Intro/Ch. 1 Prompts

Choose ONE of the following prompts from the introduction/Chapter 1 or respond to a topic from these chapters in your own way-

Intro / Ch. 1

• What brought you to this book study and what do you hope to accomplish as a result of participating?
• How do we balance content with thinking skills?
• What barriers prevent us from creating cultures of thinking?

Ch. 2-3 Prompts

Choose ONE of the following prompts from Chapters 2-3 or respond to a topic from these chapters in your own way-

Ch.2-3

• Have your classroom routines and procedures supported or hindered a culture of thinking? How?
• If you had to choose 1 or 2 of the 5 belief sets listed on page 42, which do you think could impact your classroom the most and why?
• In what was will you turn what you are reading so far into an action plan for next year?

Ch. 4-5 Prompts

Choose ONE of the following prompts from Chapters 4-5 or respond to a topic from these chapters in your own way-

Ch. 4-5

• Which of the questions on page 100 spoke to you?  how did you respond?
• On page 111, Ritchart lists instructional strategies (flipping, Genius Hour, FedEx days, etc.) that are departures from the way we typically manage time in the classroom.  Describe an experience you have had with one of these (types of) strategies-
• What dispositions do you hope to model for your students on a daily basis and why?

Ch. 6-7 Prompts

Choose ONE of the following prompts from Chapters 6-7 or respond to a topic from these chapters in your own way-

Ch. 6

• Think of a task you typically assign and recreate it to allow for a higher ceiling. How can you reword the directions to increase their possibilities and opportunities?
• Reflect on the term “Teach less, learn more” and how you see yourself using this philosophy to create powerful learning opportunities.

Ch. 7

• Examine your own instructional routines. Do you have routines for different types of activities, such as group work or independent work? How effective are these routines in helping you and your students remain focused on learning?
• Identify the kinds of thinking you want to make “routine” in your classroom.  What kinds of thinking will students need to be able to build understand?

Ch. 8 -10 Prompts

Choose ONE of the following prompts from Chapters 8-10 or respond to a topic from these chapters in your own way-

Ch. 8

• Reflect on a positive relationship you developed with a student (or a relationship you had with a teacher as a student). How did that relationship impact their learning? How do you think the school year would have been different for that child without that strong relationship?

• Page 202 talks about how student-student interactions often mirror teacher-student interactions. What do students need to see modeled in teacher-student interactions in order to develop the skills you want them to have when interacting with each other?

Ch. 9

• Visualize your classroom last year. What was inviting about the environment? What could be done differently to enhance learning and build culture?  Now, visualize North Hill as a whole. What is inviting? What could be done differently to reflect our journey to a Culture of Thinking?

Ch. 10

• What do you need in order to continue to transform your classroom into a true Culture of Thinking? What next steps would be beneficial for you? What could be done as a building, grade level teams, cross grade-level teams, etc…?