Reinforcing The Critical Thinking Triangle in a Chapter Book

Students and I were recently discussing if anyone could really be “perfect.” I was reminded of Be A Perfect Person In Just Three Days! by Stephen Manes. This book was originally published in 1982 and remained a favorite read aloud of mine for many years. As I began to use the Story Grammar Marker^®, this selection provided a concrete example of using the SGM^® with a chapter book. It is the perfect match for a Complete Episode. From the very obvious Kick-Off to the lesson learned at the end, the book was an entertaining, fun read-aloud for students in grades 3 and 4.

Below, the book is outlined as a Complete Episode— expand on it as you wish. Each Attempt could also be mapped out as a Complete Episode.

Pictures featured below are materials from our new product, The Critical Thinking Triangle in Action! Maryellen recently presented a WEBINAR focusing solely on the Critical Thinking Triangle^® and the 5 elements that connect and interact among each other to enable students to think about their thinking. The new materials were introduced using Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts.

The Critical Thinking Triangle^® In Action! Thought Process Manipulative has been created because the Critical Thinking Triangle^® is the crux of the Story Grammar Marker^®, our tool for narrative development, story-telling, personal narratives, comprehension, writing and social communication.

This new tool makes it possible for children to actually manipulate, talk about and comprehend the elements of the Critical Thinking Triangle^® including:

1. Kick-Off or problem, unexpected happening resulting in a change to the setting
2. Feelings or Emotions
3. Mental States/Thinking verbs/thought process
4. Plans/Intentions to determine actions
5. Cohesive Ties (conjunctions) to build complex sentence structures to communicate the story

As with all our materials, the flexibility for differentiating instruction with the SGM continues with this new product.

Also included is a Learning Scale Protocol which focuses on the sequential teaching of the Critical Thinking Triangle^®, making progress monitoring of this crucial component easy to implement. Check out our website for a complete description of this new product.

Using the Initiating Event (Kick-Off)

The book, Be A Perfect Person In Just Three Days!, falls off the library shelf and hits Milo on the head (p.9)

You could use any of the following approaches:

1. Pictures 1-2-3—These pictures show just the laminated Thought Bubble and four of the laminated Feelings Words… choose both components or focus on one at a time depending on the goals of your student(s).

2. Pictures 4-5-6—Using the laminated and clear-pocketed Student Thinking Mat, pictures 4-5 connect the thoughts of the Character, Milo, and his Feelings in reaction to the Kick-Off in his decision making to follow Dr. Silverfish’s instructions to become a perfect person. In picture 6 I have chosen a sentence frame (there are multiple ones to choose from in the new product) to help scaffold oral expression of the connection among the components. This aspect can also be tailored to meet the needs of your student(s).

3. Picture 7—Students who are able to independently infer and take perspective could engage in completing the Critical Thinking Triangle^® (shown at right is the Student Thinking Map from The CTT^® In Action! Set) orally or in written form (notes or complete sentences) to aid in discussions with peers by following the CTT^®.

Why did Milo decide to follow Dr. Silverfish’s advice? This question could be answered by students, such as, “He wanted to be perfect.”

However, the above examples clearly show how we could make the thoughts and feelings of Milo visible as he decided to follow the advice. This results in a greater understanding of the character’s motivation, a skill for comprehending stories and life.

As a teacher of 38 years, finding ways to teach inferencing skills and perspective taking to enhance reading comprehension was always a priority. This new hands-on approach using the SGM^® Critical Thinking Triangle^® gradually scaffolds students from the concrete to abstract.

As the above brief example shows, a wide range of skill levels can be addressed with the materials found in The Critical Thinking Triangle^® in Action! Thought Process Manipulative.