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11 Activities That Promote Critical Thinking In The Class

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Critical thinking activities encourage individuals to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information to develop informed opinions and make reasoned decisions. Engaging in such exercises cultivates intellectual agility, fostering a deeper understanding of complex issues and honing problem-solving skills for navigating an increasingly intricate world. Through critical thinking, individuals empower themselves to challenge assumptions, uncover biases, and constructively contribute to discourse, thereby enriching both personal growth and societal progress.

Critical thinking serves as the cornerstone of effective problem-solving, enabling individuals to dissect challenges, explore diverse perspectives, and devise innovative solutions grounded in logic and evidence. For engaging problem solving activities, read our article problem solving activities that enhance student’s interest.

52 Critical Thinking Flashcards for Problem Solving

What is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is a 21st-century skill that enables a person to think rationally and logically in order to reach a plausible conclusion. A critical thinker assesses facts and figures and data objectively and determines what to believe and what not to believe. Critical thinking skills empower a person to decipher complex problems and make impartial and better decisions based on effective information.

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Importance of Acquiring Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking skills cultivate habits of mind such as strategic thinking, skepticism, discerning fallacy from the facts, asking good questions and probing deep into the issues to find the truth. Acquiring critical thinking skills was never as valuable as it is today because of the prevalence of the modern knowledge economy. Today, information and technology are the driving forces behind the global economy. To keep pace with ever-changing technology and new inventions, one has to be flexible enough to embrace changes swiftly.

Today critical thinking skills are one of the most sought-after skills by the companies. In fact, critical thinking skills are paramount not only for active learning and academic achievement but also for the professional career of the students. The lack of critical thinking skills catalyzes memorization of the topics without a deeper insight, egocentrism, closed-mindedness, reduced student interest in the classroom and not being able to make timely and better decisions.

Benefits of Critical Thinking Skills in Education

Certain strategies are more eloquent than others in teaching students how to think critically. Encouraging critical thinking in the class is indispensable for the learning and growth of the students. In this way, we can raise a generation of innovators and thinkers rather than followers. Some of the benefits offered by thinking critically in the classroom are given below:

• It allows a student to decipher problems and think through the situations in a disciplined and systematic manner
• Through a critical thinking ability, a student can comprehend the logical correlation between distinct ideas
• The student is able to rethink and re-justify his beliefs and ideas based on facts and figures
• Critical thinking skills make the students curious about things around them
• A student who is a critical thinker is creative and always strives to come up with out of the box solutions to intricate problems

Read our article: How to Foster Critical Thinking Skills in Students? Creative Strategies and Real-World Examples

• Critical thinking skills assist in the enhanced student learning experience in the classroom and prepares the students for lifelong learning and success
• The critical thinking process is the foundation of new discoveries and inventions in the world of science and technology
• The ability to think critically allows the students to think intellectually and enhances their presentation skills, hence they can convey their ideas and thoughts in a logical and convincing manner
• Critical thinking skills make students a terrific communicator because they have logical reasons behind their ideas

Critical Thinking Lessons and Activities

11 Activities that Promote Critical Thinking in the Class

We have compiled a list of 11 activities that will facilitate you to promote critical thinking abilities in the students. We have also covered problem solving activities that enhance student’s interest in our another article. Click here to read it.

1. Worst Case Scenario

Divide students into teams and introduce each team with a hypothetical challenging scenario. Allocate minimum resources and time to each team and ask them to reach a viable conclusion using those resources. The scenarios can include situations like stranded on an island or stuck in a forest. Students will come up with creative solutions to come out from the imaginary problematic situation they are encountering. Besides encouraging students to think critically, this activity will enhance teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills of the students.

Read our article: 10 Innovative Strategies for Promoting Critical Thinking in the Classroom

2. If You Build It

It is a very flexible game that allows students to think creatively. To start this activity, divide students into groups. Give each group a limited amount of resources such as pipe cleaners, blocks, and marshmallows etc. Every group is supposed to use these resources and construct a certain item such as building, tower or a bridge in a limited time. You can use a variety of materials in the classroom to challenge the students. This activity is helpful in promoting teamwork and creative skills among the students.

It is also one of the classics which can be used in the classroom to encourage critical thinking. Print pictures of objects, animals or concepts and start by telling a unique story about the printed picture. The next student is supposed to continue the story and pass the picture to the other student and so on.

4. Keeping it Real

In this activity, you can ask students to identify a real-world problem in their schools, community or city. After the problem is recognized, students should work in teams to come up with the best possible outcome of that problem.

5. Save the Egg

Make groups of three or four in the class. Ask them to drop an egg from a certain height and think of creative ideas to save the egg from breaking. Students can come up with diverse ideas to conserve the egg like a soft-landing material or any other device. Remember that this activity can get chaotic, so select the area in the school that can be cleaned easily afterward and where there are no chances of damaging the school property.

6. Start a Debate

In this activity, the teacher can act as a facilitator and spark an interesting conversation in the class on any given topic. Give a small introductory speech on an open-ended topic. The topic can be related to current affairs, technological development or a new discovery in the field of science. Encourage students to participate in the debate by expressing their views and ideas on the topic. Conclude the debate with a viable solution or fresh ideas generated during the activity through brainstorming.

7. Create and Invent

This project-based learning activity is best for teaching in the engineering class. Divide students into groups. Present a problem to the students and ask them to build a model or simulate a product using computer animations or graphics that will solve the problem. After students are done with building models, each group is supposed to explain their proposed product to the rest of the class. The primary objective of this activity is to promote creative thinking and problem-solving skills among the students.

8. Select from Alternatives

This activity can be used in computer science, engineering or any of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) classes. Introduce a variety of alternatives such as different formulas for solving the same problem, different computer codes, product designs or distinct explanations of the same topic.

Form groups in the class and ask them to select the best alternative. Each group will then explain its chosen alternative to the rest of the class with reasonable justification of its preference. During the process, the rest of the class can participate by asking questions from the group. This activity is very helpful in nurturing logical thinking and analytical skills among the students.

9. Reading and Critiquing

Present an article from a journal related to any topic that you are teaching. Ask the students to read the article critically and evaluate strengths and weaknesses in the article. Students can write about what they think about the article, any misleading statement or biases of the author and critique it by using their own judgments.

In this way, students can challenge the fallacies and rationality of judgments in the article. Hence, they can use their own thinking to come up with novel ideas pertaining to the topic.

10. Think Pair Share

In this activity, students will come up with their own questions. Make pairs or groups in the class and ask the students to discuss the questions together. The activity will be useful if the teacher gives students a topic on which the question should be based.

For example, if the teacher is teaching biology, the questions of the students can be based on reverse osmosis, human heart, respiratory system and so on. This activity drives student engagement and supports higher-order thinking skills among students.

11. Big Paper – Silent Conversation

Silence is a great way to slow down thinking and promote deep reflection on any subject. Present a driving question to the students and divide them into groups. The students will discuss the question with their teammates and brainstorm their ideas on a big paper. After reflection and discussion, students can write their findings in silence. This is a great learning activity for students who are introverts and love to ruminate silently rather than thinking aloud.

Finally, for students with critical thinking, you can go to GS-JJ.co m to customize exclusive rewards, which not only enlivens the classroom, but also promotes the development and training of students for critical thinking.

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Thanks for the great article! Especially with the post-pandemic learning gap, these critical thinking skills are essential! It’s also important to teach them a growth mindset. If you are interested in that, please check out The Teachers’ Blog!

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Become a better critical thinker with these 7 critical thinking exercises

Critical thinking is a skill you can use in any situation. Whether you're a student, entrepreneur, or business executive, critical thinking can help you make better decisions and solve problems.

But learning critical thinking skills isn't always an easy task. Many tools, techniques, and strategies are available, and choosing the right one can be challenging. Vague suggestions on the internet like "read more" aren't very helpful, and elaborate business examples don’t apply to many of us.

As average problem-solvers, we need actionable thinking exercises to improve our critical thinking skills and enhance our thinking processes. Regularly performing exercises that specifically stretch our decision-making and reasoning skills is the most effective method of improving our thinking abilities.

This article will explore several exercises that will help you develop critical thinking skills. Whether you are preparing for an exam, making an influential decision for your business, or going about your daily life, these fun activities can build your reasoning skills and creative problem-solving abilities.

Boost your logical thinking skills and start practicing a critical mindset with these 10 critical thinking exercises.

A Quick Look at Critical Thinking

As a thoughtful learner, you likely already understand the basics of critical thinking, but here's a quick refresher.

Critical thinking involves analyzing problems or issues objectively and rationally. Critical thinkers are able to understand their own biases and assumptions, as well as those of others. They’re also able to see the world from a different point of view and understand how their experiences impact their thinking.

Developing critical thinking skills is essential because it allows us to see things from multiple perspectives, identify biases and errors in reasoning, and be open to possible solutions. Making informed decisions is easier when we have a better understanding of the world around us.

Why We Need to Practice Critical Thinking

We aren't born with critical thinking skills, and they don’t naturally develop beyond survival-level thinking. To master critical thinking, we must practice it and develop it over time.

However, learning to think critically isn't as easy as learning to ride a bicycle. There aren't any step-by-step procedures to follow or supportive guides to fall back on, and it is not taught in public schools consistently or reliably. To ensure students' success, teachers must know higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) and how to teach them, research says.

Unfortunately, although teachers understand the importance of HOTS and attempt to teach it, studies show that their capacity to measure students' HOTS is low. Educator and author Dr. Kulvarn Atwal says, "It seems that we are becoming successful at producing students who are able to jump through hoops and pass tests."

As critical thinking skills become more important in higher grades, some students find it challenging to understand the concept of critical thinking. To develop necessary thinking skills, we must set aside our assumptions and beliefs. This allows us to explore and question topics from a "blank page" point of view and distinguish fact from opinion.

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7 Critical Thinking Exercises To Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

The good news is that by assessing, analyzing, and evaluating our thought processes, we can improve our skills. Critical thinking exercises are key to this improvement. Our critical thinking builds and improves with regular practice, just like a muscle that gets stronger with use.

If you want to become a better critical thinker , here are some critical thinking exercises to try:

Exercise #1: The Ladder of Inference

You can exercise your critical thinking skills by using the Ladder of Inference model . This thinking model was developed by renowned organizational psychologist Chris Argyris. Each rung on the ladder of inference represents a step you take to arrive at your conclusions.

The decision-making process starts when we are faced with a problem or situation. As soon as we observe something problematic or important, we presume what is causing it, and then we use that assumption to draw conclusions. Based on those conclusions, we take action.

