TeachersFirst's Critical Thinking
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Nurture critical thinking skills in your classroom using the resources shared in this collection. Critical thinking is a process that includes the ability to interpret, analyze, and evaluate information. Thinking critically requires students to infer and solve problems with an open mind. Students use critical thinking skills to observe, experience, communicate and reflect while reading and learning content. As contentious public events spill over into the classroom, teachers need to help students learn how to process perspectives that differ from their own. Use this collection as you are planning your lessons and activities.
If you are looking for larger collections, explore our complete lists for Computational Thinking, Problem Solving, and Critical Thinking.
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Extra, Extra, Read All About It: Looking at Current Events with an Analytical Eye - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): climate change (77), critical thinking (102), immigrants (29), native americans (82), point of view (7), racism (71)
In the Classroom
Use the information shared on the site to find resources and activities that teach students to think critically about their information. Take advantage of the suggested books and ideas that extend learning through the use of technology. Consider using Wakelet, reviewed here, as a curation tool to share information with students and to share your students' work products.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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OK2Ask: Facts Are Facts...Aren't They? - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12Can your students tell...more
Can your students tell facts from fiction? Do your digital natives suffer from "digital naivety"? They may be fluent enough with technology to create and post their own work, but may not be aware that not everyone who posts online is credible. Teaching students to sift through multiple sets of information allows them to learn the difference between propaganda, advertising, and factual reporting. This is a skill that students need in order to be truly digitally literate. Join us to learn strategies to help your students determine if information is reliable. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Explore tools and strategies for teaching media literacy; 2. Learn strategies that promote critical examination of online resources; and 3. Plan a learning activity that fosters digital literacy. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.
tag(s): media literacy (87), professional development (283)
In the Classroom
The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Thinkalong - Conneticut Public
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): critical thinking (102), debate (37), inquiry (23), media literacy (87), news (233)
In the Classroom
Whether teaching in a classroom or online, scan the included PDF or Word documents into Google Classroom or your school student/teacher platform to share and assign to students. Enhance student learning by asking students to use highlighting and note-taking tools within their word document to provide documentation for their responses. To prepare students for Common Core Assessments on evidence and arguments, have them choose a popular topic, research it (with the materials provided) so they can provide evidence for their stance when writing about their opinion or to refute another's. The debate section is the perfect opportunity to teach students about countering an opposing opinion, deciding which is the strongest point, and then teach them how to address concerns of others in their writing or debate. For example, they can concede it is a valid point and then counter with another strong argument. Consider sharing the activities found on this site with your peers as a model for redesigning lessons you already use in your classroom (for online learning during absences and crises?). Use Padlet, reviewed here, to collaborate and share ideas, activities, and resources as you work toward incorporating inquiry lessons into your classrooms.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Project Look Sharp - Project Look Sharp, Ithaca College
Grades
K to 12tag(s): american revolution (73), climate change (77), critical thinking (102), environment (218), martin luther king (39), media literacy (87), middle east (40), nutrition (132), OER (35), presidents (115), russia (33), social media (46)
In the Classroom
Become acquainted with these free curriculum kits and lessons to integrate media literacy within content already taught in the classroom. As you teach lessons found on the site, incorporate technology to enhance learning and build student understanding. Use Vocabulary.com, reviewed here, to introduce and develop vocabulary during individual activities. This tool allows you to enhance classroom technology use and create assignments using individual vocabulary lists then provide feedback and options for student revisions and peer feedback. Incorporate images with annotations to help students understand "big picture" ideas using ThingLink, reviewed here. For younger students create a ThingLink together as a class to add text, video, and more to images. Ask older students to create their own ThingLink sharing information learned throughout your lessons. Be sure to share all of your images on your class website for students to view at any time. To transform classroom technology use and as a culminating activity, use a digital book creation tool like Book Creator, reviewed here, as an alternative assessment to quizzes or tests. Include student-created writing, ThingLink images, and add videos with student commentary within each book. Be sure to provide students with your rubric to use as a guide before turning in digital books. Find many ideas for implementing rubrics for assessment along with examples and online tools at TeachersFirst Rubrics to the Rescue, reviewed here. Whether students work individually or in groups, be sure to share your new digital library related to your lesson topic with students to review and revisit at any time!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fiskkit - John Pettus
