PREFACE

The Shaping of Thought: Think Links and Metacognition, A Teacher’s Guide to Critical and Creative Thinking in Response to Literature contains visual organizers, as well as the highest levels of their development as a vehicle to help students gain in-depth understanding of literature and thus themselves. It gives an in-depth look at Think Links, a student friendly name for cognitive maps, or graphic organizers. Through the inclusion of the ThinkTrix typology, the authors have built in the metacognitive dimension that enhances the teacher’s and the students’ understanding of thinking by the connecting of metacognitive understanding to visual generation and organization of thought. This connection distinguishes this book from most others of its kind. The approach to cognitive mapping in this book was discovered serendipitously by Dr. Frank Lyman in 1965 at Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington, Massachusetts and developed by teacher colleagues and graduate students in Maryland beginning in 1968. These teachers were predominantly Howard County teachers, several of whom gave the students full reign to invent and use a variety of Think Link shapes. Though cognitive mapping has been developed, replicated, and researched nationally and worldwide in other settings since 1970, the Think Link strategy has features uncommon to other variations. The central concept is that all thought can be shaped, or designed visually, and that each thought can have more than one inventive and representative design. Secondly, every thought or question/response consists of one or more fundamental actions of the mind. The ThinkTrix, as a fundamental thinking taxonomy, consists of seven symbols, or icons, that represent these mind actions, or types of thinking, and hence acts as a kind of Rosetta Stone translator for the multitude of terms used to describe thinking. Each Think Link, or cognitive map, is made up of some combination of the basic mind actions, or ThinkTrix. This metacognitive framework can be used to ask and answer questions and design thought shapes, or Think Links. By understanding and revealing the architecture of thought, the teacher renders reading, writing, and thinking more accessible to students.

A teacher who pays close attention to the contents of The Shaping of Thought will be rewarded with a deeper sense of learning and how to develop true understanding in the classroom.

iii

Every Think Link suggested in this book focuses on character, event, theme, or story, and contains one or more of six basic thinking types. The categorization of kind is made by the focus, or point of departure, for the thinking. This metacognitive classifying scheme as shown on pages xxi and xxii for the thinking types was derived from hundreds of student-constructed Think Link samples; hence, its validity and practical value to teacher and students cannot be ignored. Throughout the book, one or more of the grid cell codes, shown in the matrix above, identifies Think Link prototypes and samples. Properly understood and used together with a number of different Think Link shapes, or forms, the ThinkTrix is a helpful metacognitive tool for teacher and students to create, analyze, and respond to questions.

Uses of the Book The purpose of this book is to give the teacher of reading and literature the benefit of forty years of Think Link field-testing. The teacher should be able to grasp the essence of the Thinklinking strategy and make effective use of it by reading this text and considering the various diagram prototypes and samples, as well as the thinking that underlies them. The reader may refer to the literature and research on cognitive mapping for justification and for variations by other names. The book chapters - Character, Event, Theme, and Story - are divided into explanatory and instructional sections. As described in the first chapter on Character Think Links, the instructional strategy has two stages: Demonstration and Guided Practice Stage and Independent Production Stage.

During the Demonstration and Guided Practice Stage, the teacher might informally construct Think Links on charts, chalkboard, an overhead projector, or computer for several weeks before introducing a Think Link kind. This stage includes more structure, direction, modeling, and interaction than in the Independent Production Stage. The teacher uses prepared Think Link skeletal, or partially completed, formats to a greater extent with primary students in order to encourage an in-depth understanding of the Think Link strategy.

For both primary and intermediate students, the Independent Production Stage is the stage at which a Think Link kind is integrated into the routine of the classroom. This stage is at a high point when students decide what thinking type, what kind of Think Link (focal point), and what shape, or form, to select. When this final stage is reached for all four basic kinds, and when students know how to use the Think Links as discussion formats and as blueprints for written composition, the response-to-reading program is in place in the classroom.

The chapter on Character Think Links is written in more detail to give a clearer picture of an instructional procedure and is meant to suggest a way to teach the other three kinds. Teachers reading the book are encouraged to extrapolate to their own level

xii

if the samples and procedures seem to be more appropriate for younger or older students.

The book is intended for grades one through eight, though a kindergarten, secondary, or college teacher can adapt the ideas and procedures in any content area. The ordering of the four chapters is a suggested sequence for introducing and understanding Think Links, though it is not necessary to teach a complete chapter before going on to the next. Within the chapters, suggestions are made for the sequencing of instruction, but other than the importance of teacher modeling, guided practice, and the ordering from simple to more complex, the teacher can decide when and how to introduce each activity. There is a large body of literature and field-testing on variations related to Think Links, though The Think Link Classroom suggested in this book is unique in its metacognitive and instructional dimensions. Some of the numerous labels for these variations are: cognitive mapping, webbing, semantic webbing, mind mapping, graphic organizers, and visual organizers. The current interests in critical and creative thinking, the writing process, reading assessments, reading comprehension, the reading-writing connection, differentiated learning, multiple intelligences, learning strategies, cultural diversity, brain research, and emotional intelligence are well-served by teacher and student expertise in the shaping and understanding of thought.

xiii

THINKTRIX: ONE-SIDED

The Think Link matrix, or ThinkTrix, can be used as a wall chart, desk tool, and as a cooperative learning discussion board. When used as a guide for question creation, or question type identification, it is helpful to have the intersections labeled as 1a, 1b, 2f, and so forth. Such matrices can be made for every content area by changing the departure points.

xxi

!

