State of Israel
Ministry of Education
English Inspectorate
Thinking Skills for Teaching Literature in EFL
Lower-Order Thinking Skills
Category
Thinking Skill
Recognizing
Identifying key
vocabulary,
setting, characters
and events in the
text
Students will be able to:
relate to the literal meaning of
the text.
Sample Tasks/Questions
Who? What?
Where? When?
Do you know…?
Can you identify…?
Higher-Order Thinking Skills
Category
Analyzing
Thinking Skill
Students will be able to:
Sample Tasks/Questions
Sequencing
explain how the sequence of
events in a text, when not in a
chronological order, affects
their understanding of the text.
Sequence the events in chronological order.
How do flashbacks affect our understanding of the text/plot?
Why do you think the author jumbled the chronology?
Identifying parts
and whole
explain how the parts function
together within the whole text.
How does one part of the story contribute your understanding to
the whole text?
How does the title/ending relate to different parts of the
story/poem/play?
Thinking Skills for Teaching Literature in EFL (continued)
Category
Analyzing
(cont.)
Thinking Skill
Students will be able to:
Sample Tasks/Questions
Classifying
categorize text or elements of
the text.
Categorize the characters according to their relationships/values.
Comparing and
contrasting
find similarities and
differences and draw
conclusions .
Compare and contrast the conflicts/problems/dilemmas in two
stories or poems.
Compare and contrast the text and the film.
Compare and contrast characters in a text.
Identifying
patterns
identify different patterns in
the text.
Why did the poet repeat the last two lines of the poem?
What pattern of behavior does the character reveal?
Where does the poet break the rhythm of the poem and why?
Identifying cause
and effect
describe the relationships
between actions or events in a
text.
What were the results of -------‘s action?
What caused -------- to think that -------?
2
Thinking Skills for Teaching Literature in EFL (continued)
Category
Analyzing
(cont.)
Thinking Skill
Students will be able to:
Sample Tasks/Questions
Distinguishing
different
perspectives
identify the different
perspectives within the text
and/or among the readers of
the text.
Identify how different characters respond to a central event in
the story.
How does your understanding of the characters’ actions/events
in the story change as you read?
Do you share the same perspective as the narrator? Explain.
How does your understanding of the story/the character/the
scene differ from others in your class?
Identifying
dilemmas and
conflicts
identify the moral, social or
emotional dilemmas facing
characters and/or identify the
conflict/s in the text.
What is the central conflict in this text and is it resolved?
Explain.
What dilemma does ___ face at this point in the story?
Identifying literary
techniques
identify the literary techniques
used in the text and evaluate
their effect.
Where/how is irony used in this text?
What is the central symbol in the text and what is its
significance?
How does the poet use rhyme to emphasize meaning in the
poem?
How do the similes in this text reinforce the character’s
personality?
How does a specific image reinforce the meaning of a text?
Generating
Inferring
infer implicit meaning from
the text by being able to readbetween-the-lines.
3
Why do you think the character meant when s/he said, “___”?
What does ___’s behavior suggest?
Thinking Skills for Teaching Literature in EFL (continued)
Category
Generating
(cont.)
Thinking Skill
Students will be able to:
Sample Tasks/Questions
Predicting
predict the content or the
outcome of the text, either
before or during reading.
Based on the title what do you think this text is about?
How do you think ---- will react?
How do you think the story will end?
Uncovering
motives with
supporting
evidence
identify motives that explain
the character’s behavior and
support with evidence from the
text.
Why do you think that x did y? Support your answer.
What made ___ change his/her mind? Give supporting details.
Applying
apply previously learned
concepts, terms, techniques
and skills to new situations.
How can you apply ___ to your own life?
How can you apply ___ to something else you have learned?
Creating
create something new on the
basis of what is understood
from the text.
Write a sequel/prequel to this story.
Write a letter to one of the characters.
4
Thinking Skills for Teaching Literature in EFL (continued)
Category
Integrating
Evaluating
Thinking Skill
Students will be able to:
Sample Tasks/Questions
Summarizing
identify and present the
important points or main
events in a text.
Summarize the main points concerning the author’s early life.
Summarize the scene just studied in the play.
Making
connections
make connections between the
text and other contexts.
To what extent do events in the text reflect events in the life of
the author?
How does your understanding of the story/the character/the
scene differ when you learn about a topic related to the literary
text?
How is the text relevant to your own life?
Making judgments make judgments about
and justifying them different aspects of the text and
justify their opinions and/or
evaluate someone else’s
opinion.
Metacognition Reflecting on
one’s own thinking
process
articulate their thoughts about
their thinking processes.
5
What makes this a good story? Explain.
Is ___ a believable character? Explain.
Is the resolution of the conflict satisfying? Explain.
Do you agree with ___ analysis of the story? Explain.
Which skill did you use to answer this question? Explain
What questions did you ask yourself while reading this poem?