Thinking Lenses

10 cross-subject cognitive lenses adapted from NGSS Crosscutting Concepts and UK-specific frameworks. Each lens provides a way to frame learning that transfers across subjects.

10 lenses applied across 1203 cluster assignments

Patterns

Identifying regularities, making predictions, and classifying using observed patterns.

153

primary uses

Key question

What patterns can I notice here, and what do they allow me to predict?

Agent prompt

Use the PATTERNS lens: prompt pupils to notice what repeats or follows a rule, classify examples by shared features, identify exceptions, and predict what comes next. Useful questions: 'What do you notice?', 'Does this always happen?', 'What would you expect next?', 'Can you sort these by...?'

Age-banded prompts (4 key stages)

KS1

Use the PATTERNS lens: ask children to spot what is the same and what is different. Use sorting, matching, and simple sequences. Keep examples concrete and visual — real objects, pictures, or familiar stories. Model noticing: 'I can see that these all have... Can you spot what comes next?'

Question stems:

  • What is the same about these?
  • What is different?
  • What comes next?
  • Can you sort these into groups?

KS2

Use the PATTERNS lens: prompt pupils to identify rules, classify using shared features, spot exceptions, and make predictions. Introduce tables and simple charts to record patterns. Encourage generalisation: 'Does this always work? How do you know?'

Question stems:

  • What pattern can you see?
  • Does this always happen, or can you find an exception?
  • What rule connects these examples?
  • What would you predict for the next one? Why?

KS3

Use the PATTERNS lens: prompt pupils to describe patterns precisely using mathematical or scientific language, test whether patterns hold across new cases, distinguish correlation from coincidence, and express patterns as rules or formulae where appropriate.

Question stems:

  • Can you describe this pattern precisely enough for someone else to continue it?
  • Does this pattern hold for all cases, or only some?
  • How could you test whether this is a real pattern or a coincidence?
  • Can you express this pattern as a rule or formula?

KS4

Use the PATTERNS lens: prompt pupils to formalise patterns algebraically or statistically, evaluate the strength and limitations of observed patterns, distinguish descriptive regularity from explanatory models, and consider sampling or selection biases that might create spurious patterns.

Question stems:

  • How would you formalise this pattern mathematically?
  • What are the limits of this pattern — where does it break down?
  • Could this pattern be an artefact of how the data was collected?
  • Does identifying the pattern tell us why it occurs?
287 total cluster assignments 153 as primary lens

Structure and Function

Connecting how something is built or arranged (structure) to what it does or enables (function).

117

primary uses

Key question

How does the structure of this thing enable or explain what it does?

Agent prompt

Use the STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION lens: prompt pupils to examine physical features and ask why they are shaped or arranged as they are, connect form to purpose, and compare structures that serve the same function differently. Useful questions: 'Why is it shaped like that?', 'What would happen if this part were different?', 'What job does each part do?', 'Can you design something that does the same job a different way?'

Age-banded prompts (4 key stages)

KS1

Use the STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION lens: help children look closely at how things are shaped and ask why. Use real objects, pictures of animals, or classroom tools. Ask 'why is it that shape?' and 'what job does each part do?' Encourage looking, touching, and describing before explaining.

Question stems:

  • What shape is it? Why do you think it is that shape?
  • What job does this part do?
  • What would happen if this part were a different shape?
  • Can you find something else that does the same job?

KS2

Use the STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION lens: prompt pupils to connect how things are built or arranged to what they do. Compare different structures that serve similar functions. Encourage pupils to explain why a particular design feature helps something work, and to sketch design alternatives.

Question stems:

  • How does the shape or arrangement help it do its job?
  • Can you find two different structures that do the same thing? How do they compare?
  • If you were designing this, what would you keep and what would you change?
  • Why is this material or structure better suited than another?

KS3

Use the STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION lens: prompt pupils to analyse structure-function relationships at multiple scales (molecular, cellular, organismal, textual, mechanical), evaluate design trade-offs, and explain how structural adaptations solve specific problems. Use annotated diagrams to show form-function links.

