Here is a lesson plan CARE - Collaborative Arts Resources for Education I have come across using a Visual Thinking Strategy to teach students ways to examine and think about works of art and construct meaning from them. http://www.carearts.org/lessons/visual_thinking_strategies.html

Here is a very simple Visible Thinking explanation and sample of use within Early Years.
http://michellespecialeducation.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-learned-abou...

Here is another good thinking resource from Harvard Project Zero. Somewhat similar to Thinkers Keys, but these are called Thinking Gears. There is a parent/teacher handout with details on how to use the gears and a blank template for students.

"Kids find the action of their thinking to be fascinating, but also elusive and sometimes mysterious.
“Thinking dispositions,” as conceived and investigated by researchers from Harvard Project Zero, are a cluster of powerful and productive thinking attitudes and inclinations. Thinking dispositions are learnable, but take practice! Students attend to thinking dispositions to establish a structure to explore and command the process their thinking..."

gears_parent.doc

gears_student.doc

HAts- kids folders.doc
De Bono's Thinking Hats strategy works extraordinarily well. I was amazed each time how deeply students were engaged in it and how relevant they found it for their further learning.
To make the experience more personal and motivating, I also designed hats that connected in shape and color with the thinking strategy needed (e.g for the white hat - factual - I chose a chef's hat, which relates to ingredients, beginning; the negative hat - I chose a pirate's hat, challenges, obstacles etc).
Brainstorming is also another easy-to-use and effective strategy. Starting with 4th grade (when students' higher thinking is more developed) this is followed by Categorize activity - from the messy blurbs and webs students are encouraged to develop categories (they find connections, similarities between the previously random words and sort them in a clear table or graphic organizer).

Creativity routines.doc
Core routines.doc

Other strategies that involve thinking

Hi Cristina, thanks for all your resources! I love your hats idea. I am an art teacher and your creativity is fabulous! I am inspired to do the same. Did you get the routines from the visible thinking work in Project Zero? http://www.pz.harvard.edu/vt/index.html I had begun some research on their routines earlier this year but have been side-tracked and now I am re-inspired. Thanks again for sharing.