How might we integrate Futures Thinking into Ontario’s Public Elementary School System and prepare children to adapt to a rapidly changing world with multiple futures?

The rapidly changing needs and expectations of society are driving contextual, technological, and pedagogical shifts in education. This research project emphasizes the importance of equipping young learners in Ontario’s Public Education System with skills to adapt to an evolving world and to navigate uncertainty. It highlights the importance to prepare students for future challenges and emerging careers. By incorporating Futures Thinking into elementary education, students can develop an early understanding of continuous change and learn the skills needed to anticipate and shape that future. 

The outcome of this research was a proposed hypothetical toolkit for educators, as a means of exploring Futures Thinking. The toolkit would assist educators in developing various activities and supply them with resources to teach and support the learning. Through this toolkit, learners would develop their own creative confidence, inspire others, take risks, have the agency to imagine, craft narratives and co-create their futures, through a facilitated approach.

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How do we get these kids to imagine themselves looking different in the future? 

FUTURE PLAY TOOLKIT DESIGN

Future Play is a comprehensive resource, a toolkit designed to support educators who are new to Futures Thinking. Its primary aim is to introduce the fundamental concepts of Futures Thinking and explore the critical design questions of What, Why, How, When, And Where. To achieve this, the toolkit is organized into four key sections, each focused on a specific aspect of Futures Thinking: gathering intelligence about the future, exploring the dynamics of change, describing what the future might be like, and co- creating an artifact to solve a problem. 

FUTURE PLAY TOOLKIT

The toolkit is designed around a simplified design thinking process with four main blocks: DEFINE > IDEATE > EXPLORE > CO-CREATE.  It is modular, adaptable, and can be used independently or integrated into lesson plans across subjects such as language arts, science, or social studies.

Aim: The toolkit encourages students to recognize their individual and community roles in shaping the future. For educators, it serves as a conversation starter to promote Futures Thinking.

Skills: Activities foster meta-cognitive skills, including critical thinking, systemic understanding, empathy, creativity, flexibility, collaboration, and communication.

Target: Designed for students aged 8–10 (Grades 3–4), focusing on cognitive and social skill development.

Outcome: There are no “right” answers—the focus is on facilitating conversations, generating insights, and shaping participants’ thinking to imagine their own futures.

The Four Blocks- The Future Play Toolkit

The toolkit is developed into 4 blocks:  DEFINE > IDEATE > EXPLORE > CO-CREATE 

Each block is focused on a specific aspect of Futures Thinking: gathering intelligence about the future, exploring the dynamics of change, describing what the future might be like, and co- creating an artifact to solve a problem. 

BLOCK 1 DEFINE: Introduces Futures Thinking and its principles in a simple, guided way. Educators gain foundational knowledge to feel Futures Literate. Activities include exploring change, multiple possibilities, past-present-future perspectives, and diverse voices shaping the future. Activities can be used independently or paired with lessons.

BLOCK 2 IDEATE: Students put Futures Thinking into practice by envisioning and sharing their own futures. Activities include:

• Let’s Talk About the Future: Reflecting on long-term changes.

• Let’s Talk About the Past: Considering how the past shapes the present and future.

This block emphasizes that the future is not predetermined and everyone plays a role in shaping it.

BLOCK 3 EXPLORE: Focuses on “What Would Happen?” and uses storytelling to explore multiple possible futures. Students create scenarios and exercise their imagination to consider not only what is likely but also what could happen. Activities foster creativity and scenario-based thinking while preparing learners for uncertainty.

BLOCK 4 CO-CREATE: Encourages students to build “Artifacts from the Future”, integrating imagination, collaboration, and storytelling. The process follows: Identify a Problem > Research Context > Create a Future Product > Share Ideas. This block can be used independently or alongside other blocks, bringing play and hands-on exploration into learning.

This research highlighted the importance of cultivating a future-oriented mindset in children by embedding Futures Thinking into elementary education. Building futures literacy empowers imagination, resilience, and critical thinking, enabling children to navigate uncertainty and shape better worlds. The Future Play Toolkit was developed as a modular, adaptable resource to introduce educators to the core principles and practices of foresight.

As an Interview Participant, Educator and Futures Thinker at my research pointed out— "Bringing future work into elementary schools helps kids imagine themselves differently, leaving them with a legacy of questioning, challenging, and advocating."

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