Thinking in an abstract way doesn't come naturally to our learners. Often everything is literal to them. It is necessary to teach them how to identify when to think in an abstract way. Comparing things require thinking about unusual comparisons and why author’s use these comparisons to portray ideas, emotions, and other features like mood and atmosphere. The four types of comparative speech are metaphor, euphemism, simile and idiom.
Systemically analysing the text to challenge it and evaluate the information to be able to look at differing perspectives. Using extended discussion to agree and disagree with perspectives can be a great way to do this. In class we use the "disagree" card which is given to someone in the group work to bring a different perspective to the discussion. This has been successful as even if they agree with what others are saying, they need to think critically about why someone may disagree with the point.