For example, say you're at a party and see a friend across the room. You catch their eye and wave, but they turn and walk away. Using the ladder, you might climb the rungs as follows:

• Observe that your friend walked away.
• Select a few details of the situation, including your wave and your assumption that they saw you.
• Meaning is attached based on the environment, making you think your friend must have other people to talk to at the party.
• Assumptions are made based on that meaning, assuming that means your friend doesn’t like you as much as them.
• Conclusions are drawn from the assumption, and you determine that your friend must be mad at you or doesn't want you to be at the party.
• Beliefs are formed, making you think you're not welcome.
• Action is taken, and you leave the party.

In this example, you started with a situation (someone walking away at a crowded party) and made a series of inferences to arrive at a conclusion (that the person is mad at you and doesn't want you there).

The Ladder of Inference can be a helpful tool to frame your thinking because it encourages you to examine each step of your thought process and avoid jumping to conclusions. It's easy to make assumptions without realizing it, as in this scene. Perhaps your friend never even saw you wave from across the crowded room.

Exercise #2: The Five Whys

The "Five Whys" technique is an analytical skill that can help you uncover the source of a problem. The activity was created by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, and consists of repeatedly asking “why?” when a problem is encountered to determine its root cause.

This exercise can be difficult because knowing if you've discovered the source of your problem is challenging. The "five" in "Five Whys" is just a guideline — you may need to ask more. When you can't ask anything else, and your response is related to the original issue, you've probably arrived at the end.

Even if you need several rounds of questioning, just keep going. The important part that helps you practice critical thinking is the process of asking "why?" and uncovering the deeper issues affecting the situation.

For instance, say you're trying to figure out why your computer keeps crashing.

• You ask " why ," and the answer is that there's a software problem.
• Why? Because the computer keeps running out of memory.
• Why? Because too many programs are running at the same time.
• Why? Because too many browser tabs are open .
• Why? Because multitasking is fragmenting your focus, you're doing too many things at once.

In this example, working through the "why's" revealed the underlying cause. As a result, you can find the best solution, which is concentrating on just one thing at a time.

Exercise #3: Inversion

Inversion is another critical thinking exercise that you can use in any situation. Inversion is sort of like taking on the role of the devil's advocate. In this exercise, adopt the opposite view of whatever issue you're exploring and consider the potential arguments for that side. This will help broaden your critical thinking skills and enable you to see other perspectives on a situation or topic more clearly.

For example, let's say you're thinking about starting your own business. Using inversion, you would explore all of the potential arguments for why starting your own business is bad. This might include concerns like:

• You could end up in debt.
• The business might fail.
• It's a lot of work.
• You might not have time for anything else.

By exploring these potentially adverse outcomes, you can identify the potential risks involved in starting your own business and make a more sound decision. You might realize that now is not the right time for you to become an entrepreneur. And if you do start the company, you'll be better prepared to deal with the issues you identified when they occur.

Exercise #4: Argument Mapping

Argument mapping can be a beneficial exercise for enhancing critical thinking skills. Like mind mapping, argument mapping is a method of visually representing an argument's structure. It helps analyze and evaluate ideas as well as develop new ones.

In critical thinking textbooks, argument diagramming is often presented to introduce students to argument constructions. It can be an effective way to build mental templates or schema for argument structures, which researchers think may make critical evaluation easier .

Argument maps typically include the following:

• Conclusion: What is being argued for or against
• Premises: The reasons given to support the conclusion
• Inferences: The connections made between the premises and conclusion

The argument map should be as clear and concise as possible, with a single word or phrase representing each element. This will help you make connections more easily. After the map is completed, you can use it to identify any weak points in the argument. If any areas aren't well-supported, additional premises can be added.

Argument mapping can be applied to any situation that requires critical thinking skills. The more time you take to map out an argument, the better you'll understand how the pieces fit together. Ultimately, this will help you think more creatively and critically, and make more informed decisions.

Exercise #5: Opinion vs. Fact

Critical thinking activities that focus on opinions and facts are particularly valuable and relevant new learning opportunities. Our constantly-connected world makes it easy to confuse opinions and facts , especially with sensationalist news articles and click-bait headlines.

How can you tell a fact from an opinion? Facts are generally objective and established, whereas opinions are subjective and unproven. For example, "the cloud is in the air" is a fact. "That dress looks good on you" is an opinion.

Practice your critical thinking skills by reading or listening to the news. See if you can identify when someone is stating an opinion rather than a fact. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who is saying what? What reasons might be behind their statements?
• Does the claim make sense? Who would disagree with it and why?
• How can you tell if the data is reliable? Can it be fact-checked? Has it been shared by other credible publishers?
• How do you know whether or not the presenter is biased? What kind of language is being used?

This powerful exercise can train your mind to start asking questions whenever presented with a new claim. This will help you think critically about the information you're taking in and question what you're hearing before accepting it as truth.

Exercise #6: Autonomy of an Object

In her book " The Critical Thinking Tool Kit ," Dr. Marlene Caroselli describes a critical thinking exercise called "Living Problems, Lively Solutions." This exercise uses the autonomy of an object as a problem-solving tool to find a possible solution.

To do this, you'll personify your problem and place it in another context — a different time or place. This allows you to uncover unique solutions to the problem that might be tied to your mental associations with that setting.

For example, if your problem is poor time management , you might personify the issue as a thief of your time. The idea of a thief could make you think of jail, which might prompt thoughts of locking up specific distractions in your life. The idea of jail could also make you think of guards and lead you to the possible solution of checking in with an accountability buddy who can make sure you're sticking to your schedule.

The autonomy-of-object technique works because it stimulates thoughts you wouldn’t have considered without the particular context in which you place the problem.

Exercise #7: The Six Thinking Hats

Designed by Edward de Bono, the Six Thinking Hats is a critical thinking exercise that was created as a tool for groups to use when exploring different perspectives on an issue. When people use other thinking processes, meetings can become challenging rather than beneficial.

To help teams work more productively and mindfully, de Bono suggests dividing up different styles of thinking into six categories, represented as hats:

• The white hat is objective and focuses on facts and logic
• The red hat is intuitive, focusing on emotion and instinct
• The black hat is cautious and predicts negative outcomes
• The yellow hat is optimistic and encourages positive outcomes
• The green hat is creative, with numerous ideas and little criticism
• The blue hat is the control hat used for management and organization

With each team member wearing a different hat, a group can examine an issue or problem from many different angles, preventing one viewpoint (or individual) from dominating the meeting or discussion. This means that decisions and solutions reached using the Six Thinking Hats approach will likely be more robust and effective, and everyone’s creative thinking skills will benefit.

Train Your Brain With Critical Thinking Exercises

Using critical thinking regularly in various situations can improve our ability to evaluate and analyze information. These seven critical thinking exercises train your brain for better critical thinking skills . With daily practice, they can become habits that will help you think more critically each day.

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Critical Thinking Exercises

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• M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
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Critical thinking is a skill that students develop gradually as they progress in school. While the skill becomes more important in higher grades, some students find it difficult to understand the concept of critical thinking .

The reason critical thinking can be difficult to grasp is because it requires students to set aside assumptions and beliefs to learn to think without bias or judgment.

Critical thinking involves suspending your beliefs to explore and question topics from a "blank page" point of view. It also involves the ability to distinguish fact from opinion when exploring a topic.

These exercises are designed to help develop critical thinking skills.

Critical Thinking Exercise 1: Tour Guide for an Alien

This exercise provides an opportunity to think outside your normal way of thinking.

Pretend that you have been assigned the task of conducting a tour for aliens who are visiting the earth and observing human life. You're riding along in a blimp, viewing the landscape below, and you float over a professional baseball stadium. One of the aliens looks down and is very confused by what he sees. You explain that there is a game going on and he asks several important questions.

• What is a game? 
• Why are there no female players?
• Why do people get so excited about watching other people play games?
• What is a team?
• Why can't the people in the seats go down on the field and join in?

If you try to answer these questions fully, it will quickly become apparent that we carry around certain assumptions and values. We support a certain team, for instance, because it makes us feel like we're a part of a community. This sense of community is a value that matters to some people more than others.

Furthermore, when trying to explain team sports to an alien, you have to explain the value we place on winning and losing.

When you think like an alien tour guide, you are forced to take a deeper look at the things we do and things we value. Sometimes they don't sound logical from the outside looking in.

Critical Thinking Exercise 2: Fact or Opinion

Do you think you know the difference between fact and opinion? It's not always easy to discern. When you visit websites, do you believe everything you read? The abundance of available information makes it more important than ever for students to develop critical thinking skills. Additionally, it's an important reminder that you must use trustworthy sources in your school work.

If you don't learn the difference between fact and opinion, you may end up reading and watching things that continue to reinforce beliefs and assumptions you already own.

For this exercise, read each statement and try to determine whether it sounds like a fact or an opinion. This can be completed alone or with a study partner .

• My mom is the best mom on earth.
• My dad is taller than your dad.
• My telephone number is difficult to memorize.
• The deepest part of the ocean is 35,813 feet deep.
• Dogs make better pets than turtles.
• Smoking is bad for your health.
• Eighty-five percent of all cases of lung cancer in the U.S. are caused by smoking.
• If you flatten and stretch out a Slinky toy it will be 87 feet long.
• Slinky toys are fun.
• One out of every one hundred American citizens is color blind.
• Two out of ten American citizens are boring.

You will probably find some of the statements easy to judge but other statements difficult. If you can effectively debate the truthfulness of a statement with your partner, then it's most likely an opinion.

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50 Super-Fun Critical Thinking Strategies to Use in Your Classroom

by AuthorAmy

Teaching students to be critical thinkers is perhaps the most important goal in education. All teachers, regardless of subject area, contribute to the process of teaching students to think for themselves. However, it’s not always an easy skill to teach. Students need guidance and practice with critical thinking strategies at every level.

One problem with teaching critical thinking is that many different definitions of this skill exist. The Foundation for Critical Thinking offers four different definitions of the concept. Essentially, critical thinking is the ability to evaluate information and decide what we think about that information, a cumulative portfolio of skills our students need to be successful problem solvers in an ever-changing world.

Here is a list of 50 classroom strategies for teachers to use to foster critical thinking among students of all ages.

1. Don’t give them the answers  

Learning is supposed to be hard, and while it may be tempting to jump in and direct students to the right answer, it’s better to let them work through a problem on their own. A good teacher is a guide, not an answer key. The goal is to help students work at their “challenge” level, as opposed to their “frustration” level.

2. Controversial issue barometer

In this activity, a line is drawn down the center of the classroom. The middle represents the neutral ground, and the ends of the line represent extremes of an issue. The teacher selects an issue and students space themselves along the line according to their opinions. Being able to articulate opinions and participate in civil discourse are important aspects of critical thinking.

