What If Everything Changed?

What You'll Learn

🧠 What if gravity reversed? What if humans could breathe underwater? What if there were no schools? 'What if' questions stretch your imagination and help you see possibilities. Understanding counterfactual thinking is one of the building blocks of strong thinking. Here's how to do it: 1. Look carefully at the problem. What do you see? 2. Think about what you already know. Does this remind you of something? 3. Try an answer! It's totally okay to be wrong — that's how we learn. 4. Check: did it work? If not, try something else! You're building your thinking muscles. The more you practice, the stronger they get!

Key Concept: Counterfactual thinking

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Think About This

🎒 You're at school and something happens that involves counterfactual thinking. Your teacher asks the class to think about it. What do you notice? What questions pop into your head?

Thinking Steps

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👀 What Do I See?

Look at the problem about counterfactual thinking. What do you notice?

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🤔 What Do I Know?

What do you already know that could help? Have you seen something like this before?

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💡 What's My Idea?

Think of an answer. Can you think of a second one too?

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⭐ What Did I Learn?

Check your answer. Was it right? What did you figure out? Tell someone!

Key Points

Master counterfactual thinking

Apply creativity & ideas in real situations

Build habits of creativity & ideas

Key Vocabulary

Imagine

Making pictures in your mind

Idea

A thought about something new

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Why This Matters in Real Life

Grown-ups use creativity ideas every day in their jobs. The practice you're doing now builds skills that last a lifetime!

Talk About It

Discuss these questions with a friend, parent, or classmate.

1Can you explain counterfactual thinking to a friend using your own words?
2What was the most interesting thing you learned today?
3Draw a picture of what you learned and show it to someone!

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

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What is the main idea of counterfactual thinking?