Six Thinking Hats

Title: Six Thinking Hats  

Author: Stacey Lopez, PS 9, Retreat Avenue Elementary School, NYC  

Subject Area/ Grade: English/ Social Emotional Learning / 4th Grade 

This social emotional learning experience will provide students with an opportunity to apply convergent/divergent thinking. 

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Goals

To Provide students with an opportunity to apply convergent/divergent thinking using “Six Thinking Hats” and reading the article “Opinion:Fear about the Coronavirus is normal, but don’t let it Control you.”

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Content Area and Standards

Reading

 4R1: Locate and refer to relevant details and evidence when explaining what a text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences.

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4SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners, expressing ideas clearly, and building on those of others.

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Activity

“Six Thinking Hats" is a way of investigating an issue from a variety of perspectives, but in a clear, conflict-free way. It can be used by individuals or groups to move outside habitual ways of thinking, try out different approaches, and then think constructively about how to move forward. (Six Thinking Hats - Decision-Making Skills from MindTools.com)

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Joy2Learn Artists /Videos that Support Project

• Early Years | Wynton Marsalis
• Little Richard | Richard Serra
• At the piano featuring Alan Gampel

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Art Forms that May Be Included

• Students can Draw ideas and information
• Music can be played in the background as students work
• A certain groups can improv
• A certain group can use their imagination to solve a problem (principal,teacher, or the president) For example, Students can pretend to be a principal. How would they solve a problem from a principal's perspective?

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Connections to Students Passion Areas and Interests

“Sum of their parts” In a previous lesson students will complete and share a puzzle of 7 areas of their life. Model for students my 7. This activity will help to identify students’ passions and interests. Therefore, later when grouping students I have a choice to group students according to their passions and interests or I can mix it up. Students can learn a passion or interest from someone with differences. 

Materials Needed

• Students placed in 6 groups, 
• Chart of “Six Thinking Hats” Posted up in the room
• Chart paper
• Markers
• Article Opinion: Fear about the coronavirus is normal, but don't ... - Newsela 

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Collaborators

• Students will be grouped
• Students will have a shared vision (passion and or interest)
• Students will trust (take-risks) within their groups
• Students will have free-will to be silly

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Assessment

Ways to Assess Students’ process

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• Are students creating new ideas?
• Are students communicating ideas?
• Are students risk-taking?
• Are students showing their ability to make changes and decisions?
• Are students problem solving?

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Timeline

• Day One: Discover students’ passions and interest “Sum of Parts”
• Day Two and Three: Teach and Model “Six Thinking Hat Colors”
• Day four: Read Article whole class discuss details
• Day Five: Group Students “Hat Color” Students  will have chart paper, markers, and articles with individual “Hat Color Assignment” Students will work on “Six Thinking Hats”

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Other Notes

It’s so many ways to use “SixThinking Hats”. First, I’d like to model/teach the process of  “Six Thinking Hats Colors”, So when using it later for different texts, articles, Math, etc students will have knowledge of the routine.

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