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): critical thinking (102), journalism (68), media literacy (87), news (233), newspapers (89)
In the Classroom
Use Fiskkit in your classroom to teach students critical thinking and analysis skills. Share current news articles weekly with students to evaluate and discuss. After students provide their input, share the results on your interactive whiteboard, or with a projector, to review and discuss the reactions as a group. As students evaluate articles, replace paper note cards and suggest they use an online note-taking tool similar to Webnote, reviewed here, to justify their answers on Fiskkit. Webnote allows you to add sticky notes on the computer workspace and share with others using the URL created. Challenge students to find articles they would like to discuss, save, and collaborate on using Raindrop,io, reviewed here. Raindrop.io offers you tools to bookmark and save websites, with the additional feature of allowing participants to add comments to saved information. Raindrop.io can be used for a variety of assignments in any classroom that is integrating technology as an enhancement. Instead of a written report, as students become more comfortable with evaluating online tools, ask them to use a multimedia presentation tool like Sway, reviewed here, to modify technology use and to discuss media bias and offer tips for evaluating online information.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Global Problem Solvers - Cisco
Grades
4 to 8tag(s): character education (71), critical thinking (102), cross cultural understanding (148), Problem Based Learning (12), problem solving (215), sociology (23)
In the Classroom
Include the videos and materials with your current lessons using problem-solving skills. View videos together as a class and have students work in groups to discuss questions found in the teacher's guide. This resource lends itself to problem based learning: Have students find an image of a current global problem and use Thinglink, reviewed here, to add text, videos, and audio to discuss the problem and address possible solutions. Explore global issues further in depth with Google My Maps, reviewed here. Add pins onto Google Maps to share specific problems around the world and have students post their ideas for helping those in need.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Extreme Event - Koshland Science Museum
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): critical thinking (102), earthquakes (43), floods (11), hurricanes (28), logic (162), problem solving (215)
In the Classroom
Use the materials found on Extreme Event as a hands-on lesson in problem-solving, short and long term planning, and building community. Use an online tool such as Interactive Three Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare and contrast different strategies needed to solve problems in different crisis situations. Challenge students to create a brochure or newsletter sharing their findings. Are you integrating technology in your class? Instead of the traditional paper brochure use Lucidpress, reviewed here, or if you are more experienced use Sway, reviewed here, and create a newsletter. If you complete this activity with different classes, share results from the different games as part of your discussions on your problem-solving decisions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mind Over Media - Media Education Lab
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): advertising (23), critical thinking (102), OER (35), propaganda (9)
In the Classroom
Discover the many ready-to-go free lesson ideas to include with classroom discussions of propaganda and persuasive advertising techniques. Share the Learn section with students as part of a flipped lesson, then have students provide examples of propaganda they find on TV or the Internet. Ask students to find advertising demonstrating two opposing points of view, then, with younger or less technically experienced students, use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare and contrast information found. With older or more technically experienced students, use a tool such as XMind, reviewed here, to create a chart or mind map to make the comparison.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ThinkCerca - ThinkCerca
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): classroom management (138), expository writing (31), persuasive writing (51), reading comprehension (127), writing (285)
In the Classroom
Students will need to click Sign Up and "I'm a Student." Students will enter their first name and last name so be sure you have parent permission. They will also need an email address. There is a work-a-round for the names and email address. For the first and last name you could have them enter a code, for example, the first two letters of their last name and first three letters of their first name. If students cannot have their own email accounts, ThinkCerca has a suggestion or consider using a "class set" of Gmail subaccounts, explained here; this tells how to set up Gmail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. Once your students have worked through the eight lessons here, you may want to look at 301 Prompts for Argumentative/Persuasive Writing, reviewed here, to help you differentiate future writing lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Odd Squad - Odd Squad
Grades
1 to 4This site includes advertising.
