Applying PZ Thinking Routines
A thinking routine is a short, repeatable set of questions or steps that scaffolds student thinking and makes it visible to both teacher and student. To apply one:
- Identify the thinking goal (e.g., "I want students to notice details and form questions before reading a text").
- Pick a routine matched to that goal (e.g., See-Think-Wonder for observation/curiosity).
- Run the routine's steps verbatim with students, documenting their responses (sticky notes, shared doc, chart paper).
- Revisit the documented thinking later (end of lesson, next class) to show growth.
- Reuse the same routine across multiple artifacts/units rather than switching routines constantly — repetition builds the thinking "muscle."
Example immediate application:
Routine: See-Think-Wonder
Artifact: A historical photograph
- See: "What do you observe?"
- Think: "What do you think is happening?"
- Wonder: "What does this make you wonder?"
Document answers publicly. Return to "Wonder" list after the unit to see which questions got answered.
Progress:
- Step 1: Clarify the thinking disposition/skill to target (e.g., observing, finding complexity, recognizing perspectives, reasoning, questioning)
- Step 2: Match that goal to a routine category (see Category Map below)
- Step 3: Select a specific routine within that category, considering age group, subject, and whether this is students' first exposure (if new, start with a Core routine)
- Step 4: Prepare the artifact/content the routine will be applied to (text, image, object, concept, dilemma)
- Step 5: Introduce the routine's steps explicitly and name the "thinking move" being practiced
- Step 6: Facilitate the routine, documenting student responses visibly (board, shared doc, sticky notes)
- Step 7: Plan a return point — revisit documented thinking later in the unit to surface development
- Step 8: Repeat the same routine across contexts before introducing a new one, to build fluency
| Goal | Category | Example Routines |
|---|---|---|
| New to routines / general-purpose | Core | See-Think-Wonder, Connect-Extend-Challenge, I Used to Think...Now I Think... |
| Opening a unit, sparking curiosity | Introducing and Exploring Ideas | Chalk Talk, Zoom In |
| Building deeper analysis mid-unit | Digging Deeper into Ideas | Claim-Support-Question, What Makes You Say That? |
| Wrapping up, drawing conclusions | Synthesizing and Organizing Ideas | Connect-Extend-Challenge, Headlines |
| Examining objects/designed systems | Objects and Systems | Part-Purpose-Complexity, Think-Feel-Care |
| Building empathy / other viewpoints | Perspective Taking | Circle of Viewpoints |
| Exploring tension, multiple sides | Perspectives, Controversies, and Dilemmas | Compass Points |
| Brainstorming, analogical reasoning | Possibilities and Analogies | Creative Questions, Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate |
| Engaging with art/images/objects | With Art or Objects | See-Think-Wonder, Looking Ten Times Two |
Example 1: Input: "I'm starting a new unit and want students to surface prior knowledge and curiosity about climate change." Output: Use Chalk Talk (Introducing and Exploring Ideas category) — a silent written brainstorm on large paper. Students add thoughts/questions, build on each other's comments in writing, no talking. Document the chart; revisit it at unit's end to show how thinking evolved.
Example 2: Input: "My students need to consider a controversial local policy from multiple angles." Output: Use Compass Points (Perspectives, Controversies, and Dilemmas) — have students articulate what Excites them, what they Worry about, what they Need to know, and their Stance/next Steps regarding the policy. This surfaces tensions and multiple facets before debate.
Example 3: Input: "I want students to examine a piece of technology and appreciate its design." Output: Use Part-Purpose-Complexity (Objects and Systems) — identify the object's parts, their purposes, and how those parts interact in complex ways.
- Match tool to goal first, then pick the routine — never choose a routine because it's popular (e.g., See-Think-Wonder, Circle of Viewpoints, Compass Points, Claim-Support-Question, I Used to Think...Now I Think...) without confirming it fits the thinking skill needed.
- Repeat, don't rotate. Use one routine across several artifacts/sessions so it becomes an internalized habit, not a novelty.
- Make documentation visible and persistent — charts, shared docs, sticky notes — and deliberately plan to revisit it later so growth in thinking becomes observable.
- Name the thinking move explicitly ("we're doing the 'Wonder' step — generating questions") so students can transfer the skill to new contexts.
- Start with Core routines when students or the teacher are new to this approach.
- Layer routines within a unit: an Introducing routine at the start, a Digging Deeper routine mid-unit, a Synthesizing routine at the close.
- Treating a routine as a one-off worksheet rather than a repeated structure — this undermines the "muscle-building" effect.
- Switching routines every lesson instead of reusing one until it becomes familiar.
- Skipping documentation, which erases the ability to show students how their thinking developed.
- Choosing a routine based on popularity/familiarity rather than alignment with the specific thinking disposition being targeted.
- Forgetting to revisit earlier documented thinking — the routine's value compounds when students compare initial vs. later responses.