This first 9-weeks, 3rd, 4th, and 5th will begin by focusing on the 11 thinking prompts of Depth & Complexity.

• Multiple Perspectives:  Seeing a topic from multiple points of view. Example: thinking about how both sides in a historical conflict felt and why.

• Across Disciplines:  Connecting ideas from different subjects. Example: using math to understand art or science to explain a historical event.

• Big Idea:  Summarizing the main point or concept behind a topic. Example: boiling down a long chapter into its most important lesson.

• Details:  Looking closely at the small pieces of information that help explain the big picture. Example: noticing dates, facts, or key events that make a story or topic more meaningful.

• Unanswered Questions:  Asking questions that don’t have an easy or final answer. Example: wondering what really happened in a mystery from history.

• Language of the Discipline:  Learning and using the special words, symbols, and phrases that experts use in a subject. Example: using “photosynthesis” when studying plants instead of “how plants make food.”

• Rules:  Understanding the guidelines, laws, or principles that explain how something works. Example: the rules of grammar in writing or the laws of motion in science.

• Change Over Time:  Looking at how something changes or develops across different time periods. Example: studying how transportation has evolved from horses to cars to airplanes.

• Patterns:  Finding things that repeat or happen in a predictable way. Example: spotting repeated themes in history or patterns in math problems.

• Ethics:  Thinking about what is right or wrong, fair or unfair. Example: discussing the ethics of scientific discoveries or historical decisions.

• Trends:  Looking at changes over time and predicting what might happen next. Example: noticing technology improvements and guessing what the future might hold.

We will have discussions and work through activities that deepen our understanding of these thinking prompts.