3. Play devil’s advocate

During a robust classroom discussion, an effective teacher challenges students by acting as devil’s advocate, no matter their personal opinion. “I don’t care WHAT you think, I just care THAT you think” is my classroom mantra. Critical thinking strategies that ask students to analyze both sides of an issue help create understanding and empathy.

4. Gallery walk

In a gallery walk, the teacher hangs images around the classroom related to the unit at hand (photographs, political cartoons, paintings). Students peruse the artwork much like they are in a museum, writing down their thoughts about each piece.

5. Review something

A movie, TV show , a book, a restaurant, a pep assembly, today’s lesson – anything can be reviewed. Writing a review involves the complex skill of summary without spoilers and asks students to share their opinion and back it up with evidence.

6. Draw analogies

Pick two unrelated things and ask students how those things are alike (for example, how is a museum like a snowstorm). The goal here is to encourage creativity and look for similarities.

7. Think of 25 uses for an everyday thing

Pick an everyday object (I use my camera tripod) and set a timer for five minutes. Challenge students to come up with 25 things they can use the object for within that time frame. The obvious answers will be exhausted quickly, so ridiculous answers such as “coatrack” and “stool” are encouraged.

8. Incorporate riddles

Students love riddles. You could pose a question at the beginning of the week and allow students to ask questions about it all week.

9. Crosswords and sudoku puzzles

The games section of the newspaper provides great brainteasers for students who finish their work early and need some extra brain stimulation.

10. Fine tune questioning techniques

A vibrant classroom discussion is made even better by a teacher who asks excellent, provocative questions. Questions should move beyond those with concrete answers to a place where students must examine why they think the way they do.

11. Socratic seminar

The Socratic seminar is perhaps the ultimate critical thinking activity. Students are given a universal question, such as “Do you believe it is acceptable to break the law if you believe the law is wrong?” They are given time to prepare and answer, and then, seated in a circle, students are directed to discuss the topic. Whereas the goal of a debate is to win, the goal of a Socratic discussion is for the group to reach greater understanding.

12. Inquiry based learning

In inquiry-based learning, students develop questions they want answers to, which drives the curriculum toward issues they care about. An engaged learner is an essential step in critical thinking.

13. Problem-based learning

In problem-based learning, students are given a problem and asked to develop research-based solutions. The problem can be a school problem (the lunchroom is overcrowded) or a global problem (sea levels are rising).

14. Challenge all assumptions

The teacher must model this before students learn to apply this skill on their own. In this strategy, a teacher helps a student understand where his or her ingrained beliefs come from. Perhaps a student tells you they believe that stereotypes exist because they are true. An effective teacher can ask “Why do you think that?” and keep exploring the issue as students delve into the root of their beliefs. Question everything.

15. Emphasize data over beliefs

Data does not always support our beliefs, so our first priority must be to seek out data before drawing conclusions.

16. Teach confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is the human tendency to seek out information that confirms what we already believe, rather than letting the data inform our conclusions. Understanding that this phenomenon exists can help students avoid it.

17. Visualization

Help students make a plan before tackling a task.

18. Mind mapping

Mind mapping is a visual way to organize information. Students start with a central concept and create a web with subtopics that radiate outward.

19. Develop empathy

Empathy is often cited as an aspect of critical thinking. To do so, encourage students to think from a different point of view. They might write a “con” essay when they believe the “pro,” or write a letter from someone else’s perspective.

20. Summarization

Summarizing means taking all the information given and presenting it in a shortened fashion.

21. Encapsulation

Encapsulation is a skill different from summarization. To encapsulate a topic, students must learn about it and then distill it down to its most relevant points, which means students are forming judgements about what is most and least important.

22. Weigh cause and effect

The process of examining cause and effect helps students develop critical thinking skills by thinking through the natural consequences of a given choice.

23. Problems in a jar

Perfect for a bell-ringer, a teacher can stuff a mason jar with dilemmas that their students might face, such as, “Your best friend is refusing to talk to you today. What do you do?” Then, discuss possible answers. This works well for ethical dilemmas, too.

24. Transform one thing into another

Give students an object, like a pencil or a mug. Define its everyday use (to write or to drink from). Then, tell the students to transform the object into something with an entirely separate use. Now what is it used for?

25. Which one doesn’t belong?

Group items together and ask students to find the one that doesn’t belong. In first grade, this might be a grouping of vowels and a consonant; in high school, it might be heavy metals and a noble gas.

26. Compare/contrast

Compare and contrast are important critical thinking strategies. Students can create a Venn diagram to show similarities or differences, or they could write a good old-fashioned compare/contrast essay about the characters of Romeo and Juliet .

27. Pick a word, find a related word

This is another fun bell-ringer activity. The teacher starts with any word, and students go around the room and say another word related to that one. The obvious words go quickly, meaning the longer the game goes on, the more out-of-the-box the thinking gets.

28. Ranking of sources

Give students a research topic and tell them to find three sources (books, YouTube videos, websites). Then ask them, what resource is best – and why.

29. Hypothesize

The very act of hypothesizing is critical thinking in action. Students are using what they know to find an answer to something they don’t know.

30. Guess what will happen next

This works for scientific reactions, novels, current events, and more. Simply spell out what we know so far and ask students “and then what?”

31. Practice inference

Inference is the art of making an educated guess based on evidence presented and is an important component of critical thinking.

32. Connect text to self

Ask students to draw connections between what they are reading about to something happening in their world. For example, if their class is studying global warming, researching how global warming might impact their hometown will help make their studies relevant.

33. Levels of questioning

There are several levels of questions (as few as three and as many as six, depending on who you ask). These include factual questions, which have a right or wrong answer (most math problems are factual questions). There are also inferential questions, which ask students to make inferences based on both opinion and textual evidence. Additionally, there are universal questions, which are “big picture” questions where there are no right or wrong answers.

Students should practice answering all levels of questions and writing their own questions, too.

34. Demand precise language

An expansive vocabulary allows a student to express themselves more exactly, and precision is a major tool in the critical thinking toolkit.

35. Identify bias and hidden agendas

Helping students to critically examine biases in sources will help them evaluate the trustworthiness of their sources.

36. Identify unanswered questions

After a unit of study is conducted, lead students through a discussion of what questions remain unanswered. In this way, students can work to develop a lifelong learner mentality.

37. Relate a topic in one subject area to other disciplines

Have students take something they are studying in your class and relate it to other disciplines. For example, if you are studying the Civil War in social studies, perhaps they could look up historical fiction novels set during the Civil War era or research medical advancements from the time period for science.

38. Have a question conversation

Start with a general question and students must answer your question with a question of their own. Keep the conversation going.

39. Display a picture for 30 seconds, then take it down

Have students list everything they can remember. This helps students train their memories and increases their ability to notice details.

40. Brainstorm, free-write

Brainstorming and freewriting are critical thinking strategies to get ideas on paper. In brainstorming, anything goes, no matter how off-the-wall. These are great tools to get ideas flowing that can then be used to inform research.

41. Step outside your comfort zone

Direct students to learn about a topic they have no interest in or find particularly challenging. In this case, their perseverance is being developed as they do something that is difficult for them.

42. The answer is, the question might be

This is another bell-ringer game that’s great for engaging those brains. You give students the answer and they come up with what the question might be.

43. Cooperative learning

Group work is a critical thinking staple because it teaches students that there is no one right way to approach a problem and that other opinions are equally valid.

44. What? So what? Now what?

After concluding a unit of study, these three question frames can be used to help students contextualize their learning.

45. Reflection

Ask students to reflect on their work – specifically, how they can improve moving forward.

46. Classify and categorize

These are higher level Bloom’s tasks for a reason. Categorizing requires students to think about like traits and rank them in order of importance.

47. Role play

Roleplay allows students to practice creative thinking strategies. Here, students assume a role and act accordingly.

48. Set goals

Have students set concrete, measurable goals in your class so they understand why what they do matters.

No matter your subject area, encourage students to read voraciously. Through reading they will be exposed to new ideas, new perspectives, and their worlds will grow.

50. Cultivate curiosity

A curious mind is an engaged mind. Students should be encouraged to perform inquiry simply for the sake that it is a joy to learn about something we care about.

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Games for Building Critical-Thinking Skills

Students love opportunities to sink their teeth into problems that don't have clear answers, or to tackle tough challenges that test their deduction skills and knowledge. It's often out of this challenging murkiness that new perspectives and ideas emerge. Treat your students to these terrific, fun critical thinking games and watch how they develop thinking skills and more complex understandings of the world. On this list are puzzle games that help students solve problems and think ahead, story-based games that help students understand and unpack local and global issues, and strategy games that get students to manage time and resources.

Minecraft: Education Edition

Stellar collaboration tools, controls make Minecraft classroom-ready

Bottom Line : An excellent tool to engage students in learning, collaboration, and critical thinking is now more accessible than ever to teachers.

Kahoot! DragonBox Learn Chess

Gentle chess puzzle game ideal for young newbies

Bottom Line : For kids who are new to chess but want to learn how to play, this fun intro to the game provides a well-done tutorial combined with a light overarching storyline.

Crayon Physics Deluxe

Influential physics game is still a draw

Bottom Line : Instantly engaging and super accessible to learners of many ages and abilities, Crayon Physics Deluxe fuses conceptual science learning with a brand of playful problem solving that demands creativity.

Contraption Maker

Solve problems, puzzles, brain teasers while creating wacky machines

Bottom Line : Hands-on problem-solving leads to great fun and independent learning with the right curricular wraparound to connect what kids are doing with what they need to know.

Classic logic puzzler gets a beautiful new look

Bottom Line : Promote powerful thinking skills, resilience, and decision-making through purely fun gameplay that will keep students begging for more.

Spiraling sandbox of adventure and creation gets kids to dig deep

Bottom Line : An irresistible and seemingly limitless incubator for 21st century skills that, with a little guidance, can chart new courses for learning.

WordWhile: Casual Literary Fun

Clever fill-in-the-blank game playfully promotes literature

Bottom Line : A different spin on reading the classics can engage students in the short term, but teachers should find ways to extend learning.

Little Alchemy 2

Flex alchemical muscles in amusing, discovery-based puzzler

Bottom Line : This amusing puzzle game encourages creativity, perseverance, and systems thinking, and with creative integration it can build interest in math, science, history, and literature.

Addicting gameplay jazzes up geography

Bottom Line : Game-based platform can get kids interested in world geography and expose them to different cultures on a surface level.

Slick ethics game teaches students to make tough decisions

Bottom Line : This versatile game that can teach ethics, argumentation, and civics is light on interactivity but will come alive through discussion.

Scribblenauts Remix

Vocab-building word puzzles inspire creative problem-solving

Bottom Line : Wide-open problem solving builds creativity, vocabulary, and spelling skills, but controls can be tricky.

