This resource is designed for teachers who want to invent, adapt, and refine their own thinking routines to use with students across subjects.
Instead of relying on pre-made routines, this guide shows you how to think like a routine designer—so you can create routines that match:

• Your learning goals
  
• your subject
  
• your students’ needs
  
• the type of thinking you want to activate
  

Using command terms as the backbone, this resource helps teachers turn vague prompts like “think about this” into clear, intentional thinking actions such as:
interpret – organize – justify – evaluate – create

What This Resource Helps teachers to:

-Understand different types of thinking skills (critical, creative, transfer, metacognitive)
-Choose the right command term for the thinking they want students to do
-Rewrite existing thinking routines with greater clarity and precision
-Design new thinking routines from scratch
-Align classroom questioning with inquiry-based learning
-Anticipate common student misconceptions caused by vague prompts
-Make student thinking visible, explainable, and assessable

What’s Included:

✔ A structured process teachers can follow to invent their own thinking routines
✔ A comprehensive command terms reference with thinking focus
✔ Worked examples


Ideal for:

✔ Teachers who use inquiry-based learning
✔ IB / concept-driven classrooms
✔ Schools focusing on thinking skills & metacognition
✔ Instructional coaches & curriculum designers
✔ Teacher professional development

Why This Resource Is Different :

⭐ Empowers teachers to create, not just follow routines
⭐ Uses precise cognitive language instead of vague prompts
⭐ Works across any subject area
⭐ Builds consistency in questioning and thinking expectations
⭐ Supports deeper student reasoning and justification