!" #" $" %" &" '" (" )"

!* #* $* %* &* '* (* )*

!+ #+ $+ %+ &+ '+ (+ )+

!, #, $, %, &, ', (, ),

!- #- $- %- &- '- (- )-

!. #. $. %. &. '. (. ).

!/ #/ $/ %/ &/ '/ (/ )/

01"2"+3-2!

45-63#

7--896/:;2"93:;1-<-$

=3>2?%

=-3396/&

@2>*8-<:0>6.89+3'

AB31>2CD=3?8-(

E-8"39>6D19FD)

"

*

+

,

-

.

/

EE-+"88

0"BD-G! 4..-+3

=9<98"293?

H9..-2-6+-

I,-"G" 4J"<F8-KDL

" !"

4J"<F8-KDLG" GI,-"KDL

!"#"

45"8B"39>6

xxxi

THINKTRIX QUESTION GENERATOR: INTERMEDIATE/SECONDARY

Topic:

Tell the sequence of events in A Wizard of Earthsea. What are the effects of teasing? What causes the Beast to change? What were some causes of unhappiness in Tuck Everlasting? What causes the Emperor to “see” the “magic” robes?

What feelings does Pinocchio have that Wilbur also has? Are Charlotte’s Web and Bridge to Terabithia similar stories? How? How are you like any character in Winnie-the-Pooh? How is Johnny Tremaine different from some others around him?

How are you different from any of the characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?

What are some examples of disappointment in Island of the Blue Dolphins?

From our list of stories, find some examples of friendship. In these three stories, there are examples of sacrifice.

What are they?

What are some character traits of Anne Frank? What are the themes of Charlotte’s Web?

Dorothy and friends woke up to the mighty Oz. What ideas can you think of from this scene?

Who treats Crow Boy badly? Who treats him nicely? Explain.

THINKTRIX QUESTION GENERATOR: PRIMARY

Topic: The Little Red Hen

Recall Name some of the animals that wouldn’t help the Little Red Hen.

Cause!Effect Why did the Little Red Hen plant the wheat alone?

Similarity How are the Little Red Hen and Henny Penny alike?

Difference How were the cat, mouse, and dog acting differently at the end of the story?

Idea !Example(s) What showed that the cat, mouse, and dog were lazy?

_______________________________________________________________________

Example(s)!Idea(s) What were some of Little Red Hen’s feelings

throughout the story?

Evaluation Should the Little Red Hen have eaten the cake all by herself? Why or why not?

THINKTRIX QUESTION GENERATOR: PRIMARY

Topic: The Little Red Hen

Recall Name some of the animals that wouldn’t help the Little Red Hen.

Cause!Effect Why did the Little Red Hen plant the wheat alone?

Similarity How are the Little Red Hen and Henny Penny alike?

Difference How were the cat, mouse, and dog acting differently at the end of the story?

Idea !Example(s) What showed that the cat, mouse, and dog were lazy?

_______________________________________________________________________

Example(s)!Idea(s) What were some of Little Red Hen’s feelings

throughout the story?

Evaluation Should the Little Red Hen have eaten the cake all by herself? Why or why not?

Character-Trait-Event WebFigure 1.3d

[1e]

Character-Trait-Event WebFigure 1.3e

[1e]

10

Event-Idea Think LinkFigure 2.2c

[2f]

Figure 2.2d is an example of an Event-Idea Analogy combination, a composite of events. Most of the diagram samples shown throughout this book could be expanded to different thinking types. The discovery of these various combinations is a reinforcing experience for both students and teachers.

Event-Idea Analogy Think LinkFigure 2.2d

[2c, 2f]

41

Event-Cause/Effect Think LinkFigure 2.9c

[2e]

53

Because the choices that characters make are often an important aspect of the story, choice could be considered a theme, in the broadest sense of the term. Students, determining choices in stories, aid in-depth understanding of the major story plot as shown in Figures 3.3b and 3.3c.

Theme-Example Think LinkSingle Context

Figure 3.3a[3e]

Most Think Links, like Figure 3.3a, can be shaped as concentric circles. Figure 3.3a places the characters that are in conflict in the same segment but in a separate circle.

63

Theme-Example Think LinkMulti-context

Figure 3.4d[3c, 3e]

Theme-Example Think LinkMulti-context

Figure 3.4e[3c, 3e]

67

Theme-Cause/Effect Think LinkIdea Idea Example

Multi-ContextFigure 3.9b

[3b, 3c, 3e, 3f]

Theme-Cause/Effect Think LinkIdea Idea Example

Multi-ContextFigure 3.9c[3b, 3c, 3e]

79

Story-Event-Theme-Analogy Think LinkFigure 4.15a[4c, 4e, 4f]

Story-Event-Theme-Analogy Think LinkFigure 4.15b

[4c, 4e, 4f]

92

IN SUMMARY

THE SHAPING OF THOUGHT: THINK LINKS AND METACOGNITION is fundamentally a book about understanding through connections. Thinklinking is a strategy central to a classroom of every-student-response and cooperative inquiry, in which all students can find and express meaning from what they read. The four major sections of the book: Character, Event, Theme, and Story are an organizing framework for the strategy but are not meant to be completely prescriptive. Teachers using this book can adapt the strategy and its allied components to the realities of their classrooms. The Think Link Classroom will have variations but will always be about motivating and empowering the learner. Central to the success of this goal is a teacher, determined that students make sense of literature and their lives.

95