A Simple, Invaluable Tool For Building a Thinking Classroom

An old favorite tool of mine found new life in my effort to Build A Thinking Classroom this week. 

​Several years ago, my teammate found this engagement chart courtesy of Meghan Hargrave's Instagram offerings (<--- STRONGLY recommended).

Both of us have loved this chart for years and referenced it with our classes time and time again.  We love how it presents engagement not as binary (on- or off-task), but rather as a spectrum that includes much loftier goals than merely being "on task."  It has been a godsend for us and a real source of growth and inspiration for our kids.

Naturally, I posted copies of it at every vertical workspace when I set up my very first Thinking Classroom this year.  I intended for it to be a reminder to the kids as they worked on their thinking tasks.

All of my standing work areas are outfitted with Meghan Hargrave's engagement chart.

This week, the charts became much more than a reminder.

They became the only set of expectations I need to reference while the kids are working on thinking tasks:

• If you are holding the marker, you should be at a "+3" - leading your group, explaining your thinking as you write.
• If you are not holding the marker, you should be at a "+2" - asking questions and verbalizing that you are following the leader's thinking.

Look how simple it is!  Here is a quick clip of me using the chart to praise a group that was killing it:

It takes no time, they understand exactly what it means, and they continue doing excellent thinking!

On the flip side, here's a quick clip of me telling a student that he's currently at a "-1" (distracted), and that if he'll ask questions (+2), that will prevent him from getting distracted - it will keep him engaged.  The sound isn't helpful since he's all the way across the room, but I think you can still get the picture:

Again, it takes no time, he knows exactly what I mean, and he's back to thinking in just a few seconds. 

In the following class, I even had a student who was all the way down at "making it hard for others" (-3), and I was able to give the same advice - and it worked just as well. 

And that's it!  No long checklist of expectations or norms - just a quick, clear, and aspirational reference to get everything thinking at a high level.

Big thanks to Meghan Hargraves for a tool that has long served my students well, and now serves them even better.  She has countless more tools just like it.  This one, no doubt, is a huge contribution to the Building Thinking Classrooms community!

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