1. Background Information
LOTS and HOTS
Background Information 1

2. Lower-Order Thinking Skills (LOTS)
Lower-order thinking skills are used to understand the basic story line or literal meaning of a story, play, or poem.
This includes:
Wh questions.
teaching relevant lexical items.
relating to grammatical structures when relevant.

3. Key Words for LOTS Questions
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Do you know…?
Can you identify…?
Name….
List…… 3

4. After the LOTS…….
Once a student has mastered the basic understanding of a text, s/he is ready to move on to the next level which involves using that information in some way.
This entails applying higher-order thinking skills, or:
HOTS

5. Higher-order Thinking Skills (HOTS)
Higher-order thinking skills are used to:
interpret a text on a more abstract level.
manipulate information and ideas in ways that transform their meaning and implications. 4

6. HOTS for Analyzing Literary Texts
Predicting
Applying
Inferring
Sequencing
Identifying parts and whole
Classifying
Comparing and contrasting
Explaining patterns
Explaining cause and effect
Distinguishing different perspectives
Problem solving
Uncovering motives
Generating possibilities
Synthesizing
Making connections
Evaluating 5

7. You can get more information about LOTS and HOTS by watching the Introduction to the Literature webcast by Dr. Judy Steiner