Visible Thinking Routine
See–Think–Wonder.
Three prompts on an image: what you see, think, and wonder.
N_prompt pattern
observe
interpret
wonder
What is it
What is See–Think–Wonder?
Used to anchor close observation before interpretation. Show an image or object and walk through three prompts in order.
Setup: Show an image.
How it works
The prompts
-
01
What do you see?
Describe only what's literally there.
Response: Longtext
-
02
What do you think is going on?
What's your interpretation? What story explains this?
Response: Longtext
-
03
What does it make you wonder?
What questions surface for you?
Response: Longtext
When to use
Good moments for See–Think–Wonder
- 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.