Do I Really Need to do Extending Thinking Activities With My Students?

Carol Gardner
Apr 19, 2010

A great Extending Thinking strategy to use with students is called "The Top Ten List." It is sort of a spin off of the Top Ten idea used by late night comedians. Students list from 10 down to 1 the most important reasons to support a position ending with the #1 and most important reason. We will use that strategy here to answer the question, "Do I really need to do Extending Thinking activities with my students?"

The answer is absolutely and here's the Top Ten Reasons why!

10. Extending Thinking moves students beyond acquisition of knowledge and skills to authentic use.

9. Extending Thinking activities facilitate retention and transfer.

8. Extending Thinking is a logical progression in the gradual release of responsibility model requiring students to assume more responsibility while the teacher serves as a facilitator or coach.

7. Extending Thinking activities tend to be highly engaging for students.

6. 75% of state test items come from the Extending Thinking level.

5. The world we live in requires us to be able to think and solve problems in authentic contexts.

4. Extending Thinking deepens understanding of content.

3. Extending Thinking results in new insights about content.

2. State Standards require Extending Thinking.

1. Extending Thinking is the #1 strategy that impacts achievement!

So how might you use this easy strategy with your students? First, explicitly teach and model supporting a position with reasons and facts. Then, give students examples of some Top Ten List models. Finally, have students use the strategy to list the Top Reasons for something.

Extending Thinking activities do not have to be lengthy or as time-consuming as the previous example demonstrates. The goal is to have students use thinking strategies to process the content they are learning in new ways thus deepening understanding and solidifying learning.