Bloom's taxonomy

Six levels of thinking, from remembering a fact to creating something new. A quiz that climbs them tests more than memory.

The six levels, in a quiz about the water cycle

  1. Remember

    Recall facts, terms and definitions as they were learned.

    • name
    • list
    • define
    • recall

    ExampleWhat is it called when water vapor turns into drops in a cloud?

  2. Understand

    Show what something means, in other words than the book's.

    • explain
    • give an example
    • summarize

    ExampleWhy does a puddle disappear on a sunny day?

  3. Apply

    Use what was learned in a situation that's new.

    • use
    • solve
    • work out
    • predict

    ExampleOn which day does wet laundry on the clothesline dry fastest?

  4. Analyze

    Take it apart: causes, patterns, what matters and what doesn't.

    • compare
    • sort
    • find the cause

    ExampleA cold glass gets wet on the outside. Where does the water come from?

  5. Evaluate

    Judge by criteria: which claim holds, which solution is best.

    • judge
    • choose
    • argue
    • check

    ExampleSomeone says rain is new water made in the clouds. Which fact shows it's wrong?

  6. Create

    Put ideas together into a plan, a design or a solution.

    • design
    • plan
    • invent
    • combine

    ExampleYou're on an island with only seawater. Which plan gives you water to drink?

Bloom or SOLO?

Use it in your quiz

Under More settings, choose Bloom at Number of questions, and give each level as many questions as you like, 20 at most. Tjaz writes them in that order.

Make a quiz

Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues described the levels in 1956. This is the revised taxonomy from 2001 by Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl, where the levels are verbs and creating is at the top.

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