Thinking Routines / Think, Puzzle, Explore
Think, Puzzle, Explore
Open a topic by finding out what a class thinks it already knows — including the bits that are wrong — then turn the gaps into questions worth chasing.
Opens on the whiteboard to model with the class · no sign-up · printing is optional
The sheet it prints — optional
What is the Think, Puzzle, Explore thinking routine?
Think, Puzzle, Explore is a thinking routine for opening a topic. Children say what they think they already know, what puzzles them about it, and how they might find out more. It surfaces prior knowledge and misconceptions before any teaching happens.
How do you run Think, Puzzle, Explore with a class?
Give the topic as a single word or picture and take everything, without correcting anything. Then ask what puzzles them. Finish by turning two or three puzzles into things the class could actually go and find out. Fifteen minutes, at the start of a unit.
Should you correct wrong answers in the first column?
No. Write them up as they are said. Correcting on the spot teaches the class that the first column is a test, and the honest answers dry up. Come back to the board at the end of the topic and let them cross out their own mistakes instead.
Leave the board photographed and come back to it in six weeks. The lesson where a class reads its own opening answers after finishing a topic is worth more than the routine itself — there is always a howl of laughter at something they were certain about, and then somebody notices the puzzles they never actually answered. In my experience that is where the best independent research questions come from, not from the original lesson.
Which subjects does Think, Puzzle, Explore suit?
Any topic children arrive with half-formed ideas about.
- Science — space, the body, electricity, anything with folklore attached.
- History — a period they think they know from films.
- Geography — a country, a climate, a way of living unlike theirs.
- RE and PSHE — beliefs and practices they have heard of but not examined.
What usually goes wrong with Think, Puzzle, Explore?
Correcting the first column. The moment a wrong answer gets fixed on the spot, the class learns that Think is a test, and the honest answers stop. Write everything up as it is said, and come back to correct it at the end of the topic instead.
Which year groups is Think, Puzzle, Explore for?
Think, Puzzle, Explore suits Year 2 upwards, grade 1 in the US. Younger children need the topic narrowed to something concrete — 'volcanoes' rather than 'the Earth'. Older classes can take the Explore step seriously and plan real research from it.
What do you do with it afterwards?
Photograph it and keep it. Coming back at the end of a topic and reading the opening answers aloud is the most convincing evidence of progress a class will ever get — and the puzzles nobody answered make an obvious list of independent research questions.
How often should you use Think, Puzzle, Explore?
Once per topic, at the start. It is designed to be run before teaching, so its natural rhythm is one per unit — and pairing it with Connect, Extend, Challenge at the end gives you a before and after on the same piece of paper.
| Year group | US grade | What to change | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years 2–3 | Grades 1–2 | One concrete topic. Accept everything, correct nothing. | 10 min |
| Years 4–5 | Grades 3–4 | Push for real puzzles, not just questions with easy answers. | 15 min |
| Year 6 and up | Grade 5+ | Turn the Explore column into assigned research. | 20 min |
Think, Puzzle, Explore compared with Connect, Extend, Challenge
Think, Puzzle, Explore opens a topic; Connect, Extend, Challenge closes it. Used as a pair on the same unit they show a class how far it moved, which is more convincing to children than being told they have learned something.
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Where this routine comes from: the Think, Puzzle, Explore thinking routine was 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 prompts and the wording on this page are our own.