Tony's Ryan's Thinkers' Keys
A Set of 20 Different Activities to Motivate and Engage Pupils in a Range of Thinking Tasks
How to use each of the Thinker's keys in relation to a given topic:
1. The Reverse- Challenges Children to think of the never, cannot
2. The What If- A what if question, come up with solutions
3. The Disadvantages- List disadvantages and Improvements
4. The Combination- List attributes of both, then combine
5. The Alphabet- Come up with something for each letter of the Alphabet
6. The B A R- Bigger, Add, Replace acronym. Come up with a solution for each
7. The Variations- How many ways can you…
8. The Picture- Draw a picture/diagram
9. The Prediction- Make a prediction
10. The Different Uses- Find 10 different uses for…
11. The Ridiculous- Try to justify a ridiculous statement
12. The Commonality- Find common points between…
13. The Question- Come up with 5 questions for…
14. The Brainstorming- Brainstorm solutions for…
15. The Inventions- Design a …
16. The Brick Wall- Consider alternatives to…
17. The Construction- Construct a… Materials…
18. The Forced Relationships- Come up with a solution to a problem involving two dissimilar objects
19. The Alternative- Work out 3 ways to…
20. The Interpretations- Give 3 possible explanations for…
A great resource that includes templates and a range of examples of the Keys in use can be found online at
http://www.tonyryan.com.au/
