Project Zero is a resources from the Harvard Graduate School of Education that lists several instructional thinking strategies that can be used to engage students during instruction. They recently created categories for their thinking routines which makes it easier to filter the routines depending on your instructional activity.
The Toolbox organizes the Thinking Routines into categories that describe the types of thinking the routines help to facilitate. Some routines appear in more than one category, and some routines have different versions that offer modifications for specific age groups or more specific conceptual challenges. When clicking on a routine in the Toolbox, a separate page opens with links to the downloadable PDF of the routine. All routines use a common PZ template describing the purpose of the routine, offering potential applications for the routine, and often providing suggestions for its use and tips for getting started.
Some of my favorite routines from Project Zero include:
This routine encourages students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations. It helps stimulate curiosity and sets the stage for inquiry
This routine provides students with the opportunity to practice developing good questions that provoke thinking and inquiry into a topic. It also helps students brainstorm lots of different kinds of questions about a topic. The purpose of asking deep and interesting questions is to get at the complexity and depth of a topic. The purpose of brainstorming varied questions about a topic is to get at the breadth and multi-dimensionality of a topic.
The routine provides learners with a structure for a text-based discussion built around making connections, asking questions, identifying key ideas, and considering application.