tag(s): critical thinking (102), logic (162), problem solving (215)
In the Classroom
Challenge your math, science, and gifted classes with a variety of activities and provide differentiation for each student. Introduce Odd Squad on your interactive whiteboard to gain interest and excitement. Make center time engaging and beneficial for each student. Use cooperative learning groups to add more engagement and shared verbal reasoning into the interactives. Be sure to include this site on your class webpage for students to access both in and outside of class for further practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Quandary - Learning Games Network
Grades
3 to 9tag(s): creativity (92), critical thinking (102), ethics (23), game based learning (159)
In the Classroom
Try this activity on your interactive whiteboard (or projector). Create a quick poll (with no membership required) using Poll Everywhere, reviewed here, to view students' choices of actions to take throughout the game. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create videos using Adobe Creative Cloud Express Video Maker, reviewed here, explaining what they learned and sharing them on a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here to explain the decision-making process for different scenarios.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Murder at the Met: An American Art Mystery - The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): art history (75), artists (72), critical thinking (102), interactive stories (18), mysteries (17), thinking skills (12)
In the Classroom
Whether teaching art history or a unit on mysteries and deductive reasoning, students will learn from using this program. Though there is a place for students to keep notes, they should also keep their own notes about the clues, especially why they chose the ones they mark "highly suspicious." Replace paper and pencil by using a tool like Memo Notepad, reviewed here, for digital note taking. If you and your students liked this site you might also enjoy "Mysterious Places: Ancient Civilizations Modern Mysteries," reviewed here, with its lovely photographs to go along with the mysteries. A natural follow up would be to have your students write their own mysteries. Expository Escapades - Detective's Handbook, reviewed here, is just the place to give you some ideas! Challenge gifted students to create similar mysteries using subject matter in any science or social studies class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies - Jesse Richardson, Andy Smith, Sam Meadon
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): critical thinking (102), debate (37), logic (162), persuasive writing (51), reading comprehension (127), thinking skills (12)
In the Classroom
Most academic writing presents a premise to be proved (an argument). When you first start to have your students try to understand logical fallacies, show them the online poster for logical fallacies and get them started trying to find these fallacies in their everyday lives. You could assign a fallacy a week and have students write in a journal, or a little tablet when they come across one. Or collect them on a class wiki with a page for each fallacy type. You could even have them make up their own logical fallacies. Have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here. After introducing logical fallacies, have students peer edit papers to make sure the writer is not trying to support one of these fallacies. Of course, any speech and debate, or media strategies class would benefit from a review this site. During political seasons, be sure to share this site for evaluating politicians' positions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ProCon - Procon.org
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): climate change (77), critical thinking (102), debate (37), difficult conversations (45), persuasive writing (51), politics (101)
In the Classroom
Using controversial topics that have more than one side is a great way to develop critical thinking and problem solving. Find issues on this site that relate to your curriculum and use them as an entry point for a new unit. Use the teaching resources found under the Teacher's Corner. Use this site to teach how to distinguish facts from opinions, using information to write essays or create speeches, or hold a class debate. Help students develop flexibility in their thinking by having them take part in a difficult conversation and argue a side they do NOT agree with. Focus on critical thinking with your students to develop skills needed for life. Use as a whole class activity or for individual students to find an issue of interest to them. Gifted students often think deeply on such issues at an early age and will find these topics of great interest. Use this site to guide a deliberate discussion or debate.Comments
I also love this site, but I don't see any advertising on there at all. The site is free. Not sure how they stay afloat but I'm glad they do. For me, it is better than Opposing Viewpoints database for its depth, ease of use, and lack of registration/passwords. I use it for student debates on current events, and my wife (an English teacher) uses it for persuasive essays and role play debates.ProCon, , Grades: 0 - 12
I've used this and it's great! Balanced, has good resources. Helps students see both sides of an issue.Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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5 Minute Mystery - Mystery Competition, LLC
Grades
4 to 12Bonus: There's an app for that! For the iphone, of course!
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): critical thinking (102), mysteries (17), reading comprehension (127), short stories (18)
In the Classroom
Use your projector and interactive whiteboard to show your students the directions for getting points by selecting the correct clues and solving the mystery. To begin with, as a class, read a mystery and discuss what the clues might be and whether they implicate or exonerate each suspect. Once the students have volunteered their ideas for which sentences are clues, submit them to see the score. The program will highlight the answers you should have had, if you got any wrong. Model for your students a discussion about why those are the correct answers and why the ones they submitted weren't. Eventually they can have this discussion by themselves in small groups. Those of you with multiple classes will want to create a league for each class.Eventually you can have small groups of students compete against each other by creating leagues. Have your students come to consensus about the clue sentences and who the real perpetrator is by voting using Tricider, reviewed here, or Decide Already, reviewed here.
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The Critical Thinking Community - Foundation for Critical Thinking
Grades
K to 12tag(s): critical thinking (102), enrichment (9), logic (162), teaching strategies (34)
In the Classroom
Share critical thinking strategies with students and create lists of how and when they are used in the classroom. Create a bulletin board with critical thinking strategies for your classroom. Use the lessons included on the site as a resource for lessons in your classroom. Bookmark this site and save it in your favorite's as a professional resource. Share suggested activities and resources with other staff members.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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