Thinking skills activities  More activities will be added here
over time. If you have effective activities for teaching,
thinking and research, please send them to us at  Breaking down
a question  This group activity helps students be aware of the
process of asking sub-questions to break down a difficult
question. You will need reference books and/or web access, plus
post-its.  A child asks 'How far is the moon?' and even if she
is told the answer in a number, she will keep on asking the
question differently ('Is it as far as Australia?' 'Would it
take all day to get there?' 'Would a ladder ever stretch
there?'), until she gets an answer that relates to something she
knows. Introduce and discuss the relationships between primary
and secondary questions.  As a whole group, brainstorm some big
difficult questions. Write the questions on post-its. Pairs or
small groups can choose one of these questions (if one of them
thinks they could easily articulate the answer then they
shouldn't choose it). Ask them to imag