Question stems:

  • How does the structure at this scale enable the function we observe?
  • What trade-offs were involved in this structural design?
  • How is this structure adapted to solve a specific problem?
  • What would you predict about an organism's function from its structure alone?

KS4

Use the STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION lens: prompt pupils to analyse hierarchical structure-function relationships from molecular to ecosystem level, evaluate how structural constraints limit or enable function, compare convergent and divergent structural solutions, and apply structure-function reasoning to design problems.

Question stems:

  • How do structural features at different scales interact to produce this function?
  • What structural constraints limit what this system can do?
  • Why have unrelated organisms evolved similar structures for similar functions?
  • How would you apply structure-function analysis to improve this design?
165 total cluster assignments 117 as primary lens

Evidence and Argument

Evaluating the quality and relevance of evidence, and constructing well-reasoned arguments from it.

85

primary uses

Key question

What is the evidence, how reliable is it, and what conclusions can it support?

Agent prompt

Use the EVIDENCE AND ARGUMENT lens: prompt pupils to distinguish evidence from assertion, evaluate source reliability, construct claims with supporting evidence, and anticipate counter-arguments. Useful questions: 'What evidence supports this?', 'How reliable is this source?', 'What would count as evidence against it?', 'Is the conclusion the only one the evidence supports?'

Age-banded prompts (4 key stages)

KS1

Use the EVIDENCE AND ARGUMENT lens: help children start telling the difference between what they know and what they guess. Ask 'how do you know?' after every claim. Use 'I think... because...' sentence frames. Encourage looking for clues and checking ideas against what they can see or touch.

Question stems:

  • How do you know that?
  • What clues can you see?
  • Can you finish: I think... because...?
  • Is that a guess or do you know for sure?

KS2

Use the EVIDENCE AND ARGUMENT lens: prompt pupils to support claims with evidence, consider whether evidence is strong or weak, begin to recognise when someone is giving an opinion rather than a fact, and structure simple arguments with a claim, evidence, and reasoning.

Question stems:

  • What evidence supports this claim?
  • Is this a fact or an opinion? How can you tell?
  • Is this strong evidence or weak evidence? Why?
  • Can you structure your argument: claim, evidence, reasoning?

KS3

Use the EVIDENCE AND ARGUMENT lens: prompt pupils to evaluate source reliability, distinguish evidence from assertion, construct arguments with claim-evidence-reasoning structure, anticipate counter-arguments, and assess whether a conclusion is the only one the evidence supports.

Question stems:

  • How reliable is this evidence, and what makes you say so?
  • What counter-argument could someone make, and how would you respond?
  • Is this the only conclusion the evidence supports, or are there alternatives?
  • What additional evidence would strengthen or weaken this argument?

KS4

Use the EVIDENCE AND ARGUMENT lens: prompt pupils to critically evaluate the methodology behind evidence, assess the logical validity of arguments independent of their content, identify logical fallacies, weigh competing bodies of evidence, and construct sustained analytical arguments that address counter-claims.

Question stems:

  • How does the methodology affect the strength of this evidence?
  • Is this argument logically valid, regardless of whether you agree with the conclusion?
  • What logical fallacy, if any, weakens this argument?
  • How would you weigh these competing bodies of evidence to reach a justified conclusion?
147 total cluster assignments 85 as primary lens

Cause and Effect

Identifying mechanisms and explanations for why things happen, and testing causal claims.

63

primary uses

Key question

What caused this to happen, and how do we know?

Agent prompt

Use the CAUSE AND EFFECT lens: prompt pupils to distinguish correlation from causation, design tests that isolate variables, construct 'if… then… because…' explanations, and identify multiple causes. Useful questions: 'What made this happen?', 'How could we test that?', 'Is there another reason?', 'What would happen if we changed...?'

Age-banded prompts (4 key stages)

KS1

Use the CAUSE AND EFFECT lens: ask children what happened and why using simple 'because' sentences. Focus on one cause at a time, use concrete observable examples. Model the structure: 'This happened... because...' Keep causal chains short and visible.

