• Overview & Comparison

    THINKING PRO | Curriculum Unit and THINKING PRO | Essentials 

  • At Thinking Habitats, we aim to equip teachers with curriculum tools and resources that improve students’ reading comprehension, critical thinking skills, and news media literacy, with the ultimate goal of helping students lead successful lives.

    THINKING PRO | Curriculum Unit is our original, comprehensive lesson plan that uses local news as a tool to increase student outcomes in media literacy, reading, writing, math and science in 4-6 weeks. It includes interactive learning videos, group discussions, writing assignments, and a cumulative Capstone project. It is suitable for 9th Grade through 12th Grade and includes an evidence-based professional development program option for the classroom teacher.

    We’re now also offering THINKING PRO | Essentials, a self-paced, online program consisting of a suite of 20 interactive learning videos that teach reading comprehension and critical thinking strategies. This stand-alone program allows learners to rapidly develop and practice skills and can be completed in 3-5 weeks. It is suitable for 6th Grade through 12th Grade, pending student ability levels.

  • THINKING PRO |

    Curriculum Unit

    THINKING PRO |

    Essentials

  • General

    Timeframe

     

    4-6 weeks;

    readily expandable into a 10 - 12 week intervention

    Curriculum Unit

    20 short interactive videos

    Essentials

    Grade Levels

    9th - 12th

    Curriculum Unit

    9th - 12th;

    6th - 8th for advanced readers

    Essentials

    Teaching Approach

    Teacher-facilitated

    Curriculum Unit

    Student self-paced

    Essentials

    Usage

    Replace an existing unit

    Curriculum Unit

    Supplement an existing unit

    Essentials

    Mode

    Face-to-face, hybride or online

    Curriculum Unit

    Online or app

    Essentials

    Leverage of Title Funds* 💰💰

    Title I, II, III, IV & ESSER

    Curriculum Unit

    Title I, II, III, IV & ESSER

    Essentials

  • Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

    Reading Comprehension

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Critical Thinking 

     

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Writing 

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Media Literacy

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

      ✔️

    Essentials

    Speaking & Listening

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

    Civic Engagement 🌟

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

    Social Emotional Learning (SEL) 🌟

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

    Collaborative Problem Solving 🌟

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

  • Features

    Reliable Process

    for critical thinking analysis (a step-by-step guide)

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Interactive Videos

    7 x Reading Stratgies

    13 x Thinking Strategies

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Group Discussions

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

    Media Mindfulness Activities (SEL) 🌟

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

    Writing Assignments

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

    Capstone Project 

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

  • Use of Informational Texts

    Historical News Articles

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Current, Local News Articles

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

  • Grading & Assessment

    Automatized, Instant Feedback

    Interactive videos

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Teacher-Graded Assignments with Rubrics

    Writing assignments, capstone project and its presentation

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

    Formative Assessment

    Proficiency levels assessed by interactive videos

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Summative Assessment

    Pretest & posttest and capstone project

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

    Performance Dashboard 🎯

    for students and teachers

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

  • Professional Development, Online

    Training

    2 hours or more on need basis

    Curriculum Unit

    20 min video

    Essentials

    Evidence-Based Coaching

    One-on-one coaching before, during and after first implementation

    Optional 5-8 hours, with personal coach

    Curriculum Unit

    --

    Essentials

    Ongoing Support

    Email & coach

    Curriculum Unit

    Email

    Essentials

  • Benefits for School Administrators

    Proven-Effective Using Empirical Research

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Alignment with Standards*

    CCSS, NCSS, NCTE, & WIDA

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Impact Report 🎯

    on Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) relative to your School Improvement Plan (SIP)

    ✔️

    Curriculum Unit

    ✔️

    Essentials

    Leverage of Title Funds* 💰💰

    Title I, II, III, IV & ESSER

    Curriculum Unit

    Title I, II, III, IV & ESSER

    Essentials

  • * Please contact us to request curriculum alignment materials at the state level. We can also share information to help your school/ district leverage Federal Title Funds (Title I, II, III, IV & ESSER) to acquire THINKING PRO programs and access to related professional development.