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Children are naturally curious beings, and when their curiosity is nurtured, it can pave the way for them to emerge as the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. So, how can educators transform students’ inquiries and interests into the critical thinking skills necessary for their future success?
In this article, discover a comprehensive guide on teaching critical thinking that includes strategies for integrating these essential skills into your curriculum. You’ll find practical teaching tips and valuable resources to cultivate deeper thinking skills among your students. This guide offers straightforward methods to transform your classroom into a hub of critical thinking, illustrating why these skills are crucial for long-term success.
Critical Thinking Skills to Teach Kids
Critical thinking involves how students approach a problem before devising a solution. The individual steps they undertake in this thought process include asking questions, evaluating their assumptions, considering different perspectives, and using observations and evidence.
Some may argue that critical thinking skills are more suited for older students, but the truth is that introducing these skills early on can significantly enhance learners’ problem-solving abilities. Here are the primary critical thinking skills you should incorporate into your curriculum:
- Problem solving: How effectively and creatively can one find solutions to various problems?
- Open-ended thinking: This skill encourages students to explore multiple viewpoints and possibilities.
- Evaluating: Reflective thinking that employs evidence and reasoning to make judgments about a situation.
- Innovating: Finding creative and efficient ways to enhance a situation, item, or process.
- Inquiring mindset: A natural curiosity that connects observation with questioning.
The skills listed above might seem like the typical soft skills expected in a job interview, and indeed, they are! Teaching critical thinking early helps students far beyond your classroom and into their future professional lives.
1. Practice High-Interest Problem Solving
Problem-solving skills become significantly more meaningful when they pertain to topics that genuinely interest students. Whether it’s creating a soccer-themed math lesson or engaging students with fun STEM projects, you’ll find they can navigate both common and complex problems more effortlessly when the scenarios are relatable.
To reinforce these critical thinking skills, you might consider using the SODAS method (Situation, Options, Disadvantages, Advantages, Solution). Present students with a situation, guide them through identifying options, weighing pros and cons, and ultimately arriving at an optimal solution.
2. Add Depth and Complexity to Assignments
Is it feasible to infuse critical thinking activities into your existing curriculum? Absolutely! By emphasizing depth and complexity, you can facilitate critical and collaborative thinking in everyday assignments, whether it’s analyzing a class story or exploring a new scientific concept.
A common framework for depth and complexity includes big ideas, details, patterns, ethics, trends, and various perspectives. Use these activities to encourage meaningful discussions, extend learning, and motivate students to consider alternative viewpoints. For example, what are the overarching themes in the story of Cinderella? How would the narrative change when viewed from different perspectives, and what patterns emerge when compared to other fairy tales?
Push Students to Look Past Their First Impressions
Can you glean all the necessary information with just a single glance? Certainly not in an educational setting. Engaging in critical thinking activities focused on depth and complexity encourages students to take a moment to reflect before reaching conclusions.
Depth and Complexity Critical Thinking Resource
By Read Like a Rockstar
Grades: K-3rd
Subjects: Literature, Math, Social Studies
This resource focuses on depth and complexity, offering tasks and thinking mats that guide students in identifying multiple perspectives, big ideas, important details, and unanswered questions across various subjects.
3. Bring in Everyday Challenges
It’s well understood that students need challenges to foster growth. When these challenges are integrated into daily practices, discussions, or team projects that stretch students beyond their comfort zones, you’ll witness significant advancements in their critical thinking skills.
For instance, why not transform a regular math lesson into a math escape room for an exciting twist? Or incorporate brain teasers into tests for added fun and engagement? Interdisciplinary assignments can also encourage students to think critically about the curriculum while making connections across subjects.
Challenge Students with Daily Brain Busters
Students love brain busters, and teachers appreciate bell ringers! Start your day with brain buster challenges that cover a range of topics and skill levels.
Critical Thinking Daily Brain Busters | Enrichment Activities | Morning Work
By Teaching with a Mountain View
Grades: 3rd-5th
Subjects: Creative Writing, English Language Arts
Standards: CCSS W.3.1b, 3.10, W.4.1, W.4.10, W.5.1, W.5.10, CCRA.W.3, W.10Â
With this CCSS-aligned resource, you can master critical thinking instruction with 180 days of brain busters. Each challenge incorporates math puzzles, creative writing prompts, hypothetical questions, analogies, and more, allowing students to practice essential critical thinking skills right from the start of class.
4. Encourage Independent Learning
Elementary students who frequently seek help may struggle with critical thinking as they progress. To nurture these skills, incorporate independent learning opportunities into your daily routine, allowing students to grapple with problems on their own.