Tyto Online

Ambitious science role-playing game has bright future

Bottom Line : Diverse characters, immersive experiences, and useful teacher tools make this life science RPG worth checking out.

Beats Empire

Music producing game balances fun with critical thinking and planning

Bottom Line : Students will have a blast with the music production and band-managing theme that carries with it some useful lessons in 21st century skills.

Refinement of strategy game formula supports historical exploration

Bottom Line : Like any consumer-oriented game, this experience will absorb and delight students far more than "educational" games, but it'll require open-minded and creative teaching.

An avant-garde journey of group dynamics sparks discussion

Bottom Line : An unusual app that will confuse and entertain classrooms, generating discussion on a number of societal and philosophical topics.

Mars Horizon

Authentic space agency sim focuses on logistics, planning

Bottom Line : This sim is backed by major space agencies, so it's a neat and trustworthy way to learn about the challenges of past and future space exploration.

NewsFeed Defenders

Social media simulation builds news literacy skills

Bottom Line : This is a great tool to kick off critical discussions about news and social media.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Brilliant, charming puzzler challenges kids' ELA and math skills

Bottom Line : It's on Nintendo DS so it's not easy to weave into a classroom, but it's worth it, bridging ELA and math in complex puzzles guaranteed to absorb students.

The Pack - NYSCI

Deceptively gentle coding game really packs a problem-solving punch

Bottom Line : This gorgeous, immersive programming game encourages novel solutions.

Think Like Churchill

Stunning visuals, thoughtful feedback bring critical decision points to life

Bottom Line : An excellent tool for studying the events and ethics that guide pivotal moments in history.

7 Billion Humans

Amusing puzzler challenges kids, teaches programming principles

Bottom Line : This high-quality puzzle game is a fun way for students to learn effective and efficient programming skills.

BBC iReporter

Spot real stories, dodge fake news in cheeky media literacy sim

Bottom Line : A refreshingly modern way for students to explore how to filter and interpret info and media during breaking news events.

Modern, minimalist fake news game has players be the villains

Bottom Line : Quick, fun, and to the point, this game gets at the social mechanics behind viral falsehoods.

Radio General

WWII game has layers of learning, novel voice-based controls

Bottom Line : This is a refreshingly new approach to a WWII game that offers students a more accurate simulation of battlefield chaos.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Best entry in classic strategy series might not be best for classrooms

Bottom Line : As with all games in this series, Civilization VI is a great learning experience with the right support, but older, cheaper versions may be more practical for classrooms.

Provocative, first-person look at poverty builds empathy

Bottom Line : It'll need some scaffolding, but for students ready for the subject matter it's a great -- if sobering -- way to illustrate to students the daily realities and struggles of poverty in America.

Surviving Mars

Colonizing Mars is in our future, but why wait?

Bottom Line : Lots of potential and perhaps much better in a year or so of updates; use this in a class about space exploration and the harsh realities of colonization.

Political Animals

Charming political campaign sim mixes data analysis and civics

Bottom Line : It's a highly entertaining and surprisingly deep way to help students see the strategy -- as well as ethical choices -- involved in elections.

Papers, Please

Mature immigration game forces tough ethical choices

Bottom Line : It's a provocative simulation about ethics and immigration that could spark debate but might be tough to implement.

Parable of the Polygons

Dynamic interactive helps classrooms explore topics of bias, diversity

Bottom Line : A fascinating way to address how communities become segregated due to individual bias.

The Republia Times

Unassuming editorial sim elegantly exposes the business of bias

Bottom Line : What this game lacks in pizzazz it makes up for in smarts, and it's certain to get students thinking and talking about bias and media politics.

This War of Mine

Strategy game offers superb, mature take on war and civilian survival

Bottom Line : A stark portrayal of civilian life in a war-torn city that requires strategic thinking and invites repeated plays.

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5 Critical Thinking Skills Every Kid Needs To Learn (And How To Teach Them)

Teach them to thoughtfully question the world around them.

Little kids love to ask questions. “Why is the sky blue?” “Where does the sun go at night?” Their innate curiosity helps them learn more about the world, and it’s key to their development. As they grow older, it’s important to encourage them to keep asking questions and to teach them the right kinds of questions to ask. We call these “critical thinking skills,” and they help kids become thoughtful adults who are able to make informed decisions as they grow older.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking allows us to examine a subject and develop an informed opinion about it. First, we need to be able to simply understand the information, then we build on that by analyzing, comparing, evaluating, reflecting, and more. Critical thinking is about asking questions, then looking closely at the answers to form conclusions that are backed by provable facts, not just “gut feelings” and opinion.

Critical thinkers tend to question everything, and that can drive teachers and parents a little crazy. The temptation to reply, “Because I said so!” is strong, but when you can, try to provide the reasons behind your answers. We want to raise children who take an active role in the world around them and who nurture curiosity throughout their entire lives.

Key Critical Thinking Skills

So, what are critical thinking skills? There’s no official list, but many people use Bloom’s Taxonomy to help lay out the skills kids should develop as they grow up.

Source: Vanderbilt University

Bloom’s Taxonomy is laid out as a pyramid, with foundational skills at the bottom providing a base for more advanced skills higher up. The lowest phase, “Remember,” doesn’t require much critical thinking. These are the skills kids use when they memorize math facts or world capitals or practice their spelling words. Critical thinking doesn’t begin to creep in until the next steps.

Understanding requires more than memorization. It’s the difference between a child reciting by rote “one times four is four, two times four is eight, three times four is twelve,” versus recognizing that multiplication is the same as adding a number to itself a certain number of times. Schools focus more these days on understanding concepts than they used to; pure memorization has its place, but when a student understands the concept behind something, they can then move on to the next phase.

Application opens up whole worlds to students. Once you realize you can use a concept you’ve already mastered and apply it to other examples, you’ve expanded your learning exponentially. It’s easy to see this in math or science, but it works in all subjects. Kids may memorize sight words to speed up their reading mastery, but it’s learning to apply phonics and other reading skills that allows them to tackle any new word that comes their way.

Analysis is the real leap into advanced critical thinking for most kids. When we analyze something, we don’t take it at face value. Analysis requires us to find facts that stand up to inquiry, even if we don’t like what those facts might mean. We put aside personal feelings or beliefs and explore, examine, research, compare and contrast, draw correlations, organize, experiment, and so much more. We learn to identify primary sources for information, and check into the validity of those sources. Analysis is a skill successful adults must use every day, so it’s something we must help kids learn as early as possible.

Almost at the top of Bloom’s pyramid, evaluation skills let us synthesize all the information we’ve learned, understood, applied, and analyzed, and to use it to support our opinions and decisions. Now we can reflect on the data we’ve gathered and use it to make choices, cast votes, or offer informed opinions. We can evaluate the statements of others too, using these same skills. True evaluation requires us to put aside our own biases and accept that there may be other valid points of view, even if we don’t necessarily agree with them.

In the final phase, we use every one of those previous skills to create something new. This could be a proposal, an essay, a theory, a plan—anything a person assembles that’s unique.

Note: Bloom’s original taxonomy included “synthesis” as opposed to “create,” and it was located between “apply” and “evaluate.” When you synthesize, you put various parts of different ideas together to form a new whole. In 2001, a group of cognitive psychologists removed that term from the taxonomy , replacing it with “create,” but it’s part of the same concept.

How To Teach Critical Thinking

Using critical thinking in your own life is vital, but passing it along to the next generation is just as important. Be sure to focus on analyzing and evaluating, two multifaceted sets of skills that take lots and lots of practice. Start with these 10 Tips for Teaching Kids To Be Awesome Critical Thinkers . Then try these critical thinking activities and games. Finally, try to incorporate some of these 100+ Critical Thinking Questions for Students into your lessons. They’ll help your students develop the skills they need to navigate a world full of conflicting facts and provocative opinions.

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other

This classic Sesame Street activity is terrific for introducing the ideas of classifying, sorting, and finding relationships. All you need are several different objects (or pictures of objects). Lay them out in front of students, and ask them to decide which one doesn’t belong to the group. Let them be creative: The answer they come up with might not be the one you envisioned, and that’s OK!

The Answer Is …

Post an “answer” and ask kids to come up with the question. For instance, if you’re reading the book Charlotte’s Web , the answer might be “Templeton.” Students could say, “Who helped save Wilbur even though he didn’t really like him?” or “What’s the name of the rat that lived in the barn?” Backwards thinking encourages creativity and requires a good understanding of the subject matter.

Forced Analogies

Practice making connections and seeing relationships with this fun game. Kids write four random words in the corners of a Frayer Model and one more in the middle. The challenge? To link the center word to one of the others by making an analogy. The more far out the analogies, the better!

Learn more: Forced Analogies at The Owl Teacher

Primary Sources

Tired of hearing “I found it on Wikipedia!” when you ask kids where they got their answer? It’s time to take a closer look at primary sources. Show students how to follow a fact back to its original source, whether online or in print. We’ve got 10 terrific American history–based primary source activities to try here.

Science Experiments

Hands-on science experiments and STEM challenges are a surefire way to engage students, and they involve all sorts of critical thinking skills. We’ve got hundreds of experiment ideas for all ages on our STEM pages , starting with 50 Stem Activities To Help Kids Think Outside the Box .

Not the Answer

Multiple-choice questions can be a great way to work on critical thinking. Turn the questions into discussions, asking kids to eliminate wrong answers one by one. This gives them practice analyzing and evaluating, allowing them to make considered choices.

Learn more: Teaching in the Fast Lane

Correlation Tic-Tac-Toe

Here’s a fun way to work on correlation, which is a part of analysis. Show kids a 3 x 3 grid with nine pictures, and ask them to find a way to link three in a row together to get tic-tac-toe. For instance, in the pictures above, you might link together the cracked ground, the landslide, and the tsunami as things that might happen after an earthquake. Take things a step further and discuss the fact that there are other ways those things might have happened (a landslide can be caused by heavy rain, for instance), so correlation doesn’t necessarily prove causation.

Learn more: Critical Thinking Tic-Tac-Toe at The Owl Teacher

Inventions That Changed the World

Explore the chain of cause and effect with this fun thought exercise. Start it off by asking one student to name an invention they believe changed the world. Each student then follows by explaining an effect that invention had on the world and their own lives. Challenge each student to come up with something different.

Learn more: Teaching With a Mountain View

Critical Thinking Games

There are so many board games that help kids learn to question, analyze, examine, make judgments, and more. In fact, pretty much any game that doesn’t leave things entirely up to chance (Sorry, Candy Land) requires players to use critical thinking skills. See one teacher’s favorites at the link below.

