Thinking Skills

 Week:                                          Duration : 45 mins

Topic :    CAF

Aims  :     To help pupils to think and consider all factors involved in a situation before taking action.

Objective/Goal:  By the end of the session the pupils will:

1.     Feel more confident in the way that they make their decisions,

2.     Think in broad terms

3.     Identify areas where they could practice the tool (transfer),

4.     Get accustomed to the time factor when using the CAF.

Warmer   :    Ice-Breaker or Recapitulation  (5 minutes)

Activity 1:    

1.  Story/anecdote.(5 minutes)

The Borg family was renowned for being absent minded.  Mr. Borg worked very hard and was hardly ever home.  However, he had been promising the children that they would go on a picnic for a long time.  The big day finally arrived and they prepared everything food, drinks etc. and were all set to go.  All the things had been carefully placed in the car and the children had already fastened their seatbelts.  

Mr. Borg got into the car and realised that they could not go anywhere.  He looked at his children and told them so.  Why do you think that this was so?

2.  At this point the teacher should elicit responses from the children.

The answer is that the father had forgotten to fill the car with petrol and they had run dry.

3. The teacher explains that we need to think about everything before we do something and thus introduces the CAF as a tool. (5 minutes)

Rationale :    Starting this session with a story will help the pupils realise how important it is to think before we act.  They will be much more likely to generate responses throughout the lesson because they can associate the use of the tool with the story.

Tool Explanation:

1.  What does  CAF stand for?

CAF stands for Consider All Factors

 

2.  When do we use it?

The CAF is used when we need to think about all the factors involved in a particular situation.

3.  How do you do a CAF?

To do a CAF you have to generate as many responses as possible by making a list.  The teacher has to ask key questions to the pupils to set them thinking.  These key questions will also stimulate the children to think about their thinking (metacognition).

Key Questions When Doing a CAF

  1. Do you think that you have left anything out?

  2. What could you have left out?

  3. Are you sure that you considered all factors involved?

Example

You are going to the grocer's to run an errand for a grown up.  While you're on your way, you meet a friend who is going to play with some others.  They ask you to go along.  At this point you are undecided.  Do a CAF to see what factors you should consider before giving an answer.

Teacher elicits responses

 How long will they be?

 How far is the playing ground?

 Should I go back and let the grown ups know?

 Am I  allowed?

 And other responses

 

Activity 2 :  (5-10 minutes)

Practice Item 1.  What if you had to get yourself a pet?

Pupils work in pairs.  One person in every pair is to write.  

1.  Pupils are given 5-10 minutes to generate as many responses as possible.

N.B. As this is the first time for the pupils, the teacher could do this as a class activity on the board.  The latter option will make it much easier for the pupils to grasp the concept.  They will then be able to do it on their own.

Processing:

Teacher asks the pupils the following questions to stimulate metacognitive talk. 

 How do you think that the CAF can help you? 

Activity 3 :

Practice item 2.  You want to get a birthday present for a friend.  Which factors  should you consider before you make a decision? Do a CAF? (5-10 minutes)

Processing:

Pupils now share the outcome of their thoughts 

Activity  4:

 Transfer.

Making sure that the children will be able to use the tool in a variety of situations is of paramount importance.  The teacher can either do another practice item or ask the students where they think that they could use this tool.

Key Questions For Transfer

  1. Is it easy to leave out important factors?

  2. When is most important to consider all factors?

  3. What is the difference between the CAF and P.M.I.?

     

Activity  5:  

Recap and concluding comments (7 minutes)

Teacher summarises what was covered during the session.  Alternatively the teacher could elicit what was covered from the pupils.

Materials needed:

 Loose sheets of paper (Unless they have the Thinking Diary already in hand)

Flipchart paper and markers if there is no board in the room being used for the sessions.

Portable reverse timer

Symbol of the tool