Cultures Of Thinking
Holly Torcasio, Leanne Taylor and Amy Hardie
In our last newsletter, we introduced Thinking Routines and how they can transform everyday reading into a rich opportunity for learning and deeper understanding. This term, we've seen many wonderful examples of our students applying these routines to a deeper level, each in a unique and age-appropriate way.
Prep: Colour, Symbol, Image
Our Prep students recently explored the book Second Sky by Patrick Guest. To help them form conclusions about the story, they used the ‘Colour, Symbol, Image’ thinking routine. This routine is especially effective for our youngest learners because it allows them to express complex ideas without relying on a lot of words.
Colour: Students chose a colour that represented their favourite part’s overall mood or feeling.
Symbol: They selected a simple symbol to capture a key theme or idea.
Image: Finally, they drew a picture that summarized the heart of the story.
The purpose of this routine is to encourage students to go beyond a simple summary and synthesize their understanding. By choosing these three elements, they are making a personal connection to the text and forming conclusions about its deeper meaning.
Year 2: Tug of War
Our Year 2 students have been using a routine called ‘Tug of War’ to tackle complex issues. This routine is designed to help students reason carefully about dilemmas and appreciate the deeper complexity of situations that can appear black and white on the surface.
Our Year 2s applied this routine to two school-related topics: "Let's Connect should be cancelled" and "The gym should be closed for Year 2s." This might sound like simple debate, but the routine elevates the discussion by encouraging students to:
Identify the "tugs": Just like in a real tug of war, students identified the different reasons, facts and feelings that tug or pull on each side of the argument. For the gym debate, one side was for closing the gym, with tugs like "it can be unsafe as it is slippery" or "the ball could break a window." The other side was against closing it, with tugs like "we need our own space to run around" and "we won’t get rained on in the gym".
Weigh the strength of the arguments: Students were encouraged to think about which tugs were stronger and why. This helped them understand that some reasons are more compelling than others.
Appreciate complexity: The activity showed our students that even when they have a strong opinion, there are valid reasons on the other side. This promotes empathy and the ability to see things from a different perspective.
By engaging with ‘Tug of War,’ our Year 2 students demonstrated a remarkable ability to reason with evidence, consider different perspectives and think critically about a topic. They were able to look beyond their own feelings and consider the needs and viewpoints of their classmates. It is so rewarding to see our students continuing to grow as confident and deep thinkers.
