Cognitive Skills Across the Curriculum

cognitive skills across the curriculum

In CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), learners do more than just learn subject content in English. They also need to think, reason, solve problems, and evaluate ideas. These mental processes are called cognitive skills or thinking skills. Without them, learners may remember facts, but they will struggle to use knowledge in meaningful ways.

This lesson explores how cognitive skills develop, why they are important in CLIL, and how teachers can design activities and questions that move learners from basic recall to higher-level thinking. You will also see how strategies such as wait time, enquiry-based questions, and scaffolding language help learners to succeed in a second language classroom.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  • describe different types of cognitive skills
  • distinguish between lower order thinking skills (LOTS) and higher order thinking skills (HOTS)
  • match classroom activities to the cognitive skills they develop
  • explain how cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) supports thinking and learning
  • design CLIL questions and tasks that challenge learners to think deeply

What Are Cognitive Skills?

Cognitive skills are the processes our brains use when we think and learn. They help us understand, organize, and use knowledge. Young learners begin with concrete thinking, such as naming or identifying objects. As they grow, they move into abstract thinking, such as reasoning, hypothesising, and evaluating.

Examples of cognitive skills include:

  • Information processing: identifying, listing, and recalling facts.
  • Creative thinking and synthesis: solving problems, inventing, imagining, and producing new ideas.
  • Enquiry skills: asking questions, planning research, and investigating.
  • Evaluation skills: judging, giving opinions, and using criteria to measure quality.

In CLIL, learners need both cognitive skills and language for thinking. This connects with Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) — the ability to use academic language to process subject knowledge.

Key Cognitive Skills with ESL Classroom Activities

Remembering

What it is: Using memory to bring back facts, words, or information.
Activities: Recall, recite, recognize, relate, spell, tell.
ESL examples:

  • Recall: Teacher asks, “What words did we learn yesterday?” and learners list them.
  • Recite: Students recite a short poem or chant in English.
  • Recognize: Learners circle the correct word when given a picture and three choices.
  • Relate: Students connect the word “rain” with the weather picture shown.
  • Spell: Learners spell common classroom items aloud: “book, desk, chair.”
  • Tell: Students tell their partner what they ate for breakfast using yesterday’s food vocabulary.
    Cognitive benefit: Builds strong memory and provides the factual foundation learners need before tackling more complex tasks.

Identifying

What it is: Showing relationships by naming, labeling, or matching.
Activities: Identify, label, list, locate, match, name.
ESL examples:

  • Identify: Point to the correct picture when the teacher says “apple.”
  • Label: Label parts of the body on a diagram.
  • List: Write a list of five classroom objects in English.
  • Locate: Find words in a wordsearch.
  • Match: Match occupations (doctor, teacher) with pictures.
  • Name: Name shapes shown on flashcards: “circle, square.”
    Cognitive benefit: Trains recognition and strengthens word–concept links, making English vocabulary meaningful and memorable.

Ordering

What it is: Putting items or events in the correct sequence.
Activities: Order, organize, sequence.
ESL examples:

  • Order: Put steps of a recipe in the correct order.
  • Organize: Organize classroom rules into a poster.
  • Sequence: Sequence events from a short story using pictures and captions.
    Cognitive benefit: Develops logical thinking, awareness of time order, and supports learners’ ability to retell events in English.

Rank Ordering

What it is: Putting items in order of size, importance, or preference.
Activities: Order, put, place.
ESL examples:

  • Order: Rank hobbies from most fun to least fun.
  • Put: Put modes of transport in order of speed: bicycle, bus, plane.
  • Place: Place classroom jobs (cleaning, writing the date, collecting books) in order of importance.
    Cognitive benefit: Encourages evaluation and prioritisation, requiring learners to justify and defend choices in English.

Defining

What it is: Explaining what something is or describing its features.
Activities: Define, explain, outline, show, translate.
ESL examples:

  • Define: Define “adjective” in simple English.
  • Explain: Explain what a “volcano” is.
  • Outline: Outline the main steps in making a cup of tea.
  • Show: Show what a “jump” means by acting it out.
  • Translate: Translate “house” into the learners’ L1 (for early stages) and then say it in English.
    Cognitive benefit: Develops clarity and accuracy in thought, as learners must select the most important information and express it clearly in English.