Question stems:

  • What made that happen?
  • What will happen if...?
  • Why did it change?
  • Can you finish: it happened because...?

KS2

Use the CAUSE AND EFFECT lens: prompt pupils to suggest reasons and test predictions. Introduce the idea that there can be more than one cause. Use 'if... then... because...' structure and encourage designing simple fair tests to check causal claims.

Question stems:

  • What caused this to happen?
  • How could we check if that is the reason?
  • Is there more than one reason?
  • What would happen if we changed just one thing?

KS3

Use the CAUSE AND EFFECT lens: prompt pupils to distinguish correlation from causation, identify multiple interacting causes, design controlled tests that isolate variables, and evaluate the strength of causal evidence. Introduce the language of mechanism: how does one thing lead to another?

Question stems:

  • Does this show a cause, or just a correlation?
  • What is the mechanism — how exactly does A lead to B?
  • Which factor had the biggest effect, and how could you tell?
  • What evidence would you need to prove this was the cause?

KS4

Use the CAUSE AND EFFECT lens: prompt pupils to evaluate causal claims critically, consider confounding variables, analyse causal chains with feedback loops, and assess the relative significance of different causes. Expect precise use of terminology: mechanism, confound, correlation, necessary vs sufficient conditions.

Question stems:

  • Is this a necessary cause, a sufficient cause, or a contributing factor?
  • What confounding variables could explain this relationship?
  • How would you design an investigation to establish causation, not just correlation?
  • In this causal chain, where could an intervention have the most effect?
200 total cluster assignments 63 as primary lens

Systems and System Models

Identifying the components, interactions, and boundaries of a system; using models to explain and predict system behaviour.

63

primary uses

Key question

What are the parts of this system, how do they interact, and what happens when something changes?

Agent prompt

Use the SYSTEMS AND SYSTEM MODELS lens: prompt pupils to map the parts of a system and their connections, identify inputs and outputs, trace feedback loops, and predict what happens when one component changes. Useful questions: 'What are all the parts?', 'How does A affect B?', 'What would happen if this part was removed?', 'Where are the boundaries of this system?'

Age-banded prompts (4 key stages)

KS1

Use the SYSTEMS AND SYSTEM MODELS lens: help children identify the parts of something and how they fit together. Use familiar systems — a classroom, a plant, a family. Draw simple diagrams showing parts and connections. Ask 'what are all the parts?' and 'what happens if we take one away?'

Question stems:

  • What are all the parts of this?
  • How do these parts work together?
  • What would happen if this part was missing?
  • Can you draw a picture showing how it works?

KS2

Use the SYSTEMS AND SYSTEM MODELS lens: prompt pupils to map inputs and outputs of a system, identify boundaries, trace how a change in one part affects others, and use simple diagrams or flow charts as models. Introduce the idea that models are simplified versions of reality.

Question stems:

  • What goes into this system, and what comes out?
  • If you changed this one part, what else would be affected?
  • Where does this system start and end?
  • How could we draw a model to explain how this works?

KS3

Use the SYSTEMS AND SYSTEM MODELS lens: prompt pupils to analyse interactions between components, identify feedback loops (positive and negative), evaluate the limitations of models, and consider emergent properties that arise from component interactions. Encourage the use of systems diagrams.

Question stems:

  • What feedback loops exist in this system?
  • Does this model capture all the important interactions, or does it oversimplify?
  • What emergent property arises from these components interacting?
  • How would removing or adding a component change the system's behaviour?

KS4

Use the SYSTEMS AND SYSTEM MODELS lens: prompt pupils to compare competing models of the same system, evaluate model assumptions and predictive power, analyse non-linear interactions and tipping points, and recognise when a system-level explanation is needed rather than a reductive one.

