# @edutopia on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CGqWnjMFHOZ
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/20304240-edutopia-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/f46040b4ff.jpg
- **Posted:** 2020-10-22T21:59:37.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Edutopia (@edutopia) — https://gondola.cc/edutopia

## Caption

“Hexagonal thinking” can be a fresh way to energize classroom discussions and propel remote students into a “critical thinking zone,” writes English teacher Betsy Potash.

You’ll need hexagons cut from paper, or if you’re teaching virtually, try creating them digitally using tools like PowerPoint or Google Slides. Write key terms and ideas inside each hexagon—for a unit on global warming, for example, terms might include emissions, ice caps, and methane—and then create a set of paper or digital arrows. 

Instruct students to arrange the hexagons in a grid formation that represents the relationships among your topic’s themes and ideas; each hexagon can touch the sides of up to six others. The arrows are used to signal important connections between key ideas—the connection between fossil fuels and carbon dioxide, for instance. Students can configure and reconfigure the grid until they feel confident that they’ve created the strongest web of interconnected ideas. 

The activity should be a “springboard for a totally creative discussion,” Potash advises, so encourage students to debate, explore novel connections, and provide evidence to support their reasoning. Though she favors students working in small groups so there are more perspectives in the mix, it’s OK if some opt to work solo. 

Wrap up the activity by asking students to write about their thinking regarding the connections they’ve made in their grids—a useful final task if you plan to grade students individually. For a group grade, assign a short written reflection about how each student’s unique strengths contributed to the evolution of the group’s configuration, thereby reinforcing the power of collaboration. 

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## Tags

distancelearning, discussion, virtualclassroom, teacher, classroom, teachersofinstagram, virtualteaching, englishteacher, hexagonalthinking

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