Comparing and Contrasting

What it is: Finding similarities and differences.
Activities: Compare, contrast, distinguish, investigate similarities and differences.
ESL examples:

  • Compare: Compare “dog” and “cat” (both pets, but one barks, the other meows).
  • Contrast: Contrast “city life” and “village life.”
  • Distinguish: Distinguish between “tall” and “short” by looking at pictures.
  • Investigate: Investigate similarities between UK and US schools through short texts.
    Cognitive benefit: Strengthens analysis, helps learners see patterns, and trains them to use descriptive and comparative language.

Dividing

What it is: Splitting a large group into smaller groups.
Activities: Divide, separate, share.
ESL examples:

  • Divide: Divide food into two groups: fruits and vegetables.
  • Separate: Separate objects into “living” and “non-living.”
  • Share: Share vocabulary items among group members, then teach each other.
    Cognitive benefit: Promotes categorisation and collaboration, showing learners how to break down large sets of information into manageable parts.

Classifying

What it is: Grouping items according to features.
Activities: Classify, categorize, decide which group, put into.
ESL examples:

  • Classify: Classify animals as “mammals” or “birds.”
  • Categorize: Categorize classroom objects by material: wood, plastic, metal.
  • Decide which group: Decide if “onion” belongs in “vegetable” or “fruit.”
  • Put into: Put different sports into “indoor” and “outdoor.”
    Cognitive benefit: Builds logical organisation of ideas and supports learners’ understanding of categories used in academic subjects.

Predicting

What it is: Guessing what will happen next.
Activities: Predict, think about, guess.
ESL examples:

  • Predict: Predict the ending of a story from its title and first picture.
  • Think about: Think about what will happen if you mix blue and yellow paint.
  • Guess: Guess what’s in a closed bag from the teacher’s description.
    Cognitive benefit: Strengthens anticipation skills, supports creative thinking, and encourages learners to use future tenses and conditional structures.

Hypothesizing

What it is: Suggesting what could happen without knowing for sure.
Activities: Suggest, decide, imagine, suppose.
ESL examples:

  • Suggest: Suggest what could happen if there were no schools.
  • Decide: Decide what might happen if people lived underwater.
  • Imagine: Imagine a world without electricity.
  • Suppose: Suppose animals could talk—what would they say?
    Cognitive benefit: Builds abstract reasoning, stretches imagination, and develops speculative language (“might,” “could,” “would”).

Reasoning

What it is: Explaining causes, effects, and logical links.
Activities: Choose, conclude, decide, explain, justify, recommend, solve.
ESL examples:

  • Choose: Choose the best solution for reducing pollution.
  • Conclude: Conclude what happens to plants without water.
  • Decide: Decide which country is best to visit for learning English.
  • Explain: Explain why people wear uniforms.
  • Justify: Justify why you prefer one story character over another.
  • Recommend: Recommend a good book for your classmates.
  • Solve: Solve a riddle in English.
    Cognitive benefit: Develops logical thinking, decision-making, and the ability to support arguments with evidence.

Creative Thinking / Synthesis

What it is: Producing new and imaginative ideas from existing knowledge.
Activities: Imagine, build, change, compose, create, describe, design, invent, make up, plan, produce, suppose.
ESL examples:

  • Imagine: Imagine a new holiday and describe it.
  • Build: Build a model house and label its parts in English.
  • Change: Change the ending of a fairy tale.
  • Compose: Compose a short song in English.
  • Create: Create a class poster on healthy food.
  • Describe: Describe an invented animal.
  • Design: Design a school uniform.
  • Invent: Invent a new gadget and explain how it works.
  • Make up: Make up a short role-play about shopping.
  • Plan: Plan a class trip and write the itinerary.
  • Produce: Produce a class newsletter.
  • Suppose: Suppose you became invisible—what would you do?
    Cognitive benefit: Encourages originality, problem-solving, and flexible language use; fosters confidence in self-expression.

