Critical Thinking Skills

In recent years, there has been an emphasis on teaching critical thinking, a skill that elevates thinking beyond memorization into the realm of analysis and logic. Critical thinking is about knowing how to think, not what to think. I have used a number of techniques to promote critical thinking throughout the year.

How many of you remember this song from Sesame Street?

Click the image below to listen to the song.

I incorporated this same idea when creating a Fundations game.  I thought of four words; three of the words included one of the following concepts: digraphs, consonant blends, bonus letters, vowel teams, suffix s, magic e, etc.

For example, I wrote these four words on the whiteboard.

Children worked in teams to figure out which word did not belong.  Not only did they have to identify the word - they needed to explain their thinking.  

                          

                               

See if your child can identify the word that does not belong in the following groups:

1.  bike        cape        Pete        back

2.  shop       that         baby        chip

3.  rug         stuff         less          bell

 4.  clap        made       storm        blue

  5.  crate       tooth        flag          drive

Another activity which fostered critical thinking skills was sorting attribute blocks. Attribute blocks are math manipulatives that have four different features. These are shape, color, size and thickness. The shapes are circles, hexagons, squares, rectangles and triangles. The three colors are red, blue, and yellow. The two sizes are big and small.  Children were divided into groups and asked to sort the blocks in many different ways and explain their thinking each time.

Critical thinking skills were fostered when we were learning about math equations.  I divided the children up in groups and gave each child a paper with either a math symbol or a number.  Each group had to work together and figure out how to set up the numbers and symbols in such a way that they created a math equation.  

If you wish to help your child become a critical thinker, try some of the activities below:

Ask open-ended questions. Asking questions that don't have one right answer encourages children to respond creatively without being afraid of giving the wrong answer.

Categorize and classify.  Classification plays an important role in critical thinking because it requires identification and sorting according to a rule, or set of rules, that kids must discover, understand, and apply. If you play classification games at home, be sure to follow up the activity with questions about the similarities and differences between the groups. You can sort everything from dirty laundry to Legos to produce to doll clothes to promote critical thinking.

Work in groups. In a group setting, students are exposed to the thought processes of their peers. Thus, they can begin to understand how others think and that there are multiple ways of approaching problems — not just one correct way.

Make decisions. Help your child consider pros and cons, but don't be afraid to let her make a wrong choice. Then evaluate the decision later. Ask your child, "How do you feel about your decision? What would you do differently next time?"

Find patterns. Whatever you're doing, whether it's going to the park or watching television, encourage your child to look for patterns or make connections for critcal thinking practice. For example, relate a favorite television show to a real-life situation. Or, while driving in the car, have your child identify different shapes in roads signs and in the windows and roofs of passing houses