Visible Thinking Routine
Circle of Viewpoints.
Map the perspectives present, then explore one in depth.
What is it
What is Circle of Viewpoints?
Identify all stakeholders affected by an event, then step inside one of them.
Setup: What event or issue is at the centre?.
How it works
The prompts
List perspectives
-
01
List as many perspectives as you can identify
One per line — anyone or anything affected.
Response: Longtext
Step inside one
-
01
I'm thinking from the point of view of…
Response: Text
-
02
I think… (describe from this viewpoint)
Be the character — speak in their voice.
Response: Longtext
-
03
…because…
Explain your reasoning.
Response: Longtext
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04
A question or concern I have from this viewpoint…
Response: Longtext
When to use
Good moments for Circle of Viewpoints
- Classroom warm-up. Surface what students bring before introducing new content.
- After a reading or video. Consolidate big ideas without testing recall.
- Discussion starter. Responses become the seed material for the room conversation.
- End-of-session reflection. Capture how thinking changed.
Keep exploring
Other thinking routines
Browse all 21 routines in the gallery, filtered by the kind of thinking you want to surface — observation, perspective-taking, reasoning with evidence, or capturing the heart of an idea.