A student looks at a historical photograph and says, “Everyone is waiting for a train.” Ask what they can actually see, and the answer gets more precise: people standing in a line, bags on the ground, and a building behind them. The train is an inference. Once students can point to what they observed and explain what they inferred, you have something specific to discuss.
That’s what I like about visible thinking routines. They give students a short, repeatable way to show how they reached an idea, what evidence they used, or why they changed their minds. The four routines below come from Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Each one serves a different purpose, and you can use any of them with materials you already teach.
| If you want students to… | Try… |
|---|---|
| Separate what they observe from what they infer | See–Think–Wonder |
| Support an interpretation and examine what’s still uncertain | Claim–Support–Question |
| Connect new material to prior learning and name what it adds | Connect–Extend–Challenge |
| Explain how their understanding changed | I Used to Think… Now I Think |
1. See–Think–Wonder
See–Think–Wonder works well when students have something to examine closely, such as a photograph, a graph, a work of art, or a specimen. Students describe what they notice, offer an interpretation, and raise a question they could investigate. Project Zero
- See: What details can you point to?
- Think: What might those details mean?
- Wonder: What would you like to find out?
Classroom example: In a geography lesson, show students two photographs of the same shoreline taken decades apart. A student might notice that the newer photograph shows fewer trees and more buildings. They might infer that construction changed the shoreline, then ask when the buildings went up or whether the photographs were taken from the same spot.
Give students a quiet minute to look before anyone shares an interpretation. If a student jumps straight to “The town cleared the trees,” ask, “Which details in the photographs led you there?” Record their idea as a possible explanation. The class can return to it once they have maps or other records to consult.
2. Claim–Support–Question
Claim–Support–Question helps students build an interpretation, ground it in evidence, and identify what their evidence still leaves open. It fits especially well after reading a text, examining a source, or reviewing the results of an investigation.
- Claim: What do you think is happening, or what conclusion would you draw?
- Support: What evidence makes that claim plausible?
- Question: What does your evidence leave unresolved?
Classroom example: After reading a short story, a student claims that the narrator is hiding something from a friend. For support, they point to the moment the narrator changes the subject and slips a letter into a pocket.
Their question is whether the narrator feels guilty or is trying to protect the friend. The evidence supports the idea that something is being concealed, while the reason remains open.
Ask students to explain how the evidence supports the claim. Quoting the right sentence is a start. Explaining what that sentence allows them to infer is where you get to see their reasoning.
Related: Classroom Essentials for Teachers
3. Connect–Extend–Challenge
Connect–Extend–Challenge helps students work through new material by linking it to something familiar, explaining what the new information adds, and naming a question or difficulty they’re still working through. It makes a useful exit ticket after a reading, video, demonstration, or guest presentation.
- Connect: What does this connect to from an earlier lesson or experience?
- Extend: What did it add to your understanding?
- Challenge: What is still puzzling or difficult to explain?
Classroom example: After comparing temperature readings from different parts of the schoolyard, a student connects the activity to an earlier lesson about shade. The readings extend their thinking because two places in direct sunlight had different temperatures, one on asphalt and one on grass. Their challenge is figuring out how much of the difference came from the surface, given that wind or the timing of the readings may also have mattered.
That last response can help you plan the next lesson. If several students raise the same question, ask them to design a fairer comparison and decide what they would keep the same.
4. I Used to Think… Now I Think
I Used to Think… Now I Think gives students a way to describe how their understanding has changed and explain what prompted the change. Use it after an investigation, a discussion with competing perspectives, or a unit in which students have had time to revisit their first ideas.
- I used to think… Describe your earlier idea.
- Now I think… Explain how you understand the topic today.
Classroom example: At the beginning of a fractions lesson, a student writes, “I used to think that one-eighth was bigger than one-sixth because eight is bigger than six.” After comparing fraction strips, they write, “Now I think that if the wholes are the same size, dividing one into eight equal pieces gives you smaller pieces than dividing it into six.”
Save students’ initial responses so they can look back at what they actually wrote. After they complete the two stems, I’d add one follow-up: What helped you rethink it? A student might point to a diagram, a classmate’s explanation, or a result that surprised them. Students whose views stayed largely the same can explain what became clearer or what evidence strengthened their original thinking.
How to Make These Routines Part of a Lesson
Start with one routine that fits the thinking you want students to practise. Use it several times with different material so students become familiar with the questions. A notebook entry, a sketch with labels, or a short oral response can all give you something to work with.
Keep a few responses and bring them back into the next lesson. If students mixed observations with interpretations, put two responses side by side and ask which details someone else could verify. If their claims were stronger than their evidence, revisit one example and ask how they might narrow the claim. The routine becomes part of the teaching when students get a chance to use what it revealed.