Evaluating

What it is: Judging the quality or usefulness of something.
Activities: Assess, comment on, give an opinion, judge, rate.
ESL examples:

  • Assess: Assess whether a classmate’s presentation was clear.
  • Comment on: Comment on a friend’s essay about climate change.
  • Give an opinion: Give your opinion on which film was better and why.
  • Judge: Judge which advertisement is most effective.
  • Rate: Rate a story from 1 to 5 stars.
    Cognitive benefit: Develops critical judgment, reflection, and fairness, while encouraging learners to use evaluative language like “effective,” “clear,” “useful.”

LOTS and HOTS

When we talk about cognitive skills in CLIL, it helps to divide them into two groups: Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). Both groups are important, but they serve different purposes in the learning process.

Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS)

LOTS focus on the foundation of knowledge. They are about remembering, recognising, and organising facts. Without these skills, learners cannot build towards deeper thinking because they would lack the basic knowledge to work with.

Key LOTS skills include:

  • Remembering: recalling facts, terms, or information.
  • Ordering: putting items, events, or ideas into sequence.
  • Classifying: grouping items by features.
  • Defining: giving meaning to terms and ideas.
  • Reviewing: going back over information already studied.

Examples in ESL/CLIL classrooms:

  • Science: “Label the parts of a plant.”
  • Maths: “Put these fractions in order from smallest to largest.”
  • History: “List three causes of World War I.”
  • English/Art: “Define the term portrait.”

LOTS are essential for checking understanding and organising information, but if learners stay only at this level, their thinking remains limited to recall and recognition.

Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

HOTS go beyond remembering. They require learners to interpret, analyse, explain, evaluate, and create new knowledge. These skills are closely connected to critical thinking and problem-solving.

Key HOTS skills include:

  • Reasoning: using logic to explain why something is true.
  • Hypothesising: making predictions or educated guesses.
  • Evaluating: giving judgments, weighing evidence, or deciding quality.
  • Creative Thinking: inventing, imagining, designing, or producing new ideas.
  • Synthesising: combining ideas to form something new.

Examples in ESL/CLIL classrooms:

  • Science: “Why is photosynthesis important for life on Earth?”
  • Maths: “Explain why your solution is correct. Could there be another way?”
  • History: “What might have happened if the king had not signed the treaty?”
  • English/Art: “Why did the artist use these shapes? How would you change them to give a different effect?”

HOTS push learners to use language in complex ways: not just naming or describing, but justifying, arguing, and imagining.

Why Both LOTS and HOTS Matter

  • LOTS provide the foundation. Without recall and classification, learners cannot engage in deeper analysis.
  • HOTS develop independence. They encourage learners to go beyond memorisation, applying knowledge in real-life situations.
  • CLIL teachers must guide progression. A lesson should move learners from LOTS to HOTS. For example, start with naming or ordering, then gradually increase complexity with reasoning, evaluating, or creating tasks.

Practical Teaching Tips

  1. Plan questions at different levels.
    • Start: “What do you see?” (LOTS)
    • Move to: “Why do you think this happens?” (HOTS)
  2. Use visuals to support thinking.
    Pictures, charts, or diagrams make LOTS tasks easier and prepare learners for HOTS discussions.
  3. Allow wait time.
    Learners need time to process both content and language before attempting HOTS tasks.
  4. Scaffold HOTS with sentence starters.
    • I think this happened because…
    • If this were different, then…
    • In my opinion, the most important reason is…
  5. Encourage peer interaction.
    In pairs or groups, learners can rehearse ideas in English, giving them confidence before sharing with the whole class.

Key Concepts in the CLIL Classroom

Progressively Challenging Tasks

Learners need tasks that increase in complexity step by step. Starting with simpler tasks helps learners gain confidence, while gradually introducing more complex tasks promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Examples:

  • Mathematics:
    • Step 1: Measure the radius of a circle.
    • Step 2: Calculate the diameter from the radius.
    • Step 3: Solve real-life problems: “If the circle represents a round garden, how much fencing is needed?”
  • Music:
    • Step 1: Count the number of beats in a bar.
    • Step 2: Identify the rhythm patterns in different sections of a piece.
    • Step 3: Analyse why the composer changes rhythm and how it affects the mood of the music.
  • Science:
    • Step 1: Name the parts of a plant.
    • Step 2: Explain the function of each part.
    • Step 3: Discuss how each part contributes to the plant’s survival in different environments.

