The Colour Symbol Image routine asks learners to: read, watch or listen carefully to a stimulus identify and distill the essence of ideas represent big ideas using a colour, symbol and image. Color, Symbol, Image A routine for distilling the essence of ideas non-verbally. stening, or watc ing, make note of things that you find interesting, import-ant, or insightful.
When you Choose a color that you feel best represents or captures the essence of a key idea. For example, after reading the popular Aesop's fable The Tortoise and the Hare many students (when thinking about the tortoise) are inclined to pick the color green, which serves both as the symbol of a tortoise shell and as the image of a finish. The Color, Symbol, Image routine asks students to engage in deeper cognitive work through abstract thinking to select a color, symbol, and image to represent the essence of concepts or ideas.
Invite students to nonverbally communicate something they have read or watched, using a color, a symbol, and an image. Immerse yourself in the Color Symbol Image Thinking Routine, a creative pathway to deeper understanding and connection with complex ideas. Summary Color, Symbol, Image (CSI) is a strategy that allows students to explore a new concept creatively.
After being introduced to a new concept, students choose a color, a symbol, and an image that represents this concept to them and then justify their thinking. This strategy can be used in a variety of ways to encourage metaphorical thinking and conceptual exploration of ideas as students. Note: Older students should be encouraged/expected to write a short explanation of why they chose their color, symbol and image.
Share: Students can share their ideas in havruta, groups or with the whole class, explaining their selections. Students should be encouraged to question each others' choices. More important then their actual choice of color, symbol and image, was their explanation for each.
As they worked, I supported them with examples of possible symbols and images when needed, leaving them to explain how it might represent balance or relationship in an ecosystem. Color, Symbol, Image (CSI) Overview This particular Color, Symbol, Image (CSI) lesson is designed for implementation by an art teacher with 6th-grade students. However, the strategy can be utilized in other disciplines for the purpose of Making Thinking Visible.