Question stems:

  • What assumptions does this model make, and how do they limit its predictions?
  • Are there tipping points where small changes produce large systemic effects?
  • How would you choose between two competing models of this system?
  • Can this phenomenon be explained by looking at parts alone, or does it require a systems perspective?
93 total cluster assignments 63 as primary lens

Perspective and Interpretation

Recognising that accounts, sources, and meanings are shaped by the standpoint of the observer or author.

58

primary uses

Key question

Whose perspective is this, what shapes it, and what might be missing?

Agent prompt

Use the PERSPECTIVE AND INTERPRETATION lens: prompt pupils to identify the author's or actor's viewpoint, consider what information or experience shapes that perspective, look for omissions or contradictions, and compare multiple accounts. Useful questions: 'Who wrote/said this, and why?', 'What might they have left out?', 'How would someone else see this differently?', 'What would change your view?'

Age-banded prompts (4 key stages)

KS1

Use the PERSPECTIVE AND INTERPRETATION lens: help children understand that different people see things differently. Use stories, characters, and role play. Ask 'how do you think they felt?' and 'what would you see if you were standing over there?' Keep it personal and relatable.

Question stems:

  • How do you think this person felt?
  • Would everyone think the same thing? Why not?
  • What would it look like from over there?
  • Why might someone else tell this story differently?

KS2

Use the PERSPECTIVE AND INTERPRETATION lens: prompt pupils to identify who created a source or account, consider what shaped their viewpoint, look for what might be missing or one-sided, and compare two different accounts of the same event or issue.

Question stems:

  • Who wrote or made this, and why?
  • What might they have left out?
  • How does this account compare to another version of the same event?
  • What experience or belief might have shaped this person's view?

KS3

Use the PERSPECTIVE AND INTERPRETATION lens: prompt pupils to analyse how context shapes perspective, evaluate bias and reliability of sources, compare multiple interpretations of the same evidence, and consider whose voices are absent from the historical or literary record.

Question stems:

  • What contextual factors shaped this perspective?
  • How does the author's position affect the reliability of this account?
  • Whose perspective is missing from this record, and why does that matter?
  • How have interpretations of this event changed over time, and what drove those changes?

KS4

Use the PERSPECTIVE AND INTERPRETATION lens: prompt pupils to critically evaluate historiographical debates, analyse how power structures shape whose perspectives are recorded, assess the epistemological limits of interpretation, and construct arguments that acknowledge multiple valid readings of evidence.

Question stems:

  • How do power structures determine whose perspective dominates this narrative?
  • What are the epistemological limits of interpreting this source?
  • How would you position your interpretation within the existing historiographical debate?
  • Can two contradictory interpretations both be valid? Under what conditions?
135 total cluster assignments 58 as primary lens

Scale, Proportion and Quantity

Reasoning about size, number, and measurement across different scales; understanding ratios and relative magnitude.

38

primary uses

Key question

How big, how many, or how much — and how does that change how we think about it?

Agent prompt

Use the SCALE, PROPORTION AND QUANTITY lens: prompt pupils to compare quantities using ratios and percentages, consider what changes when scale changes, and choose appropriate units of measurement. Useful questions: 'How many times bigger?', 'What fraction of the whole?', 'What changes when we zoom in/out?', 'Which units fit best here?'

Age-banded prompts (4 key stages)

KS1

Use the SCALE, PROPORTION AND QUANTITY lens: help children compare sizes, amounts, and lengths using everyday language — bigger, smaller, more, fewer, heavier, lighter. Use direct comparison with real objects. Ask 'which is more?' and 'how do you know?' Keep counting concrete.

Question stems:

  • Which one is bigger?
  • Which group has more?
  • How could we check which is heavier?
  • Is this a lot or a little?

KS2

Use the SCALE, PROPORTION AND QUANTITY lens: prompt pupils to measure and compare using standard units, understand simple fractions and proportions, use bar models or diagrams to show relative size, and choose appropriate units. Introduce 'how many times bigger' language.

Question stems:

  • How many times bigger is this than that?
  • What fraction of the whole is this part?
  • Which unit of measurement fits best here? Why?
  • If we doubled the amount, what would change?

