Reasoning · Thinking Routines

Thinking Routines

Twenty-three thinking routines that get a class reasoning out loud. Pick a routine, choose a picture or a topic, and work through it together on the board.

Several routines were developed by Project Zero, a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Harvard or Project Zero.

Choose a routine

01Zoom InOpen magnified on one detail, then pull back while they revise the guess.→ 02I See, I Think, I WonderMove a class from what is actually there to what it might mean.→ 03What Makes You Say That?Build the habit of backing every idea with evidence.→ 04Claim, Support, QuestionMake a claim, back it up, then ask what would make you doubt it.→ 05Connect, Extend, ChallengeTie new learning to what a class already knows.→ 06Think, Puzzle, ExploreOpen a topic by surfacing what they think they already know.→ 07The Explanation GameFour questions that turn a one-word answer into a paragraph.→ 08Generate, Sort, Connect, ElaborateConcept mapping. The sorting step is where the thinking happens.→ 09Step InsideThink from inside someone or something in the picture.→ 10Predict, Observe, ExplainCommit to a prediction, watch, then explain the gap.→ 11Fact or Fiction?Weigh a statement against the evidence and give a verdict.→ 12Colour, Symbol, ImageRepresent an idea as a colour, a symbol and an image.→ 13Compass PointsWeigh a proposal from four directions before deciding.→ 143-2-1 BridgeCapture their thinking before a topic, then again after.→ 15Tug of WarPull the reasons to one side or the other, strongest furthest out.→ 16Peel the FruitSix layers, from what they notice down to what it is really about.→ 17HeadlinesOne line that captures what actually mattered.→ 18The Micro Lab ProtocolA timed talk protocol for threes. Everybody speaks, nobody interrupts.→ 19I Used to Think, Now I ThinkCatch what they think at the start of a unit, then set it beside the end.→ 20Chalk TalkA silent conversation in writing, round one big question.→ 21Circle of ViewpointsStand in every place round a topic and see it from there.→ 22Looking: Ten Times TwoTwo slow looks, ten words after each. The second ten are the good ones.→ 23Sentence, Phrase, WordChoose the sentence, phrase and word that matter, then find the themes.→

Thinking routines for the classroom, free to try

A thinking routine is a short, repeatable set of prompts that makes a class reason out loud instead of guessing. There are twenty-three of them here. Choose a picture or a topic, pick a routine, and step through it together on the whiteboard: two minutes as a lesson starter, or twenty as the lesson itself. They work in any subject and with any stimulus, and it is free to start.

The routines

Looking closely at a picture

Zoom In: the picture opens close up on one small detail and pulls back in stages, so every step out makes the class rethink a guess they were sure about.

I See, I Think, I Wonder: separate what is actually there from what it might mean, then from what it makes you curious about.

What Makes You Say That?: the habit-forming one. Every interpretation has to be followed by the evidence behind it.

Step Inside: think from inside a person, creature or object in the picture. What do they perceive, believe and care about?

Looking: Ten Times Two: two slow looks at one picture, with ten words after each. The second ten have to be new.

Building and testing an argument

Claim, Support, Question: make a bold claim, back it with evidence, then ask what would make you doubt it.

The Explanation Game: name it, explain it, give reasons, then answer the hardest question of the four: what else could it be?

Fact or Fiction?: weigh a statement against the evidence and commit to a verdict.

Opening or closing a topic

Think, Puzzle, Explore: surface what a class thinks it already knows before you teach anything.

Connect, Extend, Challenge: tie new learning to old, push it further, and name what still does not fit.

Predict, Observe, Explain: commit to a prediction, watch, then explain the gap. The staple of primary science.

Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate: concept mapping, where the sorting step does the real work.

Colour, Symbol, Image: represent an idea three ways without words, and justify each one.

I Used to Think, Now I Think: catch what a class believes at the start of a unit, then set it beside what they believe at the end.

Weighing up an idea

Compass Points: excited, worrisome, need to know, and only then where you stand.

Tug of War: a rope with a side at each end; the strongest reasons get pulled furthest out.

Peel the Fruit: six layers, from what they notice on the surface down to what it is really about.

Circle of Viewpoints: put every viewpoint round a topic, then stand in each place and see it from there.

Before and after, and talking well

3-2-1 Bridge: three words, two questions, one analogy, collected before a topic and again after it.

Headlines: the one line a newspaper would run about what you have been studying.

The Micro Lab Protocol: a timed talk protocol for threes. Everybody speaks, nobody interrupts.

Chalk Talk: a silent conversation in writing, round one big question.

Sentence, Phrase, Word: choose the sentence, phrase and word from a text that matter most, then find the themes.

Frequently asked questions

What is a thinking routine?

A short, repeatable set of prompts that helps a class look closely, reason and discuss. See-Think-Wonder is the best known. The value comes from using the same few routines often enough that children stop needing to be told the steps.

Which thinking routines are included?

Twenty-three: Zoom In, I See I Think I Wonder, What Makes You Say That?, Claim Support Question, Connect Extend Challenge, Think Puzzle Explore, The Explanation Game, Generate Sort Connect Elaborate, Step Inside, Predict Observe Explain, Fact or Fiction?, Colour Symbol Image, Compass Points, 3-2-1 Bridge, Tug of War, Peel the Fruit, Headlines, The Micro Lab Protocol, I Used to Think Now I Think, Chalk Talk, Circle of Viewpoints, Looking: Ten Times Two and Sentence Phrase Word.

Can I use my own picture?

Type a topic and we find a picture for it, or run a routine with no picture at all and use a text, an object or a question instead.

What age group is it for?

Most work from about Year 3 or grade 3 upwards, and several work far younger with a simpler picture. Zoom In and I See I Think I Wonder are the two to start with.

Are these thinking routines free?

Yes, the thinking routines are free to start, and every account gets 20 free tokens.

Is it free?

Free to try. Browsing the routines costs nothing. Putting a routine on the board or printing it uses one token, and coming back to that same routine is free. Every account gets 20 free tokens, and Pro gives 50 a day.

Where the routines come from

Several of these routines were developed by Project Zero, a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Sage Teachers is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Harvard University or Project Zero. The routines are named and described here in our own words; the wording of the prompts and the way each one is run on screen is ours.

Related apps

Want a rich image to reason about? Pair it with Picture This. Opening a lesson with a hook? Try The Hook. For reading specifically, there are 29 more in Reading Activities.

Thinking Routines: 23 free-to-try thinking routines for the classroom