A thinking routine is more than a good one-off activity.
-Ron Ritchhart

Routines exist in all classrooms; they are the patterns by which we operate and go about the job of learning and working together in a classroom environment. A routine can be thought of as any procedure, process, or pattern of action that is used repeatedly to manage and facilitate the accomplishment of specific goals or tasks.

Thinking routines provide structures and scaffolds that must be deliberately activated, by the teacher at first (initial phase) and over time by the learner (developing phase), and then consciously deployed to achieve a goal (advanced phase). 
They are simple structures, for example a set of questions or a short sequence of steps, that can be used across various grade levels and curriculum areas. What makes them routines, as opposed to a strategy, is that they get used over and over again in the classroom so that they become ingrained and part of the classroom culture.

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Take a listen to Jodi Yeloushan talk about using thinking routines and developing a culture of thinking. The video then takes a look at Year 4 teacher Karen Kumon using the Zoom In routine. 

Ron Ritchhart explains that when working to cultivate a culture of thinking within schools, we often begin with thinking routines as an entry point. This is not because they are the most important cultural force but because they:

• help direct attention straight to the issue
• provide specific practices that can easily be employed
  
• make student thinking visible
  
• provide a good platform to show what students are capable of doing
  
• encourage action and discussion around thinking
  
• connect easily to the other cultural forces 
  

As you begin to use thinking routines to scaffold student thinking you may notice that the other cultural forces come into play also.

For example, a teacher may notice changes in their language and the way they begin to scaffold other learning experiences. This flows on to the creation of opportunities and in their interactions etc. 

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