Critical Thinking Development Activities

Students should not be sitting in this setup yet, but rather in their regular classroom seats.The class should be presented with a question or a statement and allowed to reflect individually for a few minutes.In this activity first asks students to consider a question on their own, and then provide them an opportunity to discuss it in pairs, and finally together with the whole class.

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By using silence and writing, students can focus on other viewpoints.In the middle of the page students write down all of the steps they took to arrive at that answer.Students are encouraged to write down the evidence they see that supports their conclusion.At the top of their paper, students should write: "What is happening in this picture?" At the bottom of the page, they should answer with what they believe is happening in the photo simply in 1-2 sentences or according to the age/grade this activity is being done with.This activity works ideally with questions to encourage deeper thinking, problem-solving, and/or critical analysis.The group discussions are critical as they allow students to articulate their thought processes.This game is similar to the “If you build it” game: Teams have a common objective, but instead of each one having the same materials, they have access to a whole cache of materials.For instance, the goal might be to create a contraption with pipes, rubber tubing and pieces of cardboard that can carry a marble from point A to point B in a certain number of steps, using only gravity.In the numbered groups, have students facilitate a conversation while others on the outside observe without comment.(For example, a teacher may have all 1s go to the fishbowl, while the rest of the class sits in the outer ring.) Once the inner group has discussed for a bit, have the outer group evaluate two things: Their process is they actually listened to one another and their content from knowing whether they are providing evidence or just opinions.