLBOX
There are 100+ thinking routines that are used in classrooms around the world everyday, and more are
evolving as we speak. While an extensive list is nearly impossible, here are a few that can get you started.
Six Thinking Hats by
Edward de Bono
Founded by philosopher
Nelson Goodman at the
Harvard Graduate School
of Education, Project Zero
offers a variety of thinking
routines ranging from core
routines to routines to find
perspectives and dig
deeper.

10. PZ:PROJECT ZEROThinking Routine Toolbox from Harvard
These routined are grouped under categories
to facilitate various potentials in students.
They can be adapted to suit different age
groups and subjects.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE WEBSITE

11. These routines are best used to
initiate a discussion, reason a stance,
understand perspectives and dig
deeper into ideas.
HOW TO USE
Example 1: Claim, Support, Question
Make a claim about a topic, support it with
evidence, ask a question to delve deeper
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW
Example 2: Compass Points
Make a claim, support with evidence, ask a
question
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW
Example 3: Reporter's Notebook
In a story or situation, identify thoughts &
feelings of characters and separate them from
the facts. Talk about moral dilemmas and clarify
issues.
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW
Example 4: What makes you say that
This routine promotes evidential reasoning.
Students present an interpretation and explain
what makes them say that. It encourages them
to find evidence for their inference.
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW
Example 5: Word, Phrase, Sentence
This routine captures the essence of a text.
Word that captured your attention
Phrase that engaged, moved or provoked you.
Sentence that captures the core idea of a text.
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW

12. ACTIVITY TIME
When we began this study of thinking routines, you all had some initial ideas about it and what
it was all about. In just a few sentences, I want to write what it is that you used to think about
it. Take a minute to think back and then write down your response to “ I used to think...
Now, I want you to think about how your ideas about thinking routines have changed as a
result of what we’ve been discussing. Again in just a few sentences write down what you now
think about thinking routines. Start your sentences with, “Now, I think...”
Thinking Routine: I used to think.....Now I think.....

13. These are 20 powerful strategies to teach
childrenhow to think. From research to
organisation, from reflection to developing
action plans, these have them all covered!
THINKER KEYSGet critical & creative with Tony Ryan
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE WEBSITE

14. These keys are used one at a time to start a discussion, reflect on a process, develop new
ideas, brainstorm or challenge existing conventions. Here are a few examples...
HOW TO USE
What is most likely to occur
as a result of something?
With this Key, you work out
the series of consequences
that could occur from doing
an action.
The Consequence
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW
Challenge students to really think
differently. Make a totally
ridiculous statement that would
be impossible to implement, and
then justify why it needs to be put
into action.
Challenge
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW
What are the Brick Walls that are
standing in the way of a task? We
want to support the local community,
yet many people just don’t seem to
care about doing this. Why? How
can we circumvent this?
Brickwall
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW
Think of a key question about a
topic you are studying. This
question should challenge
everyone to think deeply. For
example, in English, How will this
story help us better understand
our lives?
Question
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW
The other keys are
equally interesting!
Check them out and
find innovative ways
to use them on the
thinker keys website!

15. an outbreak of street gang violence
the near-extinction of Chinese Giant Pandas
the plight of homeless teenagers in major
cities.
Radio station FM has adopted a Laughter Day
theme, and has decided to present all of its news
items with a touch of humor. The station has
asked you to write the script for some of the
topics on the next news bulletin, and each item
needs to conclude with “…and they lived happily
ever after.”
The topics include:
SAMPLE INNOVATIVE
THINKER KEY PROJECTS
A group of highly creative scientists have
developed a species of trees that can actually talk.
In honour of the next World Environment Day, one
of these trees has been chosen to present a
speech to all of the members of the parliament.
On this momentous occasion, the tree will be
placed in a giant pot, and will stand in front of the
microphone.Write out the speech that you believe
should be presented by this tree.

16. CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
SIX THINKING HATSCritical thinking & problem solving
by Edward de Bono
This technique provides a structure for
students to explore six distinct perspectives of
a complex issue or scenario.

17. De Bono ‘s Six Thinking Hats model encourages students to figuratively put on different thinking hats. The
technique can be used to encourage them to brainstorm from different angles.
WHAT DO THE HATS REPRESENT?
Yellow: Focus on the benefits. Takes a positive and optimistic perspective.
Green: Focus on creativity and building on the ideas. Refrain from criticism.
White: Data focus. Analyze trends & look for knowledge gaps.
Red:Focusonintuition,gutreaction,andemotion.Howcouldothersreactemotionallytothe
decision?
Black: Focus on negative outcomes and flaws in the plan. Be cautious and defensive. Highlights weak
points (in order to eliminate them later), makes thinking more robust.
Blue: Focus on the process. Manages the discussion, defines where to focus.

18. Exposing students to different types of
thinking can broaden their thinking
capability and help them solve problems
logically. Also, it's so much fun!
HOW TO USE
Step 1:
Decide on a topic or a problem for a group
activity.
Step 2:
Form groups of 6 or multiples of 6 (for six hats)
Step 3:
Explain clearly the role of each hat to the class.
Step 4:
If there is a sequence you want, tell them which
hat goes first, and which after.
Step 5:
Facilitate the group discussion around the class.
Can six thinking hats be used for reading
comprehension? Yes, the hats act as a framework
for students to analyze an article or novel from
different perspectives. This helps students to
comprehend their reading in a wholesome way.

19. ACTIVITY TIME
Think of a situation: You are set to have a class with your chosen grade. You have picked your
favourite Thinking Routine and are about to use it with them. Exciting, eh? Now think about it
using De Bono's Hats:
What are the benefits of the thinking routine? How can we make it creative? What have been
the class trends this year? Are there any gaps? How might the students feel? How are YOU
feeling? What could go wrong? Are there any flaws? How long would this process take? How
would you monitor the process?
Put down your thoughts in a grid. Voila!
Thinking Routine: 6 Thinking Hats

20. HOPE THIS WAS FUN!
Let's try to make these routines a way of learning for our
students.
Let's integrate these into the fabric of our classrooms.

21. START WITH ONE TODAY!

22. THANK YOU!