These are some posters we've made to illustrate the Habits of Mind - Art Costa.

1. Habits of Mind Posters
The following is a set of posters that can be used in your classrooms.
Some suggestions for the use of the posters:
• Blow the posters up to A2 size. Print at A4. Use the photocopier to increase to A3. Take the
A3 poster and fold in half (to A4) Blow up each A4 half to A3. Join the two A3 halves
together to make a nice large poster.
• Students can add their own interpretations to the posters. Terms from Word Splashes,
Phrases from Y-charts (Sounds like, Looks like, Feels like activities) or other activities that
encourage students to put the Habit of Mind in to their own words/images are all useful.
• Where appropriate you could use this file to allow students to modify the posters using the
computers.
• When developing student posters stress that it is an exercise in GRAPHIC
COMMUNICATION, not a coloring in exercise. Encourage novel and creative ways of
communicating what the habit of mind is. (Thinking Flexibly, Creating, Innovating and
Imagining, Persisting)
• Have students do a rough plan for their poster on one of the A4 size poster. (Managing
Impulsivity, Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision)
• Develop criteria by which to judge the final product (Metacognition, Striving for Accuracy)
• Students work in groups to plan and produce posters (Thinking Interdependently).
• Publish posters (student and/or as provided) in team rooms. Refer to them when
opportunities arise to practice the Habits of Mind or when you see students demonstrating
them. (Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations)

2. Questioning and
Posing Problems
How do you know?

3. Having a questioning attitude; knowing what data
you need and developing questioning strategies to
produce that data. Finding problems to solve

4. Thinking and
Communicating with
Clarity and Precision
Be clear!

5. Striving for accurate communication in both
written and oral form; avoid over
generalizations, distortions and deletions

6. Remaining Open to
Continuous Learning
Learn from your own experiences!

7. Having humility and pride when
admitting we don’t know; resisting
complacency.
Applying Past
Knowledge to New
Situations

8. Use what you Learn!
Accessing prior knowledge; transferring
knowledge beyond the situation in which
is was learned.

9. Manage Impulsivity
Take your Time!

10. Thinking before acting, remain calm
thoughtful and deliberate.

11. Finding Humor
Laugh a Little!
Finding the whimsical, incongruous and
unexpected. Being able to
laugh at your self.

13. Striving for Accuracy
Check it Again!
A desire for exactness, fidelity and
craftsmanship.

14. Taking Responsible
Risks
Venture out!
Being adventuresome; Living on the edge
of one’s competence.

15. Thinking
Interdependently
Work Together!
Being able to work in and learn from
others in reciprocal situations.

16. Persisting
Stick to it!
Persevering in a task through to
completion; remaining focused.

17. Responding with
Wonderment and Awe
Have fun figuring it out!

18. Finding the world awesome, mysterious
and being intrigued with phenomena and
beauty.

19. Gather Data Through
All Senses
Use your natural pathways!

20. Gathering data through all the sensory
pathways – gustatory, olfactory, tactile,
kinesthetic, auditory and visual

21. Creating, Imagining
and Innovating
Try a different way!

22. Generating new and novel ideas, fluency,
originality.

23. Thinking about your
Thinking –
Metacognition
Know your knowing!

24. Being aware of one’s own thoughts,
strategies, feelings and actions and their
effects on others.

25. Listening with
Understanding and
Empathy
Understand Others!

26. Devoting mental energy to another
person’s thoughts and ideas; holding in
abeyance one’s own thoughts in order to
perceive another’s point of view.

27. Thinking Flexibly
Look at it another way!

28. Being able to change perspective,
generate alternatives, consider options