Jumpstart! Thinking Skills and Problem Solving: Games and activities for ages 7-14

153 Pages·2014·2.42 MB·English

by  Steve Bowkett

JUMPSTART!
THINKING SKILLS AND
PROBLEM SOLVING
Jumpstart! Thinking Skills and Problem Solving presents a collection of
simple to use, multi-sensory games and activities which will jumpstart
students’ understanding of problem solving in action. If you are one of the
thousands of teachers looking for a range of practical and fun ideas to
engage pupils in effective, proactive learning, then this is the perfect book
for you.
Specifically written to help teachers work within the guidelines of the new
curriculum, the book will help pupils to explore and learn a wide range of
problem-solving and independent thinking skills in an atmosphere of fun,
mutual support and tolerance.
Sections within the book reflect key areas of the new curriculum and offer
a treasure trove of ideas for building problem-solving and thinking skills
into daily teaching. Tried and tested methods of helping children ‘learn
how to learn’ are provided. Areas covered include:
• building problem-solving confidence
• thinking and problem solving in literacy and science
• problem solving in philosophy
• emotional resourcefulness and life skills.
This indispensable, practical book celebrates the joy of critical and
independent thinking and will become a vital resource for all classroom
teachers at Key Stages 2 and 3.
Steve Bowkett is a former teacher and the author of numerous books for
teachers including the bestselling Jumpstart! Creativity. He also works as
an educational consultant specialising in the areas of thinking skills and
problem solving, creativity and literacy.
Jumpstart!
Jumpstart! Thinking Skills and Jumpstart! Storymaking
Problem Solving Games and activities for
Games and activities for ages 7–12
ages 7–14 Pie Corbett
Steve Bowkett
Jumpstart! Poetry
Jumpstart! Maths (2nd Edition) Games and activities for
Maths activities and games for ages 7–12
ages 5–14 Pie Corbett
John Taylor
Jumpstart! Creativity
Jumpstart! Grammar Games and activities for
Games and activities for ages 7–14
ages 6–14 Steve Bowkett
Pie Corbett and Julia Strong
Jumpstart! ICT
Jumpstart! Spanish and Italian ICT activities and games for
Engaging activities for ages 7–12 ages 7–14
Catherine Watts and John Taylor
Hilary Phillips
Jumpstart! Numeracy
Jumpstart! French and German Maths activities and games for
Engaging activities for ages 7–12 ages 5–14
Catherine Watts and John Taylor
Hilary Phillips
Jumpstart! Literacy
Jumpstart! Drama Key Stage 2/3 literacy games
Games and activities for Pie Corbett
ages 5–11
Teresa Cremin, Roger McDonald,
Emma Goff and Louise Blakemore
Jumpstart! Science
Games and activities for
ages 5–11
Rosemary Feasey
JUMPSTART!
THINKING
SKILLS AND
PROBLEM
SOLVING
GAMES AND ACTIVITIES FOR AGES 7–14
Steve Bowkett
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Steve Bowkett
The right of Steve Bowkett to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Bowkett, Stephen.
Jumpstart! Thinking skills and problem solving : games and activities for
ages 7-14 / Steve Bowkett.
pages cm – (Jumpstart!)
1. Critical thinking–Study and teaching. 2. Problem solving–Study and
teaching. 3. Activity programs in education. I. Title.
LB1590.3.B6945 2014
370.15'2–dc23
2014008663
ISBN: 978-1-138-78327-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-78331-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-76873-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Palatino and Scala Sans
by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
Contents
List of figures viii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction xi
1 Jumpstart the problem-solving attitude 1
Blocks on thinking 3
The thinking ladder 5
4Cs thinking 8
The first snatched thought 12
Letting your imagination run away with you 15
Really listening 17
The problem-solving process 19
Describing and defining 21
Mistakes are useful 23
The Merlin Game 25
Sowing the seed 26
Decision trees 28
Point of view 31
Mental zoom tool 32
The while game 34
What if 35
The power of open questions 37
The learning’s in the detail 40
The circle game 42
How did it go? 45
Praise where it’s due 46
2 Jumpstart thinking and problem solving in literacy 50
Writer as hero 50
‘I can’t think of anything to write!’ 52
v
Contents
Bare bones writing 55
Fixing problems 56
Visualise! 58
Sliding scale 60
Are you persuaded? 61
Metawriting 63
Assessing writing 65
3 Jumpstart thinking and problem solving in science 67
Observation games 67
Spotting patterns 68
Categories of questions 68
Assumptions 70
Bias 72
Scientific language in advertising 74
Causes and correlations 75
Defining and classifying 76
Common sense 77
Infoscraps 78
How relevant? 79
Hypothesising and inferring 81
4 Jumpstart thinking and problem solving in
philosophy 84
How do you eat an elephant? 84
The fortunately-unfortunately game 85
The if-then game 86
Playing with syllogisms 87
Big ideas 91
Crafting questions 93
The enquiry process 95
The right moves 98
Moral dilemmas 99
5 Jumpstart thinking and problem solving in
emotional resourcefulness 101
Core skills for emotional resourcefulness 101
‘As I think, so I am’ – Noticing metaphors 103
It never rains but it pours 105
vi
Contents
What we think we know 107
Values 108
Positive purposes 110
Safe haven 111
What shape is that feeling? 112
The world inside 114
Anchors away! 115
Control room 116
Change the memory 117
Time traveller 119
Where do you stand? 120
Dear diary 123
Character stew 124
Gathering treasures 124
The wise observer 125
Wisdom tales 127
Ready, aim, go 128
Here and now 130
Bibliography 131
vii
List of figures
0.1 Natural curiosity xv
1.1 Bloom’s taxonomy 7
1.2 Ambiguous shapes 9
1.3 Scootems 22
1.4 Story tree 29
1.5 Topic tree 30
1.6 What could it be? 32
1.7 Question star 39
1.8 Coin flip 40
1.9 Spot the difference 41
1.10 Circle game 43
2.1 Metawriting 64
4.1 Syllogisms 89
4.2 Linking game with concepts 92
5.1 Emotion matrix 102
5.2 What’s going on? 107
5.3 Wizzy the Wizard 126
viii
Acknowledgements
Grateful thanks to my friend Tony Hitchman for helping me out
(again) by creating the artwork for Figures 1.3, 1.7, 1.8, 4.2, 5.2
and 5.3.
ix