Learn more: Miss DeCarbo

This is one of those classic critical thinking activities that really prepares kids for the real world. Assign a topic (or let them choose one). Then give kids time to do some research to find good sources that support their point of view. Finally, let the debate begin! Check out 100 Middle School Debate Topics , 100 High School Debate Topics , and 60 Funny Debate Topics for Kids of All Ages .

How do you teach critical thinking skills in your classroom? Come share your ideas and ask for advice in the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, check out 38 simple ways to integrate social-emotional learning throughout the day ..

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100+ Critical Thinking Questions for Students To Ask About Anything

Critical thinkers question everything. Continue Reading

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20 Critical Thinking Activities for Elementary Classrooms

• Elementary Education

Introduction:

In today’s fast-paced world, instilling critical thinking skills in young minds is more important than ever. By nurturing these skills, teachers are laying the foundation for a lifetime of learning, problem-solving, and creativity. Here are 20 critical thinking activities that can be easily incorporated into any elementary classroom setting.

1. Think-Pair-Share

This simple activity encourages students to think about a question or problem individually first and then discuss with a partner before sharing their thoughts with the entire class.

2. Brainstorming Sessions

Encourage students to throw out ideas and suggest solutions within a given time frame on a specific topic without judgment or criticism.

3. Fact vs. Opinion

Prompt students to analyze the statements in this activity and decide which ones are facts and which are opinions.

4. The “Why” Chain

Ask students to continuously inquire ‘Why?’ to any given event, encouraging them to think deeply about cause-and-effect relationships.

5. Comparing Perspectives

Given two or more characters from a story, have students compare and contrast their different perspectives on a particular issue.

6. Classification Activities

Challenge students to classify objects or ideas into specific categories based on their characteristics, fostering organizational thinking.

7. Similes and Metaphors

Encourage imaginative thinking by having students create similes and metaphors to describe various objects or situations.

8. Storytelling Circles

Students take turns adding onto a collective story that promotes creative thinking and collaboration skills.

9. Mind Mapping

Guide students through creating visual diagrams that highlight connections between ideas in an organized fashion.

10. Analogy Activities

Students use analogies to explore connections between seemingly unrelated concepts or ideas.

11. Socratic Seminars

The class engages in group discussions using the Socratic method where they answer open-ended questions and challenge each other’s viewpoints respectfully.

12. Create Your Own Country

In this creative activity, students develop the governance, geography, culture, and history of a fictional country.

13. Problem-Solving Challenges

Present students with real-life scenarios and ask them to brainstorm potential solutions as a group.

14. Peer Review Sessions

Students exchange their work and provide feedback on each other’s assignments, fostering critical assessment.

15. Inquiry-Based Science Experiments

Students participate in hands-on experiments that allow them to develop their own hypotheses and draw conclusions based on observations.

16. Optical Illusions

Examine various optical illusions and discuss as a class how our minds can be tricked into perceiving things differently.

17. What Would You Do?

Pose hypothetical situations to students requiring them to think about what they would do in those circumstances.

18. 4 Corners Debate

Assign the corners of your classroom as “Agree,” “Disagree,” “Strongly Agree,” or “Strongly Disagree.” Pose a statement and have students move to a corner based on their opinion, encouraging them to defend their stance.

19. Creating Advertisements

Guide students through the creation of advertisements for different products, promoting persuasive thinking and communication skills.

20. KWL Chart

Use KWL charts (What I Know; What I Want to Know; What I Learned) to encourage reflection on topics or concepts before, during, and after your lesson.

Conclusion:

The incorporation of these 20 critical thinking activities into your elementary classroom can pave the way for the development of vital skills in problem-solving, decision-making, and creativity, positioning children for future success in academics and life beyond school.

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25 Of The Best Resources For Teaching Critical Thinking

From rubrics and presentations to apps, definitions, and frameworks, here are 25 of the best resources for critical thinking.

25 Of The Best Resources For Teaching Critical Thinking

by TeachThought Staff

As an organization, critical thinking is at the core of what we do, from essays and lists to models and teacher training. 

For this post, we’ve gathered various critical thinking resources. As you’ll notice, conversation is a fundamental part of critical thinking. Why? The ability to identify a line of reasoning, analyze, evaluate, and respond to it accurately and thoughtfully is among the most common opportunities for critical thinking for students in everyday life. Who is saying what? What’s valid and what’s not? How should I respond?

This varied and purposely broad collection includes resources for teaching critical thinking, from books and videos to graphics and models, rubrics, and taxonomies to presentations and debate communities.

See also   10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking

1. The TeachThought Taxonomy for Understanding , a taxonomy of thinking tasks broken up into 6 categories, with 6 tasks per category

2. 60 Critical Thinking Strategies For Learning by Terry Heick

3. It’s difficult to create a collection of critical thinking resources without talking about failures in thinking, so here’s A Logical Fallacies Primer via Wikipedia .

4. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Test (this link keeps moving around so I’ve removed it for now; if you can’t find it, let me know ).

5.  6 Hats Thinking  is a model for divergent thinking.

6. 6 Strategies for Teac h ing With Bloom’s Taxonomy  

7. An Intro To Critical Thinking , a 10-minute video from wireless philosophy that takes given premises, and walks the viewer through valid and erroneous conclusions

8.  Why Questions Are More Important Than Answers  by Terry Heick

9. 20 Types Of Questions For Teaching Critical Thinking

10. A Collection Of Bloom’s Taxonomy Posters

11. 6 Facets of Understanding   by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

12. A Comprehensive Visual Codex Of Cognitive Biases

13. Helping Students Ask Better Questions

14. Examples Of Socratic Seminar-Style Questions (including stems) from changingminds.org

15. 20 Questions To Guide Inquiry-Based Learning , a 4-step process to guide learning through inquiry and thought

16. Socratic Seminar Guidelines by Grant Wiggins

17. How To Bring Socratic Seminars Into Your Classroom , a 7-minute video by the Teaching Channel

18. How To Teach With The Socratic Seminar Paideia Style, a PDF document by the Paideia that overviews

19. Using The QFT Model To Guide Inquiry & Thought

20. Create Debate , a website that hosts debates

20. Intelligence Squared is a Oxford-style debate ‘show’ hosted by NPR

21. Ways To Help Students Think For Themselves   by Terry Heick

22. A Rubric To Assess Critical Thinking  (they have several free rubrics, but you have to register for a free account to gain access)

23. 25 Critical Thinking Apps For Extended Student Thought

24. Debate.org  is a ‘debate’ community that promotes topic-driven discussion and critical thought

25. A Collection Of Research On Critical Thinking by criticalthinking.org

TeachThought is an organization dedicated to innovation in education through the growth of outstanding teachers.

Critical thinking: a practical group exercise for the classroom

by Open Minds Foundation | Critical Thinking Featured , Uncategorized

Tackling the challenge of classroom groupthink

One of the core challenges of working with young people is how to manage the problem of groupthink . As you might expect, groupthink occurs in a group of people and usually stems from a desire not to upset the balance of the group, or draw attention to your own thoughts or potentially outlier opinions. The result is a conclusion that is drawn and agreed by group consensus without critical reasoning or proper evaluation of the problem. 

At best, groupthink can result in a homogenous, narrow-minded opinion; at worst, it can foster extreme and downright dangerous views that go unchallenged. Young people are particularly at risk from groupthink, because their thoughts and opinions are less engrained than their adult counterparts, and it is easy to adopt group consensus, bow to peer pressure , or just go along with their friends. In the positive, they are also however highly receptive to changing their views, and can be challenged in their thinking with positive consequences.

Demonstrating groupthink: a practical exercise to foster critical thinking

We were delighted to come across an excellent exercise for actively demonstrating groupthink to a group of young people. Exploring the topic of the Salem Witch Trials, before introducing the concept of groupthink the exercise is as follows:

• Step 1: Explain to the group that each person in the group will be given a ‘role’ of either a witch, villager, or witch hunter.
• Step 2: Ask the group to question their fellow students to identify witches. Ask them to form groups that do not include a witch, but may include either villagers or witch hunters. Advise them that the largest group in the room that forms without a witch will be the winner.
• Step 3: Privately provide roles to each student, but ONLY assign the role of villager or witch hunter. No witches.
• Step 4: Give the students a set period of time to identify witches, form groups and complete the challenge.
• Step 5: Ask the witches to reveal themselves. As no witches have been assigned, no one should step forward.

During step 4, teachers are likely to see demonstrable evidence of groupthink, in addition to a number of other coercive control issues, with some individuals dominating conversation, and suspicions and alliances arising. Students will experience the realities of groupthink and coercive control, making it easier for the teacher to evidence.

During step 5, the teacher is likely to be met with incredulity. Perhaps accusation that the game has been played wrong, or that certain individuals  were definitely witches. At this stage, the teacher can introduce the concept of groupthink and coercive control, as well as critical thinking and questioning what they know. After all, were there really witches at the Salem witch trials, or was it just a case of people believing the bias they’d been told?

Use with caution: this should be delivered as a facilitated discussion led by a qualified teacher or professional. Students should be encouraged to embrace the roles they are given, but should be moderated and mediated if required.

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20 Critical Thinking Activities For Elementary Classrooms: Navigating Fact And Fiction (+Resources)

December 1, 2023 //  by  Seda Unlucay

With the barrage of mainstream news, advertising, and social media content out there, it’s vital for students to think independently and learn to differentiate between fact and fiction.

This series of critical thinking activities, STEM-based design challenges, engaging Math puzzles, and problem-solving tasks will support students in thinking rationally and understanding the logical connection between concepts.

1. Teach Students How to Obtain Verifiable News 

There’s probably no 21st-century skill more important than differentiating between real and fake sources of news. This editable PowerPoint bundle covers traditional media, social networks, and various target audiences and teaches students how to find verifiable facts.

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

2. Watch and Discuss a Critical Reasoning Video

This kid-friendly video teaches students to break arguments down into claims, evidence, and reasoning. Armed with this lifelong learning tool, they will be able to make more informed decisions when consuming all types of information.

Learn More: Brain Pop

3. Complete a Critical Design Challenge

This science and designed-based classroom activity challenges students to find ways to prevent a falling egg from breaking. Pairing it with the classic Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme is sure to inspire many creative ideas.

Learn More:  Education

4. Critical Community Engagement Activity 

This community engagement activity requires analytical skills to determine what items can be recycled in the classroom and in their neighborhood. By creating recycling bins from reusable cardboard boxes, students have an opportunity to contribute to the environmental well-being of their community while practicing social responsibility.

Learn More: Kaboom

5. Develop Logical Skills with a Then and Now Activity

We may no longer use candles for reading or quill pens for writing, but can your students identify the objects that have replaced them? This activity engages their writing, drawing, and logical skills while giving them a chance to reflect on all the changes in our modern world.