KS3

Use the SCALE, PROPORTION AND QUANTITY lens: prompt pupils to use ratios, percentages, and rates to compare quantities; reason about what happens at very large or very small scales; convert between units; and interpret scale drawings, maps, or models. Encourage order-of-magnitude reasoning.

Question stems:

  • What happens to the proportions when you scale this up or down?
  • How would you express this comparison as a ratio or percentage?
  • Why does scale matter here — what changes when things get much larger or smaller?
  • Is this quantity significant, or negligible in context?

KS4

Use the SCALE, PROPORTION AND QUANTITY lens: prompt pupils to use logarithmic and algebraic reasoning about scale, evaluate proportional relationships in complex contexts, assess the validity of extrapolation across scales, and reason about rates of change and dimensional analysis.

Question stems:

  • Does this relationship stay proportional at all scales, or does it break down?
  • How would you use dimensional analysis to check this calculation?
  • What are the limits of extrapolating from this sample size or scale?
  • How does the rate of change itself change as the quantity increases?
75 total cluster assignments 38 as primary lens

Energy and Matter

Tracking flows of energy and cycling of matter through systems; identifying conservation and transformation.

27

primary uses

Key question

Where does the energy come from, where does it go, and is anything conserved?

Agent prompt

Use the ENERGY AND MATTER lens: prompt pupils to trace energy pathways, identify transformations between energy forms, track matter through cycles, and apply conservation thinking. Useful questions: 'Where did the energy come from?', 'What happened to it?', 'Is anything created or destroyed?', 'Can you draw the energy flow?'

Age-banded prompts (4 key stages)

KS1

Use the ENERGY AND MATTER lens: help children notice what makes things move, get warm, light up, or grow. Use everyday language — 'what makes it go?', 'where does the heat come from?' Focus on observable energy sources: food, batteries, the sun. Keep it concrete and sensory.

Question stems:

  • What makes this move or work?
  • Where does the warmth come from?
  • What does this need to keep going?
  • What happens when the energy runs out?

KS2

Use the ENERGY AND MATTER lens: prompt pupils to trace where energy comes from, how it changes form, and where it goes. Introduce the idea that materials can change but matter is not lost. Use energy flow diagrams and simple tracking: 'follow the energy from start to finish.'

Question stems:

  • Where did the energy come from, and where did it go?
  • What form did the energy change into?
  • Has any material been lost, or has it just changed?
  • Can you draw the energy flow from start to finish?

KS3

Use the ENERGY AND MATTER lens: prompt pupils to apply conservation of energy and conservation of mass, trace energy transfers through systems including dissipation, distinguish stores and pathways, and track matter through chemical and physical changes using particle models.

Question stems:

  • Where is the energy stored, and through what pathway does it transfer?
  • How is energy dissipated in this process, and why does that matter?
  • Can you account for all the matter before and after this change?
  • What happens to the total energy in this system?

KS4

Use the ENERGY AND MATTER lens: prompt pupils to apply quantitative conservation principles, calculate energy transfers and efficiency, analyse matter cycling in ecosystems or industrial processes, and evaluate energy resource sustainability using thermodynamic reasoning.

Question stems:

  • How would you calculate the efficiency of this energy transfer?
  • What does the second law of thermodynamics imply for this process?
  • How does matter cycle through this system, and where are the sinks?
  • How would you evaluate the sustainability of this energy pathway?
28 total cluster assignments 27 as primary lens

Stability and Change

Examining what makes systems stable, what triggers change, and the rates and scales of change.

11

primary uses

Key question

What keeps this stable, what causes change, and how quickly does change happen?

Agent prompt

Use the STABILITY AND CHANGE lens: prompt pupils to identify what conditions keep a system in balance, what disrupts equilibrium, and how change can be gradual or sudden. Useful questions: 'What keeps this the same?', 'What would tip it into change?', 'Is the change reversible?', 'How fast is this changing, and why?'

Age-banded prompts (4 key stages)

KS1

Use the STABILITY AND CHANGE lens: help children notice what stays the same and what changes. Use familiar contexts — seasons, growing, mixing materials. Ask about before and after. Focus on observable changes: 'What has changed? What is still the same?'