This gradual increase in difficulty ensures learners are supported as they move from basic understanding to analytical and evaluative thinking.

Language-Rich Environment

A classroom that is visually and linguistically rich supports learners’ understanding of content and development of academic language.

  • Posters and Charts: Display diagrams, timelines, or mind maps relevant to the lesson.
  • Word Banks: Include key vocabulary with definitions, pictures, or example sentences.
  • Labelled Diagrams: Show diagrams with annotations to clarify key concepts.
  • Question Prompts: Add questions next to visuals, such as:
    • “What happens next in this experiment?”
    • “Why does the water level change in this diagram?”

This approach encourages learners to interact with content visually and verbally, reinforces vocabulary, and promotes deeper thinking about subject matter.

Wait Time

Learners often need a few seconds to process a new concept or question before responding. Providing sufficient wait time:

  • Allows learners to organise their thoughts.
  • Encourages participation from learners who might otherwise remain silent.
  • Leads to more thoughtful, detailed responses.

Example in a Science Lesson:

During this time, learners reflect on prior knowledge, vocabulary, and concepts, producing more comprehensive answers than immediate responses.

Teacher asks: “Why do you think the leaves change color in autumn?”

Wait 8–10 seconds before calling on a student.

Cognitive Demands

Tasks must match learners’ abilities without being too easy or too difficult. Cognitive demand refers to the level of mental effort required to complete a task.

  • Low-demand task: “What is photosynthesis?” → tests recall only.
  • High-demand task: “Why is photosynthesis important for life on Earth?” → requires reasoning, explanation, and connection to broader concepts.
  • Very high-demand task: “How would the Earth’s ecosystems be affected if photosynthesis stopped?” → encourages evaluation, hypothesis, and problem-solving.

By adjusting cognitive demand, teachers challenge learners while avoiding frustration, ensuring engagement and deeper understanding.

Developing Cognitive Skills Through Questions

Questioning is a powerful tool in the CLIL or ESL classroom. Carefully designed questions guide learners to think at different cognitive levels, from recalling facts to evaluating ideas. Using a variety of questions helps learners not only understand content but also develop reasoning, creativity, and higher-order thinking skills.

Concrete Thinking

Concrete questions focus on observable facts, definitions, or simple recall. They help learners access prior knowledge and establish a foundation for further thinking.

Examples:

  • “What is a race?” → encourages learners to define the term.
  • “When did the first Olympic Games take place?” → checks knowledge of historical facts.
  • “Which shapes can you see in this painting?” → directs attention to details.

Purpose: Builds understanding of basic facts and vocabulary, which is essential before moving to complex reasoning.

Reasoning Thinking

Reasoning questions require learners to explain causes, make inferences, or identify patterns. These questions deepen understanding and encourage learners to justify their answers.

Examples:

  • “Why is this an abstract painting?” → asks learners to interpret artistic choices.
  • “Why do you think the character acted this way in the story?” → promotes logical thinking in literature.
  • “Why does the temperature drop at night?” → links cause and effect in science.

Purpose: Encourages learners to move beyond recall and make connections between concepts.

Creative Thinking

Creative questions prompt learners to generate new ideas, imagine possibilities, and explore alternatives. They encourage originality and expression.

Examples:

  • “How would you paint shapes to show movement?” → promotes artistic experimentation.
  • “Can you design your own invention to solve this problem?” → stimulates innovative thinking.
  • “What story could you write to change the ending?” → allows narrative creativity.

Purpose: Fosters imagination and allows learners to apply knowledge in novel ways.

Abstract Thinking

Abstract questions require learners to think conceptually, identify patterns, and see relationships between ideas that are not immediately visible.

Examples:

  • “What connections link these artists’ ideas?” → asks learners to synthesize information.
  • “How do these historical events relate to modern society?” → encourages conceptual linking.
  • “What underlying themes appear across different stories?” → promotes analytical skills.

Purpose: Develops the ability to see patterns, compare, and generalize from specific examples.

Evaluative Thinking

Evaluative questions encourage learners to assess, critique, and reflect on processes, ideas, or their own learning.

Examples:

  • “How has your writing improved this term?” → promotes self-assessment.
  • “Which argument in the debate was strongest and why?” → develops critical judgement.
  • “Do you agree with the author’s point of view? Explain.” → encourages justification and evidence-based reasoning.