Learn More: Education

6. Play a Critical Thinking Game

This active learning activity requires students to use their critical thinking skills to make comparisons and create meaningful analogies. The fun animal safari theme is sure to inspire many funny and creative ideas!

7. Develop Social-Emotional Problem-Solving Skills 

Through this lesson, students will understand that while conflicts are a normal part of life, it’s vital to have problem-solving skills to resolve them. This is also an excellent opportunity for developing their social awareness and relationship skills.

Learn More: ED Foundations

8. Desert Island Survival Game 

This classic game is sure to inspire student engagement, as they use their critical thinking skills to survive being stranded on a desert island. Students have to watch out for ideological assumptions and question ideas in order to determine the appropriate items to bring.

9. Play a Problem-Solving Treasure Hunt Game 

This exciting game for kids requires them to use key math skills to break a series of codes. With ample time, designated progress monitors, and sharp critical thinking skills, students are sure to find the hidden treasure.

Learn More: Twinkl

10. Use Writing to Increase Critical Empathy

This activity builds writing fluency while giving students a chance to show appreciation for each other. As they reflect emphatically on their classmates’ contributions and character, their base level of kindness and sense of ethical responsibility is bound to increase.

Learn More: Edutopia

11. Learn How to Make Logical Inferences

This activity for kids teaches the critical academic skill of making inferences from a series of texts. Students will surely enjoy playing the role of detective in order to draw their own logical conclusions.

Learn More:  Study

12. Think Critically About Cultural Assumptions 

This engaging activity for students challenges them to think critically about why people from a variety of cultures decorate their bodies. It helps them to break through cultural assumptions while comparing and contrasting the different forms of hand and body painting around the world.

Learn More:  Harmony

13. Big Paper Silent Reflection Activity 

After posing some open-ended questions, students silently write their responses with colored markers on large chart paper. After each group has circulated around the room, students can share their critical reflections and learn from the various perspectives of their classmates.

Learn More:  Slideshare

14. Watch a TED Video About the Socratic Method

Socrates is one of the forefathers of critical thinking, who focused on making his students thinking visible by questioning their logic and reasoning. The accompanying quiz and discussion questions are an excellent way to reinforce student learning.

Learn More:  Ted Ed

15. Brainstorm Ways to Help a Homeless Person

This lesson in civic responsibility teaches students about the causes of homelessness and guides them to find ways to help the homeless in their communities. It develops key problem-solving skills while building critical empathy.

Learn More:  National Homeless.org

16. Guess the Object Game

This video features a series of twenty zoomed-in mystery objects. Students will love using their critical thinking skills to guess each one!

Learn More:  Andy – The ESL Guy

17. Solve Some Challenging Math Brain Teasers

This abundant series of brain teasers is the perfect choice if you’re looking to test your children’s memory and problem-solving skills. Encourage them to use their knowledge of numbers to complete these tricky math problems that are not only designed to challenge your little brainiacs but are also compiled in an easy-to-use format.

Learn More: Mental Up

18. Complete a STEM Elevator Challenge

In this design and engineering-based lesson, students have to build a functional elevator that can carry an object to the top of a structure. It’s a terrific way to encourage cooperative learning while sharpening their problem-solving skills.

Learn More:  Georgia Youth Science and Technology Centers

19. Create the Perfect Farm 

There’s no better way to develop critical thinking skills than by solving real-world problems. This video encourages students to think about ways to feed a growing global population in an environmentally sustainable way.

20. Solve Logic Grid Puzzles

These logic grid puzzles will motivate students to use logical reasoning skills and the process of elimination to solve a series of clues. But be warned, they are highly addictive and difficult to put down once you get started!

Learn More:  Puzzle Baron’s Logic Puzzles

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10 fun classroom activities to promote critical thinking.

As a teacher, it's important to promote critical thinking skills in your students. Critical thinking is a valuable skill that helps students analyze information, solve problems, and make decisions. In this blog post, we'll explore 10 fun classroom activities that promote critical thinking.

Here are 10 fun classroom activities that promote critical thinking:

1. Problem-Solving Scenarios: Provide students with real-life scenarios and ask them to come up with solutions. This activity encourages students to think critically and creatively to solve problems. 2. Group Discussions: Encourage students to discuss and debate topics in groups. This activity helps students develop their communication and critical thinking skills. 3. Brainstorming: Ask students to brainstorm ideas for a project or assignment. This activity helps students develop their creativity and critical thinking skills. 4. Role-Playing: Assign students roles and ask them to act out a scenario. This activity helps students develop their empathy and critical thinking skills. 5. Analyzing Texts: Provide students with texts and ask them to analyze and interpret them. This activity helps students develop their analytical and critical thinking skills. 6. Debate: Assign students a topic and ask them to debate it. This activity helps students develop their communication and critical thinking skills. 7. Mind Mapping: Ask students to create a mind map of a topic. This activity helps students develop their organizational and critical thinking skills. 8. Creative Writing: Ask students to write a story or poem. This activity helps students develop their creativity and critical thinking skills. 9. Problem-Solving Games: Provide students with problem-solving games and ask them to solve them. This activity helps students develop their problem-solving and critical thinking skills. 10. Reflection: Ask students to reflect on their learning and identify areas for improvement. This activity helps students develop their self-awareness and critical thinking skills.

These activities are just a few examples of how you can promote critical thinking in your classroom. By incorporating these activities into your lessons, you can help your students develop their cognitive abilities and become better problem-solvers and decision-makers.

It's important to remember that critical thinking is a skill that takes time and practice to develop. By providing your students with opportunities to think critically, you can help them build this valuable skill.

In conclusion, promoting critical thinking in your classroom is essential for your students' success. By using these 10 fun classroom activities, you can engage your students and help them develop their critical thinking skills.

So, what are you waiting for? Try these activities in your classroom today and watch your students' critical thinking skills soar!

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Writing to Learn: Critical Thinking Activities for any Classroom

What is writing to learn.

We all can think of times when we were stuck while we were writing a major project. A perspective we hadn't considered occurred to us, or an idea that we thought was clear cut didn't quite sound as convincing when we tried to put it into words. If we stuck with it, we often found that we could write our way out of the problem, and our thinking became clearer. Sometimes, even, our struggles with writing ended up radically changing the way we think. The challenge our writing posed helped us clarify difficult concepts, to see apparently stale ideas in new ways. This kind of writing is powerful, if sometimes a bit messy as we work to shape our thinking.

"Writing to Learn" is what Writing Across the Curriculum folks call writing's capacity to not just communicate thoughts and ideas, but to actually help structure our thinking. By giving students opportunities to work out their thinking in writing, they have a chance to struggle through difficult ideas and practice crucial habits of thought. Often, writing to learn activities are short, low stakes assignments or activities in class. The most basic activity might be asking your students to write for five minutes on a discussion question that you'll be starting class with. These kinds of activities can be a boon to those of us who have been frustrated by awkward silences when we ask a discussion question and when struggle to get a conversation going. If we ask students to write first, we know they have something to say; they've had a chance to develop their ideas without speaking off the cuff. Furthermore, we don't have to spend the time grading their responses, since their writing immediately applies to the work you are doing in class.

Since their writing is tied to the central topical and methodological issues you want your students to learn, time spent writing is not wasted. It's not something "extra" that you have to struggle to shoehorn into an already busy schedule.

Writing to Learn Activities: Effective and Efficient

Writing to learn activities can be used in three ways:

• As a way of helping students practice crucial habits of thought you'd like them to master.  Think about the particular kinds of critical thinking you want your students to perform. Design a low stakes activity in class that allows them to work through that way of thinking. Group work can be particularly effective here. For example, a psychology instructor who wanted her students to understand the role that scholarly literature played in research. She had students write three summaries of psychological literature on a topic they were exploring in groups. Two summaries were on articles on the topic that were in conversation with each other in some way (one cited the other), and the third was on how the two articles together contributed to knowledge about their topic. On top of this, each group member had to pick two different articles, so the group together developed a certain amount of expertise on the topic.
• As a way of "scaffolding" larger assignments.  If you divide up major projects into smaller, more manageable parts, you'll allow students the opportunity to approach the process of research and writing more effectively. You'll be able to guide students through their work, giving them resources and advise along the way. Students will be able to pace themselves, rather than procrastinating to the last minute. And, by highlighting crucial stages in the project, you'll be able to emphasize what components are most valuable to you in their work, so that students will know your expectations more clearly.
• As a way of bringing students into dialogue.  More informal interchange between students helps them to build on each other’s’ ideas, to collectively organize group projects, or to learn how to provide constructive feedback as they grapple with new genres.
• As a way of assessing student learning.  Writing to learn activities can give you a chance to get immediate and rich feedback on what your students are learning. You might ask them to write down the point they thought was most interesting in class that day, or what concepts they are most struggling with. You don't have to wait until you grade their major assignments to find out what they are learning and how well they are learning it. In addition, asking students to reflect on their learning helps students to make more comprehensive connections between different course units or concepts that might have seemed as distinct and unrelated otherwise.

Writing to Learn Booklet

Several years ago, WAC consultants put together a collection of writing to learn activities that we use in workshops and share with colleagues. The activities included in the booklet can be adapted to any number of different purposes and contexts.

(.pdf file)

 (.pdf file)

Bean, John C.  Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom . San Francisco: JosseyBass Publishers, 2001.

Emig, Janet. "Writing as a Mode of Learning."  Landmark Essays on Writing Across the Curriculum . Eds. Charles Bazerman and David Russell. Anaheim: Hermagoras Press, 1994.

Flash, Pamela. "Teaching with Writing."  University of Minnesota Writing Center . < http:// writing.umn.edu/tww/assignments/inclass.htm >.

Murray, Donald.  Write to Learn . New York: Holt, Reinhart, and Winston, 1984.

The WAC Clearinghouse. < http://wac.colostate.edu/ >.

Young, Art.  Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum . 3rd Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999. WAC Clearinghouse Landmark Publications in Writing Studies:  http://wac.colostate.edu/books/young_teaching/&nbsp ;

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7 Mental Exercises to Make You a Better Critical Thinker

Implementing these exercises for enhanced critical thinking will improve your chances of success in business and life..

Critical thinking is an effective tool for any profession or task. It forces you to analyze things objectively, filtering out your biases, and allowing you to see things from different perspectives, which can improve your creativity . Whether you're trying to brainstorm a new idea, creatively solve an existing problem, or just analyze how and why something went wrong, critical thinking can lead you to better resolutions.

However, it's hard to learn how to think critically the same way you learn how to drive a car or fly a kite. There isn't a step-by-step guide you can follow to reach peak critical thinking. Instead, you need to exercise your critical thinking , the same way you would a muscle, until it gets stronger over time.

