"Books really are magic in that they take us into the minds of others." Kelly Cartwright
Theory of mind refers to a reader's theory about what's happening in a character's mind. In narrative texts, students can predict characters' actions (and understand their actions) when they analyze their motivations, intentions, and feelings and connect those to behaviours. "Reading the mind" of a character involves not just considering the character's actions, which is what most elementary students are used to, but also considering what the character is thinking. Considering a character's thoughts is complex because it involves social understanding and understanding our own and other people's minds. Thoughts, feelings, intentions, motivations, and beliefs cause people (and characters) to act in specific ways.
It may seem to students that they are "guessing" when they first start to consider a character's thoughts, but in reality, they are putting some deep thinking about the character's thought processes into practice. The more students engage in this kind of thinking and discussion, the more natural the process will become.
In later years, we can introduce students to complex ideas through books. This provides our students with increased background knowledge about humanity and the world and creates space for reflection and flexible cognitive thinking.
Some possible lesson ideas to support Theory of Mind:
Questions—Students need to understand that their questions would—and should be—different from many others in the classroom community, including the teacher. Teachers can model questions that promote deep thinking to prompt students to consider different questions and what they are wondering.
Questioning the Author - Students need to understand that texts are someone's ideas written down. When students begin to relate to an author as someone with different thoughts, ideas, and experiences from theirs, they can connect more deeply with the author and start to see why they may have written about a specific topic or concept. By seeing the author as someone who has written down ideas, students can share ownership of the text's meaning and consider the question, "What do you think the author is telling us?"
