What is Bloom's Taxonomy?

Definition

Bloom's Taxonomy is a classification of cognitive learning objectives originally published by Benjamin Bloom in 1956 and revised by Anderson and Krathwohl in 2001. The revised taxonomy has six levels: Remember (recall facts), Understand (explain ideas), Apply (use knowledge in new situations), Analyze (break down information), Evaluate (judge value), and Create (produce new work). Higher-order thinking involves Analyze, Evaluate, and Create.

Examples

• Remember: 'List the three branches of US government.'
• Understand: 'Explain why the system has checks and balances.'
• Apply: 'Predict what would happen if Congress passed a law the President vetoed.'
• Analyze: 'Compare the powers of the President and Congress.'
• Evaluate: 'Defend or critique the Electoral College.'
• Create: 'Design a new system to balance federal and state power.'

Why it matters

Most worksheets, tests, and lessons hover at the lower Bloom's levels (Remember, Understand) because they're easier to write and grade. Pushing students into Analyze, Evaluate, and Create is what produces durable learning and transfer — but it requires deliberate question design.

Using Worksheet Generator for bloom's taxonomy

Worksheet Generator can target a specific Bloom's level. Specify 'higher-order thinking', 'application questions', or 'evaluative responses' in the prompt and the generator will produce questions at the requested level rather than defaulting to recall.