Hexagonal Thinking in the Classroom

What links Harry Potter, the French Revolution, and renewable energy?

If you said nothing, you haven’t tried hexagonal thinking. The best part? There’s no right answer. The connections you make are probably different from the connections I make (hello, Voldemort, guillotines, and greenhouse gases. The connection is there. Trust me). 

Let your students show you the surprising magic of making unexpected connections. 

What Is Hexagonal Thinking?

Hexagonal thinking is the perfect tool for fostering a flow of ideas. Think of it like a visual mapping tool. With terms and concepts labeled in hexagons, students can fit pieces together, making new connections and building new ideas. Hexagonal thinking is all about critical thinking skills, spatial and visual connections, and group discussion. 

Hexagonal thinking is a stand out tool for the classroom, promoting dynamic discussions and active learning. With hexagonal thinking, students have to explain their thinking to their classmates, and there might not always be a right answer. Different ideas are celebrated. Some students may see the path as ABC, but that doesn’t mean BCA couldn’t work either. As long as students can explain their thinking and their connections, nothing is off the table. These explained connections create a fun and collaborative environment where students go from timid to excitedly sharing their thoughts.

As students arrange key terms and connect ideas, their understanding will be deepened. Spatial and visual connections benefit students of all abilities. From STEM to creative writing to social studies, hexagonal thinking is the pathway to deeper understanding and stronger critical thinking. Its visual approach can work in all subjects, for all students, of all levels. 

Why Teachers Should Use Hexagonal Thinking

The power in hexagonal thinking isn’t just seeing the terms on a piece of paper or a screen. The power comes from communication and explanation. A hexagonal thinking activity can help students practice critical thinking skills through dialogue, debate, and explanation. Students will be encouraged to connect ideas, explain their reasoning, and even challenge one another’s thinking. Research found that when students discuss and collaborate in class, they can perform up to six percentage points higher on STEM exams than students who only listened to instruction.

When students do, they learn. These activities build collaboration and engagement, especially for students struggling with abstract thinking. Plus, hexagonal thinking is adaptable for any kind of activity or classroom: creative writing, group discussions, science experiments, and any other subject area. 

For example, small groups can receive hexagonal cards with the names of characters from a recently read book, themes of the book, and key ideas. Students can discuss how the different characters and their attributes are connected to one another and how that ultimately contributes to the themes. For a STEM lesson, students can connect recent scientific terms with different results they hypothesize for an upcoming experiment. 

How Hexagonal Thinking Works in the Classroom

Hexagonal thinking activities are simple to begin with, but they can create rich discussions among students. 

Using hexagonal-shaped cards, students arrange terms and ideas by lining up the edges of cards that connect. For example, maybe a student would connect the word apple with tree on one card edge. But apple could also connect to other ideas and terms like Isaac Newton or nutrients. The possibilities and connections are endless, and that’s where the real learning comes in. 

Before you know it, students will have an entire web of connected ideas. Better yet, each group will end up with a different web that will require explanation. As key connections are explained and justified, students will become better critical thinkers. 

Once groups feel confident in their webs, the class can host a gallery walk. A group representative can answer questions about the web as other students explore their  connections. Students can even be challenged to pick a couple key connections to later develop into an essay. 

Setting Up a Hexagonal Thinking Activity

To get started with hexagonal thinking in your classroom, start by identifying your learning objectives. Is there a certain standard you want to focus on? A test to prepare for? Once an objective is clear, your building blocks will be clear. Generate a list of the key ideas and concepts that students will need to explore to meet the greater objective. 

As far as the hexagons themselves, a printed set is fine, but having students create their own hexagons can be another avenue for engagement and creative thinking. Paper or digital hexagons are great too, depending on your setup.

Once in small groups, the best way to get kids talking is through some guiding questions. These thought-provoking conversations can give students somewhere to start as they begin making connections. Try out some questions like:

• What terms are most similar?
• What terms are the foundation? What do you need to understand first in order to understand more ideas?
• Which ideas are connected in more than one way?
• Do any of these ideas conflict with another? Why?
• What terms are the most important?

How to Facilitate Deeper Learning with Hexagonal Thinking

Hexagonal thinking doesn’t just have to be a free-for-all. In fact, while the activity is all about creating connections and supporting creativity, a little bit of teacher guidance can make a big difference. Guided questions can support discussions and idea mapping. Even questions that challenge a student’s thinking or require them to explain it can be a great tool. 

For their strongest connections, students should write or record their explanations. As students reflect on these connections, they can also reflect on the group experience. Consider asking students to record how individual team members contributed to the web with their unique strengths. 

Strategies for Engagement and Assessment

Another benefit of hexagonal thinking is that it can include all kinds of media and encourage creative expression. Let students include quotes, visuals, or charts in their decks alongside vocab words and important terms. 

For a fun challenge, have groups create their own decks and then swap with another group. This is another great way for students to get a different perspective on someone else’s thinking. 

To assess students, look beyond the “right” answers. Look at attributes such as participation, the quality of their explanations, and how well students collaborated. Use reflection prompts to identify which students made key contributions and why.

Hexagonal Thinking Across Subjects and Grade Levels

Hexagonal thinking knows no bounds in its scope or subject. Here are a few fun ways to incorporate it across various subjects in your classroom:

English Language Arts: Have students analyze character motives, themes, or text-to-world connections.

Science: Connect terms like climate change, energy transfer, and sustainability. Challenge students to see if connections in their webs can help them come up with solutions to various issues.

Social Studies: Explore historical events, ideologies, and their modern-day implications.

Creative Writing: Build stories. One at a time, have students connect a descriptive language element with a narrative element. As students add a connection, have the rest of the class work on their own creative writing pieces and see where the stories lead!

Digital and Paper-Based Hexagon Tools

Tools like Google Slides or PowerPoint are great for building interactive hexagonal thinking templates. Key ideas and terms could be listed on the first page, with the following pages leaving space for groups to create their maps. 

Depending on the needs of the class, try printable hexagons. These can act as generators for hands-on, kinesthetic learning. Students can create their own “decks” where they illustrate and annotate, increasing their ownership and tapping into their creative thinking. As students bring their decks together and begin making connections, they will start to see class concepts in new ways that stick. 

Final Thoughts: Why Hexagonal Thinking Belongs in Every Classroom

Hexagonal thinking brings energy, collaboration, and real thinking into your space. When paired with a dynamic problem-solving activity like a Mission from Mission.io, hexagonal thinking becomes a rocket-fueled learning tool for real-world readiness. 

Let students get a little messy. Let them make mistakes.Let them make bizarre connections you never would have thought of.them create beautiful visual representations of their thinking. Students struggling means that students are talking, listening, debating, connecting, and most importantly, growing.