What Is The Six Thinking Hats Method All About?

Get ready to dive into thoughtful discussions after teaching your students about De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats! What is the De Bono Thinking Technique? Here’s a quick rundown if you’re new to the game!

The 6 thinking hats method was developed by Edward de Bono. It is designed to help students develop deeper thinking habits, organise group discussions, and approach problems from different angles. This technique is a structured method for group discussion and individual thinking. It involves six metaphorical hats, each representing a different type of thinking. Each hat has a different colour and coincides with different thinking prompts to help students remember the kind of thinking involved.

The Six Thinking Hats Poster and Resource Set

This printable pack includes everything you need to get started with the Six Thinking Hats method in your classroom. 

Inside, you’ll find 

• Full-size posters that describe each hat’s colour, purpose, and the type of thinking it represents—White (facts), Red (feelings), Black (cautions), Yellow (benefits), Green (creativity), and Blue (process). 
• Half-size 6 thinking hats charts with thinking prompts
• Quarter-size Six Thinking Hats Idea Cards
• Ready-Made Graphic Organisers and Worksheets to use to introduce each thinking technique

Download Your 6 Thinking Hats Printables 

Ready to help students reflect on different points of view? Download your 6 Thinking Hats Printables in PDF format to start using them right away. We have included the following options for this resource download.

• Editable Google Slides Resource File
• Quick-Print PDF File

To get your copy, click the dropdown arrow on the download button and select your preferred file type.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher and Teach Starter Collaborator.

Pair Your 6 Thinking Hats Posters With More Creative and Critical Thinking Activities

Our 6 Thinking Hats resource pack is designed to support both independent reflection and collaborative learning, but you don’t have to stop there! Before you go, check out these printable creative and critical thinking activities!

teaching resource

STEM Thinking Prompts - Higher Order Thinking Skills Questions

Use our printable STEM Higher Order Thinking Question cards to improve scientific conversation and critical thinking skills in your students.

teaching resource

Growth Mindset Discussion Cards

Explore growth mindset with your students with this set of discussion cards.

teaching resource

Reflective Thinking Sentence Starter Cards

Incorporate reflective thinking into your classroom with this set of 24 sentence starter cards.