When faced with limited resources and time, students are more likely to devise innovative and convincing solutions compared to scenarios where teachers intervene frequently. For younger learners, include low-stakes components in assignments to foster independent problem-solving. Older students may tackle entire open-ended projects on their own.
Give Students Choices in Their Activities
Nothing encourages independent learning more than providing students with choices. Prepare resources that offer a selection of projects, allowing students to choose their path and make decisions that resonate with their interests.
Early Finishers Choice Boards | Monthly Critical Thinking Activities
By Lauren Ely
Grades: 3rd-5th
Subject: Creative Writing
Foster student autonomy and enhance critical thinking with monthly choice boards. This resource is perfect for early finishers or additional enrichment, providing printable boards for each month of the year, allowing students to self-direct their activities.
5. Add Critical Thinking to Art
While art is inherently a creative process, it also serves as an effective medium for teaching critical thinking. Enhance your art projects by promoting evaluation, observation, and open-ended perspectives in your elementary students.
After completing an art project, organize a gallery walk where students can record their observations about their peers’ work. This allows them to evaluate artistic choices without passing judgment and encourages self-evaluation and exploration of different viewpoints.
Create New Images by Following Directions
Every artistic decision is a critical thinking exercise, as each brushstroke rules out various alternatives. Encourage the intersection of artistry and critical thinking through projects that guide students in creating something entirely new.
Finish the Drawing Picture Activity Critical Thinking Early Finisher Worksheets
By Your Thrifty Co-Teacher
Grades: 3rd-5th
Subject: Creative Writing
This engaging art challenge requires students to use two or three shapes to complete a drawing by adhering to written directions. This enriching activity serves as an excellent addition to shape lessons, substitute plans, or early finisher packets for students needing a productive task.
6. Model Making Observations
We employ critical thinking skills daily, whether it’s dressing for the weather or selecting the quickest route to work based on traffic conditions. Making observations is a vital component of the critical thinking process, and while students often engage in this skill, there is always room for refinement.
Model the observation process by verbalizing your insights throughout the day. Incorporate observation-based projects into your curriculum, such as weather tracking or story pattern observations, and foster friendly observations during class discussions or debates.
Teach Students to Observe Their Own Observations
Utilizing an observation-based resource can build crucial skills even before a lesson begins. Have students note their observations about a book cover, scientific diagram, historical painting, or any other image, followed by reflections on their observations. What led them to notice specific details? What do these details reveal about their understanding?
Notice, Think, Wonder – Critical Thinking by Rockin Resources
By Rockin Resources
Grades: 2nd-6th
This resource prompts students to notice an image, think about its significance, and wonder about its implications. It includes 20 photographs designed to spark curiosity and encourage students to articulate their observations and questions.
7. Ask Open-Ended Questions
In any elementary curriculum, it’s easy to find questions with definitive “right” and “wrong” answers. By the time students reach your classroom, they may have come to believe that these are the only acceptable responses. If they do not know the “right” answer, they might feel hesitant to contribute.
Break this cycle of closed-minded thinking by framing your questions to promote open-ended discussions. Start inquiries with phrases like “Why do you think…?” or “How does this make you feel?” and incorporate these into class assessments. Open-ended questions will encourage students to think critically about the subject matter and invite quieter students into the conversation.
8. Let Them Be Leaders
In a traditional classroom setup, the teacher often stands at the front, with students directing their inquiries and attention towards them. Although this model may yield proficiency in certain academic skills, it doesn’t necessarily foster critical thinking among students who benefit from leadership experiences.
Incorporate student-led activities into your daily routine to promote creativity and leadership. Divide your class into teams and assign roles where each member leads a segment of a project. Additionally, involve students in curriculum planning by soliciting their interests and preferred learning methods!
The Benefits of Teaching Kids Critical Thinking Skills
In an era marked by a surge in online disinformation and manipulated media, the importance of critical thinking has never been more pronounced. Initiating students on this journey early offers numerous benefits for their holistic development, including:
- Boosted confidence in their identity as learners
- Healthier interpersonal relationships
- Empowerment to challenge established norms
- Preparation for future leadership roles in their communities
- Enhanced abilities in vital future skills, such as financial literacy and emotional regulation
As students advance in age, they can tackle more complex critical thinking skills, such as evaluating sources for bias. The foundational skills they acquire in elementary school will equip them for educational challenges and encourage critical thinking opportunities long after graduation.
From the moment students enter your classroom, they can begin to build essential critical thinking skills. With well-crafted resources and consistent implementation, you’ll discover that these lessons may become the most rewarding (and enjoyable!) activities you facilitate throughout the year. Explore more elementary critical thinking resources to learn how to teach critical thinking and inspire your students throughout the school year.