Question stems:

  • What has changed?
  • What is still the same?
  • Can we change it back?
  • What made it change?

KS2

Use the STABILITY AND CHANGE lens: prompt pupils to identify conditions that keep things stable, what disrupts that stability, and whether changes are reversible or irreversible. Introduce the idea that change can be fast or slow. Use before-and-after comparisons and timelines.

Question stems:

  • What keeps this the same over time?
  • What would tip it into change?
  • Is this change reversible or irreversible?
  • Is this a fast change or a slow change? How do you know?

KS3

Use the STABILITY AND CHANGE lens: prompt pupils to analyse equilibrium and dynamic balance, identify thresholds and tipping points, compare rates of change, and consider why some systems resist change while others amplify it. Use graphs to show rates and trends.

Question stems:

  • What maintains the equilibrium in this system?
  • Is there a threshold beyond which the system changes dramatically?
  • How does the rate of change compare to other processes?
  • Does this system resist change or amplify it? Why?

KS4

Use the STABILITY AND CHANGE lens: prompt pupils to apply quantitative analysis to rates and equilibria, evaluate the conditions for dynamic equilibrium vs static stability, analyse positive and negative feedback in relation to system stability, and assess the predictability of change in complex systems.

Question stems:

  • Under what conditions does this equilibrium shift, and can you quantify the change?
  • How do positive and negative feedback loops affect the stability of this system?
  • Is this system in static or dynamic equilibrium, and what is the difference here?
  • How predictable is this change, and what makes it more or less certain?
43 total cluster assignments 11 as primary lens

Continuity and Change Over Time

Tracking what persists and what transforms across historical time; distinguishing slow evolution from sudden rupture.

11

primary uses

Key question

What has stayed the same, what has changed, and what drove that change?

Agent prompt

Use the CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OVER TIME lens: prompt pupils to construct timelines, identify turning points, distinguish what changed from what persisted, and explain what drove change. Useful questions: 'What was the same before and after?', 'What was the turning point?', 'Was this a sudden change or a gradual shift?', 'Who or what drove this change?'

Age-banded prompts (4 key stages)

KS1

Use the CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OVER TIME lens: help children compare 'then' and 'now' using pictures, stories, and timelines. Focus on things they can relate to — homes, toys, clothes, schools. Ask 'what was the same long ago?' and 'what was different?' Use simple sequencing: first, then, now.

Question stems:

  • What was it like long ago?
  • What is the same now as it was then?
  • What is different now?
  • Can you put these in order: what happened first?

KS2

Use the CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OVER TIME lens: prompt pupils to build timelines, identify turning points, compare what changed with what stayed the same across a period, and begin to explain why change happened. Use evidence from sources to support claims about change and continuity.

Question stems:

  • What was the biggest change during this period?
  • What stayed the same even though other things changed?
  • When was the turning point, and what caused it?
  • How do we know what changed? What is the evidence?

KS3

Use the CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OVER TIME lens: prompt pupils to distinguish gradual change from sudden rupture, assess the pace and extent of change, weigh factors driving change against factors promoting continuity, and evaluate different historical interpretations of the same change.

Question stems:

  • Was this change gradual or sudden, and what determined the pace?
  • What factors promoted continuity, and what factors drove change?
  • How significant was this change — did it affect everyone, or only some?
  • How do different historians interpret this period of change?

KS4

Use the CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OVER TIME lens: prompt pupils to evaluate the relative significance of different types of change (political, economic, social, cultural), assess long-term trends against short-term events, construct sustained arguments about the nature and extent of change, and critically evaluate periodisation.

Question stems:

  • How would you weigh the significance of this change against what persisted?
  • Does the conventional periodisation of this era accurately reflect the pace of change?
  • What long-term trends does this short-term event reveal or disrupt?
  • How would you construct an argument for whether this period saw more change or more continuity?
30 total cluster assignments 11 as primary lens