Kaplan's Depth and Complexity concepts are a great way to initiate students into some deep thinking. But where do I even start?
I teach Kinder students. I start with multiple perspectives. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes. I will literally channel Robin Williams in Dead Poet's Society and get up on a table. Look around-my perspective is different. I urge students to stand up in their chairs (they look at me like I am crazy but they do it).
Then I read:
It is told from the perspective of a school on the first day. They are so happy to start school until things go array. I ask students to illustrate how they think our school felt on the 1st day.
I also read:
I ask students to write what they would do on the first day as a parent. My favorite response was the student who wrote (I would just run away real fast).
And we consider the perspective of a principal with the book:
We write "If I were a principal, I would....".
As the years go on I feel like the students are more and more self-centered. Look what I did. Do you like mine? What about me? I truly believe if you do activities with multiple perspectives throughout the year the students will turn from being little narcissists to thinking about others. We were walking out the playground at the end of the year and one of my girls said "I've been thinking about dinosaurs. How did they feel when that meteor came?". It truly does make a difference in their thinking.