Critical Thinking Exercises

These exercises and practices can turn anyone into a better critical thinker:

1. Express yourself in multiple mediums. Different people have different styles of thinking and different styles of learning . You may have a strong preference toward visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning, which is fine, but if you want to think in new directions, it's important for you to try thinking (or at least expressing yourself) in different mediums. For example, if you've been talking about a problem out loud, try to diagram it. If you've been staring at charts all day, try to write down your interpretations of them. The new perspective can be quite enlightening.

2. Talk to a 6-year-old. Einstein is sometimes credited with saying , "if you can't explain it to a 6-year-old, you don't understand it yourself," though the exact attribution is in question. The point of the quote, regardless of who said it, is relevant; being able to explain an abstract concept in simple terms is both an indication that you have a full understanding of a problem and a way to see it in a new light. Try talking to a 6-year-old about the issue (real or imaginary). You'll quickly discover elements of the subject you don't fully understand, and may start thinking about the problem in a new way.

3. Understand and challenge your biases. Each of us is affected by numerous cognitive biases , some of which affect how we value things and some of which affect how we think. Identifying and challenging these cognitive biases can allow us to work around them. For example, if you know you're affected by confirmation biases, you can specifically look for evidence that contradicts your main assumption.

4. Work backward. Working on a problem backward can help you see things you might otherwise ignore. As a simple example, proofreading a document sentence by sentence backward can help you more easily identify spelling and grammatical mistakes. Reconstructing a failure from end to beginning, rather than beginning to end, can help you address the true impact of each phase in the sequence.

5. Ask other people to explain their thought processes. Talk to other people about whatever problem you're trying to solve. It's helpful to get other opinions on solutions to use, but the bigger purpose is to understand their thought processes. Different people have different approaches to the same problem, and understanding those processes can help you refine and expand yours.

6. Expose yourself to new content and new creators. Similarly, it's good to break out of your comfort zone and expose yourself to new types of content and new creators. Every new author, speaker, or thinker you encounter can teach you something new about the way you think--and introduce you to new facts and ideas you can integrate into your own critical thinking.

7. Experiment with brain teasers and ethical dilemmas. Real ethical dilemmas will always be a problem for professionals, but you can use hypothetical ethical dilemmas (and some brain teasers) to employ and strengthen your critical thinking skills. For example, the classic trolley problem requires you to think about the value of lives and the impact of action in decision making and in culpability. Many brain teasers require you to think "outside of the box" to solve them adequately. They pose a good challenge.

Surrounding Yourself With Critical Thinkers

One of the best things you can do to improve your critical thinking isn't really an exercise; it's an environmental change. If you're surrounded with critical thinkers who freely express their thoughts and share their opinions, you'll be exposed to more sources of knowledge and perspective, and will have access to much better ideas--whether they're yours or someone else's. If you're in a position to hire or build a team, look for people who show strong signs of critical thinking. If not, try to seek critical thinkers elsewhere, in a peer group or in a class outside of work.

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9 Critical Thinking Exercises That Actually Improve Your Mind

Anthony metivier.

• August 25, 2023
• Critical Thinking

After all, the Internet is loaded with generic exercises like “read books written by leaders.”

Sorry, but that’s not a specific exercise. That’s a generic activity.

On this page, we’ll dive into specific exercise for critical thinking targeted at specific outcomes. Each exercise is designed to help you boost precise aspects of thinking so you can feel improvement as you go.

First, however, it’s good to understand what makes an exercise worthwhile. And understand why critical thinking has gotten more and more important as time moves on.

Since that is kind of counterintuitive in the age of AI, let’s dive in with a critical thinking exercise of our own.

Why Critical Thinking Skills Are More Important Now Than Ever

As the author of this blog on memory and thinking for over a decade, people ask me often if any of these skills matter anymore.

I’ve gotten the question even more frequently since AI tools like chat-GPT and Midjourney have appeared.

“Do we really need memory techniques anymore, now that I can search the Internet for anything at any time?”

“Why should I improve my thinking skills when I can read a simple summary of any book just by asking an AI?”

First, it’s still the case that a vast percentage of information has never appeared online. It’s imperative that people understand this and do hands-on, practical research with a variety of sources offline.

That said, there are certain use cases where using an AI seems to make sense. I recently published a case study demonstrating the positive use of chat-GPT for language learning , for example. But there are a few reasons we don’t want to relegate our thinking and learning to machines.

The big one is that we don’t own the platform and we certainly don’t own the data. Nor do we have general access to the people who do.

That’s troublesome because I’ve noticed bias that makes the text generators much different than the kinds of bias produced by a standard search engine. For example, instead of just getting the results, you might get a mini-discussion that essentially assumes it knows the intent behind your question.

This happened to me while working on my “Memory Detective” series. I thought it would be fun to get some feedback and ideas from chat-GPT, but it was anything but amusing.

In fact, the software effectively accused me of being biased about the bad guy I was exploring – which of course I was, just not in the way the software assumed. It’s a bad guy I was developing, after all. And moreover, I was working on fiction and made this evident in my request, even though the AI seems to have ignored this crucial point.

Here’s the kicker and the reason I’m dwelling on this point: Discovering that chat-GPT is itself biased let me to the point of feeling, however briefly, offended by the people who designed such preachy features into the program.

It’s only because I’ve done some of the critical thinking exercises below that I’m aware of my own memory biases , and was able to continue using the software objectively. We are all going to need to be increasingly objective as “the powers that be” inject their agendas into the tools we use.

In sum, even if each and everyone one of us ultimately winds up owning and designing our own personal Artificial Intelligences, we’re still going to need to think critically about both inputs, outputs and our interpretations of them. And in order to keep our critical thinking skills mobile, we’re going to need ongoing mental training .

9 Critical Thinking Exercises That Create Laser Sharp Intelligence

Authentic critical thinking exercises must always involve:

• New learning by working with information you have not encountered before
• Variety so that you experience growth in multiple areas and don’t “burn out” on just one area
• Varying levels of complexity so you experience different challenges
• Consistent practice over time

Follow those guidelines and you will succeed.

Critical Thinking Exercises For Students

Students have many needs. Above all, they need to be able to understand how people make arguments and substantiate their claims with evidence. 

One: The News Exercise

One great source for practice is the news. 

For this exercise, head over to any news website. Look for an article that includes graphs, numbers, or any representation involving numerical data.

Here’s the kind of news representation I’m talking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F7gm_BG0iQ

As you examine the news, ask the following questions:

• How is the news trying to help you understand the data? 
• Does the representation of the data make sense? 
• How can you determine whether or not the graph is reliable?
• How can you determine whether or not the presenter is reliable and free from bias?
• Who gets any kind of special benefit if the interpretation of the data falls in their favor?

Asking questions like these provides a powerful exercise that will sharpen your mind whenever you are presented with scientific data. 

Two: The Abilities Exercise

Do you know anyone living with a disability?

I do and you can learn more about my mentor Jon Morrow in his article 7 Life Lessons from a Guy Who Can’t Move Anything but His Face .

After reading his post, imagine what it would be like if you could only move one part of your body. Write an essay that describes how exactly your life would change from the way it is.

Another version of this exercise is to think of ways you can use your mind to box with one hand tied behind your back.

For example, you can practice debating with a timer on and give yourself increasingly smaller amounts of time to make your case. There are many lists of debate topics online to choose from, and you can sharpen your skills anytime by going through the Rhetorica ad Herennium .

Three: The Research Response Exercise

Take the following argument:

Pesticides harm the environment more than they’re worth. 

As you think through this statement, answer the following questions:

• What kind of research do you need to conduct in order to answer both for or against this statement?
• How would you outline your responses? Use a structure like this: “if A then B, and if B then C, and if C then D, and in conclusion, if A then D.”

Critical Thinking Exercises For Business

People in business need to successfully navigate sales meetings and negotiate multiple levels of management in their careers. Here are some critical thinking exercises that will help you develop skills in these areas.

Four: The Prison Exercise

Pretend that you’ve been hired to sell a neighborhood council on building a new maximum security prison. This particular neighborhood is upper-class and filled with mansions. 

What benefits can you bring together to explain why it would be a great thing for this neighborhood to house prisoners in this area?

What incentives can you include in the full package? As you consider both the benefits and the incentives, reign yourself in.

You want to think logically in order to make this a critical thinking exercise. If you indulge in flights of fancy, then it will be creative thinking exercise instead. 

Anytime you get off track, these critical thinking examples will help you get back on this path.

Five: The Facial Expression Exercise

One way to improve business success is to develop your empathy. 

For this exercise, gather a number of photographs from the newspaper or some magazines. 

As you look through the photographs, practice identifying the emotions. If you feel like you’re lacking in vocabulary for the task, consider reading The Dictionary of Emotions . You can also use an online dictionary or thesaurus to come up with words. 

Next, do some role playing. Pick one person from the photographs and imagine meeting them in real life. 

List all the questions you would ask them in order to connect with them better based on the emotion you listed when you first saw the photograph. 

Six: The Competitor Exercise

Think about your competitors in business. 

As you go through each, list their purpose for being in business. What is it that they are trying to accomplish?

Be non judgemental, realistic and focus on the most significant aspects of their purpose. 

Then, think about how you can contribute to the growth of their success without damaging your own. 

Obviously, this is a very tricky critical thinking exercise, but I’m confident you’ll find it beneficial. If you’re into sports or any other realm where competition plays a role, this exercise is also helpful. 

And if you really want to learn about critical thinking so you’re a master, check out these critical thinking books .

Critical Thinking Exercises For Adults

As mentioned, exercises that stimulate our thinking abilities are best if they are targeted at a particular outcome. 

However, there is some room for general exercises that are good for everyone. Let’s have a look at some of my favorites.

Seven: The Stakes Exercise

Many times when you’re listening to an argument, it’s easy to get hung up on the details.

A great exercise is to simply ask: What’s at stake? 

This means, what’s the real core issue? And who benefits the most if they get to be right on the issue? 

As you complete this exercise, but sure to go through both the objective and subjective reasoning of both sides. 

Also, you’ll benefit if you continually focus on how many possible answers might exist. It’s not always the case that there’s one and only one correct answer, even if situations require us to pick just one.

You’ll want to also spend time interpreting the information on both sides of the argument, and possibly doing follow-up research. In fact, if you don’t, it’s unlikely that you’ll improve your reasoning skills as much as you’d like.

Eight: Make An “Argument Map”

I’ve talked a lot about mind mapping on this blog. But there’s another powerful process called argument mapping .

This technique goes back to Plato. If you’ve read the Meno , you might remember how Socrates draws a set of figures in the dirt to display the concepts that come up during the discussion.

These days, we can use pen and paper or software to create an argument map. Here’s one from Evan Rodriguez .

To create one yourself, pick an argument where multiple reasons are involved and break things down. 

