Theme and Variations

Astronaut Chris Hadfield explains that everything an astronaut needs to know about any specific topic must be able to fit on a one-pager. If something goes wrong in space, you don’t have time to sift through a manual. So managing information is important. Musicians organize compositions through a main idea (theme) and variations on that theme. Use this idea to help student organize their thinking.

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STEP 1: Brain Dump. Brain dump everything you know about a topic. Use as many pages as you need to explain large amounts of information.
STEP 2: Sort. Sift through all of that information and then begin to sort it into buckets.
STEP 3: Theme. Label each bucket with a theme. This is the overarching heading that describes each component.
STEP 4: Variations. Include the 3 most important things to remember about each theme. Or, include 3 different ways to approach each theme.
STEP 5: Arrange. Arrange each theme and it’s variations in order for solving the problem or creating something new.