100 ideas for Primary School Teachers: Developing Thinking Skills

Thinking skills are the cornerstones of effective learning.

When children are familiar with their 'thinking toolkit' they will engage more actively and confidently with the knowledge and information you teach them.

In this brand new edition, author and education consultant Steve Bowkett offers 100 tried and tested activities and techniques to help children become more creative, analytical and flexible in their thinking.

Whether you are an experienced teacher or you are just starting your teaching career, there are strategies in this book that you can apply across a wide age and ability range and areas of the primary curriculum. Dip in and use the activities as 'mind warm-ups' and lesson starters, or combine techniques to form the basis of whole topics and more extended programmes of study.

 “In a rapidly changing world most teachers and educationalists agree that it is vital for children to develop the key thinking skills necessary to develop the flexibility, creativity and analytical ability to engage effectively with the challenges of the future. Steve Bowkett's book will be an invaluable aid to the classroom practitioner as it contains a host of practical ideas for helping children to develop these key skills. It provides the teacher with refreshingly clear guidance on delivering the ideas in the classroom along with suggestions for extension work and plenty of practical tips. Each idea is given a clear objective making it ideal for dipping into although many teachers will I suspect be consulting it regularly for input to enhance and hone their pupil's thinking skills.” –  Tony Hitchman, former Primary headteacher

This is your brain/ Idea of the day/ Memory and imagination/ Paying attention/ Now listen/ The colour of saying/ Thinking journeys/ Visualising/ A thinking audit/ Dealing with feelings/ What if?/ But why?/ Proactive thinking/ Category games/ Theme of the week/ Twenty questions/ The computer in the box/ Anchor the learning/ What happens next?/ Hypothesising/ Thinking grids for stories/ Thinking grids for topics/ Thinking grids for problem solving/ Structure and function/Effective learners 

Steve Bowkett

Steve Bowkett is a full-time writer and creative writing tutor. He taught English for 18 years in the UK. Steve was a member of an advisory group to the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education.