Purpose: Strengthens critical thinking, reflection, and the ability to make reasoned judgments.

Cognitive Skills: Reflection for Teachers

Consider your course materials:

  • Do they include a range of cognitive skills?
  • Are there enough HOTS tasks, or do they focus only on recall?
  • Do you allow wait time for learners to give developed answers?

Summary of Cognitive Skills Across Curriculum

  • Cognitive skills help learners think, reason, and create, not just remember.
  • Learners move from LOTS (recall, order, classify) to HOTS (reason, hypothesise, evaluate, create).
  • Enquiry skills and evaluation skills are essential for deeper learning.
  • CALP (cognitive academic language proficiency) links language and thinking in CLIL.
  • Strategies like wait time, visual prompts, and scaffolding support thinking in a second language.

Common Questions And Answers

Q1. What are cognitive skills in CLIL?
They are the mental processes learners use to think and learn, such as recalling, reasoning, hypothesising, and evaluating.

Q2. What is the difference between LOTS and HOTS?
LOTS are lower order skills like remembering and ordering. HOTS are higher skills like reasoning, evaluating, and creating.

Q3. Why is wait time important?
It allows learners to process content and language before answering, leading to deeper responses.

Q4. What role does CALP play?
Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency helps learners use academic English to process subject content effectively..

Cognitive Skills Across the Curriculum
– A Practice Task

For questions 1–7, read the classroom scenarios involving cognitive skills in CLIL for school learners and choose the scenario (A, B, or C) that does NOT match with the cognitive skill (1-7).
Mark the correct letter (A, B, or C) on your answer sheet.

1 Classifying
A Students work in groups to sort animal cards into mammals, reptiles, and birds.
B Learners look at a picture of a market and list the fruits and vegetables they see.
C The teacher asks students to point to the colors in the rainbow while saying their names.

2 Sequencing / Ordering
A Students count and write the number of leaves on each branch of a tree diagram.
B In pairs, learners put sentences from a short story into chronological order.
C Students arrange illustrated cards showing the life cycle of a butterfly in order.

3 Evaluating
A Groups present posters about recycling; the class judges which poster is clearest and most informative.
B Learners compare two paintings and discuss which one expresses emotion better and why.
C The teacher asks students to memorize the steps for making a sandwich.

4 Hypothesizing
A The teacher asks students to copy the dates of historical events from the board.
B In small groups, learners suggest ways to reduce traffic in their town and explain their reasoning.
C Students imagine what would happen if it rained chocolate for a day and discuss their ideas in English.

5 Reasoning
A Students explain why leaves change color in autumn using English phrases like “because…” and “therefore…”
B Students label the parts of a human heart on a diagram.
C Learners compare the sizes of planets in the solar system and explain the differences in pairs.

6 Creative Thinking / Synthesis
A Students highlight and identify the verbs in a short passage.
B Learners draw a picture of their classroom and label objects in English.
C Students invent a new sports game, write the rules in English, and explain it to the class.

7 Predicting
A Students read the title and first picture of a story and guess how the story might end.
B In a science experiment, learners predict what will happen when vinegar is mixed with baking soda.
C The teacher asks learners to copy the names of planets from the chart on the wall.

CLIL Reference Resources

Core Textbooks

  1. Bentley, K. (2010).The TKT Course: CLIL Module. Cambridge University Press.
    • The official preparation book for the TKT CLIL module, with clear explanations, tasks, and practice questions.
  2. Coyle, D., Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2010).CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge University Press.
    • A foundational text explaining the 4Cs Framework and CLIL methodology.
  3. Mehisto, P., Marsh, D., & Frigols, M. J. (2008).Uncovering CLIL. Macmillan Education.
    • Practical strategies and classroom ideas for implementing CLIL in different contexts.

Online Resources

Cambridge English Teaching Framework – CLIL Resources

  • Free resources, articles, and sample activities for teachers preparing for TKT CLIL.

CLIL Magazine

  • Articles, interviews, and case studies about CLIL from teachers around the world.

TeachingEnglish (British Council) – CLIL Resources

  • Articles and lesson ideas for teachers using CLIL in ESL/EFL classrooms.
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