In this example, Rodriquez has separated the “because” reasons and then used the graph to help him sort through the truth by visualizing a set of if/then parameters.

Creating such argument maps provide tremendous exercise. They’re also relatively quick to produce.

You might also enjoy learning more about the history of what is sometimes called “graphicacy.” Look up people and processes like:

• Ars combinatoria
• Giordano Bruno
• Petrus Ramus
• John Venn (who introduced Venn diagrams)
• Peirce’s Existential Graphs

Nine: Memorize the Fallacies

One of the best critical thinking exercises is to learn the fallacies so well you know them when you see them or hear them in a conversation . 

There are at least two kinds of fallacies: Formal and informal. This list of fallacies is very thorough.

To commit as many of these as possible to memory, you’ll want to learn a technique called the Memory Palace . I’m happy to help you learn it here:

Let’s say you want to memorize argumentum ad lapidem or the “ appeal to the stone ” fallacy. 

You can memorize the Latin and English along with the meaning by thinking about a chair in your home and imagining yourself having an argument with a stone. In this image, you’re calling the stone’s arguments absurd without providing any evidence for why you believe this to be the case.

It’s a powerful technique and will help you spot fallacies in everyday life. Commit as many to memory as you can. 

The Ultimate Critical Thinking Exercise to Reach Peak Critical Thinking

For thousands of years, people have asked “Who am I?” 

You might not think about this as an exercise that relates to critical thinking strategies at large, but if you really submit to the question as a practice, it helps your thinking across the board.

When you take away your name, your title, the roles you play in your profession and all the games of life, who are you really? Is there a “true self” in the mix that you can always trust to be the same? 

To practice this exercise with more structure, get 15-20 index cards and write down personal qualities on each. They can be qualities like:

• Versatility

Sit down, take a deep breath and mix the cards.

Then, pick one of the cards and reflect on how that quality is perceived by others in your life:

Family, friends, co-workers. You might want to learn about how to think about yourself through the perspective of authors through my autobiographical memory post first. Or just dive in. 

Next, imagine what it would be like if that quality was completely gone from your life. Who would you be without it? Can you glimpse your true self without this label? 

Then pick up another card and repeat the process, linking each with a deep breath. Then follow-up by journaling on your experiences. Making sure to write after completing each of the exercises on this page is key to benefiting from the reflective thinking skills you’ll also want to grow.

Thank you for reading this article, and if you enjoyed these exercises, please consider going through these powerful brain exercises next.

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40 Activities For Developing Critical Thinking in EFL Classes

In this article, I’m going to tackle critical thinking; what it is, what it involves, and some practical activities to develop it in EFL classes.

Critical thinking is one of the main purposes of education. Teachers should prepare their students to think critically from the first day of school. Critical thinking helps students to lead successful, fulfilling lives and become engaged citizens.

What Is Meant By Critical Thinking?

In today’s world, critical thinking is:

• The ability to think about one’s thinking to recognize and improve it.
• The process of applying, analyzing, constructing and evaluating information.
• Making reasoned judgments using certain criteria to judge the quality of something.

What Critical Thinking Involves?

• Asking questions,
• Defining a problem,
• Examining evidence,
• Analyzing assumptions and biases,
• Avoiding emotional reasoning,
• Avoiding oversimplification,
• Considering all interpretations,
• Using higher level thinking skills; analyzing, evaluating and
• Reaching creative solutions for problems.

Why Teach Critical Thinking?

Teachers should focus mainly to develop their students’ critical thinking to help them:  

• Be active receptors of the massive information that they receive nowadays.
• Solve the complex problems that they face every day.
• Make sound decisions about personal and civic affairs.

The Main Teaching Strategies To Develop Critical Thinking

• Using ongoing classroom assessment.
• Putting students in group learning situations to get continuous support and feedback from other students.
• Presenting case studies to the class without a conclusion and using discussion and debate methods.
• Using critical questions.
• Using dialogues written or oral and encouraging students to analyze them.
• Using comparisons to show the pros and cons of two things.

Example #1 of a Critical Thinking Activity

Using debates

Letter x Email

Broom x Vacuum cleaner

Telephone (landline) x Cell phone

Oven x Microwave

Sponge and soap x Dishwasher

Candle x Bulb

Book x Kindle

1. Ask the class who, in their own opinion, wins and why?

2. Ask students to pretend to be the item that they choose, try to list its advantages, and debate them with the other student.

3. Ask students to act out what they prepared in front of the class.

4.  Ask the class to listen and take notes.

Example #2 of a Critical Thinking Activity

Using short stories

Ask students to read the following short story and answer the questions below:

Just before Christmas my father took me skiing at Mount Baker. He’d had to fight for the privilege of my company, because my mother was still angry with him for sneaking me into a nightclub during his last visit, to see Thelonious Monk.

• Write an introduction to this short story.
• Write the second paragraph.
• Do you think they stayed up all night in the nightclub? What did they do?
• What do you think about the father?
• Do you think the family enjoyed Christmas?
• If you were the mother, would you be angry?
• What did you learn from the story?
• Can you guess the best/worst case scenario of how the story will end?
• Why did the father take the kid to the nightclub?
• Do you think the mother wanted to go to the nightclub?
• Do you like such a father?
• Do you think the dad lives with the family?
• What are the feelings of the kid?
• Do you think the kid has siblings?
• Did the kid solve the problem with his mother?
• What would you do if you were in his/her shoes?
• How old is he or she?
• Where do they live? Country or town?
• Do you think the kid is good at school?
• Why did the father sneak the kid into the nightclub?
• Do you think the mother was right when she got angry?
• What do you think of the dad?
• Should the kid apologize to the mother and how?
• Does the father accompany his kid often or rarely?
• What do you think happened before Christmas?
• Why did the father not take the mother along? …. etc.

When asking students such critical thinking questions, the teacher should:

• Keep the discussion focused.
• Keep the discussion reasonable.
• Stimulate the discussion with more probing questions.
• Summarize periodically what has and what has not been dealt with or resolved.
• Engage as many students as possible in the discussion.

More Examples of Activities For Developing Critical Thinking in EFL Classes

3. Write a title on the board, divide the students into groups, and they sit together and make a story (each group will have a different story and then share it with the whole class).

4. Use a short story, ask students about their opinions of the characters, then discuss with the whole class whether they agree or disagree asking why?

5. Draw objects and ask them about them (compare and contrast).

6. Write an essay on a certain topic or respond to an email.

7. Suggest a suitable title for a story.

8. Transfer information to others

9. Brainstorm ideas using a mind map.

10. Summarize a text and give opinions.

11. Ask what-if questions (what if you were Oliver twist/Cinderella).

12. Ask students to complete a sentence.

13. Ask about the moral of a story.

14. Give students a problem related to their environment and ask them to do research about it and give some creative solutions for it.

15. Ask open-ended questions; questions that have many possible answers (e.g. should we spend more money developing earth or exploring space?). Divide the class into groups, each thinks of answers and then shares them.

16. Give a situation and encourage students (in groups) to analyze, evaluate, and make judgments.

17. Ask students to make an end to a story.

18. Ask students to criticize a certain situation.

19. List the advantages and disadvantages of a topic.

20. Introduce some situations using (what would you do in the following situation? what if we do not have …., what would happen if …?

21. Ask students: which is different: milk, water, soda, or juice? Why? Which one is better (in pairs and students pick different sides)

22. Imagine you are the president, the mayor, a leader, a doctor etc… What decisions would you take first?

Reading Activities

Let’s brainstorm some ideas of how to promote critical thinking after reading a story, e.g. “Cinderella”.

23. Analyze characters: Do you like “Character”? Why?

24. Use what-if questions: What if Cinderella was ugly?

25. Introduce or remove a character then ask for the impact on the storyline.

26. Ask for another ending for the story.

27. Ask for their thoughts about what’s after the ending.

28. Change the setting and ask for the results.

29. Ask students to watch the movie after reading the story and then compare the characters and the storyline!

Speaking activities

30. Ask students to look at a certain picture and describe their feelings about it.

31. Ask students to compare things.

32. Introduce a problem and ask students to give as many solutions as possible for it.

33. Ask students to gather information from conflicting resources.

34. Ask controversial questions.

35. Encourage Role Plays.

36. Ask students about their priority: education/health/entertainment and why?

Listening activities

37. Prediction.

38. Making inferences.

39. Drawing conclusions.

40. Differentiating between facts and opinions.

Writing Activities

41. Writing blurbs to pictures or ads … etc.

42. Writing Commentaries.

43. Responding to emails, letters or SMS.

For setting students up for success in critical thinking activities teachers need to:

• Brainstorm enough information before asking students to carry out a certain task.
• Encourage them to participate.
• Provide them with help and guidance (when needed).
• Assure them that there are no “wrong answers”.
• Accept all answers and points of view.
• Appreciate their efforts.
• Praise their trials.
• Teach them critical thinking skills!

Here are some critical thinking skills that students need to learn:

• Thinking outside the box.
• Asking questions and then questioning answers.
• Analyzing the reading or the listening text.
• Logically addressing an issue.
• Supporting their stance with evidence.
• Respectfully refuting others’ opinions.
• Evaluating the truth of a claim or argument.

Adapted from U.S. Department of State English Language Programs – Samar Aal

Thanks for Reading

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Critical thinking definition

Critical thinking, as described by Oxford Languages, is the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement.

Active and skillful approach, evaluation, assessment, synthesis, and/or evaluation of information obtained from, or made by, observation, knowledge, reflection, acumen or conversation, as a guide to belief and action, requires the critical thinking process, which is why it's often used in education and academics.

Some even may view it as a backbone of modern thought.

However, it's a skill, and skills must be trained and encouraged to be used at its full potential.

People turn up to various approaches in improving their critical thinking, like:

• Developing technical and problem-solving skills
• Engaging in more active listening
• Actively questioning their assumptions and beliefs
• Seeking out more diversity of thought
• Opening up their curiosity in an intellectual way etc.

Is critical thinking useful in writing?

Critical thinking can help in planning your paper and making it more concise, but it's not obvious at first. We carefully pinpointed some the questions you should ask yourself when boosting critical thinking in writing:

• What information should be included?
• Which information resources should the author look to?
• What degree of technical knowledge should the report assume its audience has?
• What is the most effective way to show information?
• How should the report be organized?
• How should it be designed?
• What tone and level of language difficulty should the document have?

Usage of critical thinking comes down not only to the outline of your paper, it also begs the question: How can we use critical thinking solving problems in our writing's topic?

Let's say, you have a Powerpoint on how critical thinking can reduce poverty in the United States. You'll primarily have to define critical thinking for the viewers, as well as use a lot of critical thinking questions and synonyms to get them to be familiar with your methods and start the thinking process behind it.

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