ATL Resourcrs 

Examples Of The 3-2-1 Strategy

It doesn’t even have to be about about teaching and learning. You might ask someone to name…

• 3 of your favourite genres of music, 2 of your favourite songs, and 1 pattern you noticed making that list of genres and songs

• 3 cities you’ve visited, 2 of your favourite memories of those 3 cities, and 1 place you’d like to go next

• 3 causes of pollution, 2 solutions that could help address those causes, and 1 thing a person can do every day to help immediately/have an immediate effect

3-2-1 is a tried-and-true way to frame anything from a pair-share or journal entry (e.g., ask students to write 3 things they think they know, 2 things they know they don’t know, and one thing they’re certain of about a topic) pre-assessment to a post-assessment (e.g., list three ways your project or learned skill reflected mastery of skill X, two ways skill Y still needs improving, and one way you can make your presentation stronger in the next five minutes) to a reflection of the post-assessment.”

The most common use of 3-2-1 is in response to a reading or lesson–usually 3 things you learned, 2 things that made you curious or confused, and 1 most important thing you learned or should do with what you’ve learned.

Using The 3-2-1 Learning Strategy For Critical Thinking

Note that these are just rough examples of using the 3-2-1 for learning. Feel free to take any of these and improve them or create your own based on an idea you get reading them.

Also note, the use of vague or imprecise words like ‘thing’ and ‘name’ and ‘could have’ and ‘might have.’ This is done to make it general enough to be plainly useful to a range of grade levels of content areas. The ‘thing’ can be anything from fractions or the water cycle to a discussion about Shakespearean sonnets. 

Analytical/Conceptual

• 3 differences between metaphors and symbolism, 2 things they have in common, and 1 general effect on a text that they each have

• 3 underlying assumptions of democracy, 2 common misunderstandings of democracy, 1 reason democracies have endured as a form of modern government

You could also have asked students to name 3 strengths of democracy, 2 forms of democracy, and 1 way it might have to evolve to maintain relevance in a changing world (misinformation, deep fakes, propaganda, partisanship, etc.)

• Write 3 questions at the recall or understanding level, 2 questions at the ‘apply’ level, and 1 question at the evaluate level

Discussion/Listening/Debate

• 3 ways you agree, 2 ways you disagree, and 1 thing you learned (or that surprised you) during your conversation

• 3 things they said, 2 points they made, 1 thing you’d like to know more about

Metacognitive

• 3 things I know (generally) about mindset, 2 examples of the effect of mindset (generally), 1 thing I’ve noticed about my mindset today/before or during this lesson/recently, etc. (specifically)

• 3 ways my thinking occurs easily or naturally for me, 2 ways my thinking requires focus or effort on my part, 1 adjustment I can make in response

• 3 things I remember thinking during the lesson, 2 things I remember doing during the lesson, and 1 thing I could’ve done but didn’t

Time-Based

• Spend 3 minutes summarizing, 2 minutes clarifying, and 1 minute writing one sentence that concisely summarizes the ‘thing’

• 3 things I could do with what I’ve learned, 2 things that other people do with this kind of knowledge or skill, 1 thing I am going to do with what I’ve learned

• 3 similarities, 2 differences, 1 question-to-guide-future-learning

• 3 things I learned, 2 things that were a bit confusing, 1 ‘big idea’ that sums up the relevance of it all

• 3 open-ended questions, 2 closed questions, 1 deepening question

• 3 clarifying questions, 2 probing questions, 1 contextualizing question

Reading Response Prompt Examples

• Non-fiction text/simple: Name 3 things you remember or learned from the reading, 2 things that made you confused or surprised, and 1 thing you’d like to learn more about

• Non-fiction text/less simple: Name 3 examples of text structure, analyze 2 ways that structure affected its meaning, and name 1 claim that the text seemed to make that was or was not well-supported

• Fiction: Describe 3 ways the author developed the protagonist over the course of the book, describe 2 ways that development affected the plot’s development, and identify and explain 1 change the author could’ve made in that development and how that change would have affected the meaning of the text/your enjoyment of the text, etc.

Using 3-2-1 To Guide Inquiry Examples

• Identify 3 places your inquiry could ‘start,’ identify 2 pros and cons of each, then create 1 driving question to guide your inquiry

• Write 1 question, 2 answers, and 3 follow-up questions

• Write 1 question, 2 revisions of the question, and 3 effects of those revisions

• Write 3 questions, 2 possible answers each, and 1 implicit idea in either

Research

• 2 sources for every (1) claim

• 3 sources, 2 media forms, 1 recent study

• 3 sources published within the last 5 years, 2 sources published between 5 and 20 years ago, 1 source published 20+ years ago

Lesson Planning

• What are three ways I have designed with enough flexibility to meet the needs of a range of learners? What are two questions or challenges I anticipate? If they can only learn one thing from this lesson, what do I want it to be (ideally in one sentence)?

Curriculum Planning

• What are three most important ‘big ideas’ in this curriculum? (Obviously, this could be any number–six, ten, etc.) How can they unify the ‘less important’ or less broad ideas? What are curriculum planning strategies I can use to promote enduring understanding (or critical thinking, transfer, etc.)? What is one change I can make to this curriculum to make it more flexible for all learners?