4th grade critical thinking activities

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11 Activities That Promote Critical Thinking In The Class

52 Critical Thinking Flashcards for Problem Solving

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.

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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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.

Importance of Acquiring Critical Thinking Skills

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.

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

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
• 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.

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

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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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Critical Thinking Worksheets

• Brain Teasers - A great way to stimulate thinking. Don't worry, they come complete with answer keys.
• Compare and Contrast - Students examine differences and similarities in a variety situations.
• Dictionary Practice Worksheets - Practice your dictionary skills.
• Fact And Opinion - Students determine the validity of a body of work.
• How Many Are There? - Fun activities for examining patterns.
• Internet Search Worksheets - Fun Internet searches for students.
• Logic Puzzle - Each scenario is thought provoking. Lots of brain power needed here.
• Making Predictions - A good warm-up for inferences.
• Mazes - Your run-of-the-mill start and finish mazes.
• Name People That ...- Good creative thinking exercises.
• Name Places That ...- Good creative thinking exercises.
• Name Things That ...- Good creative thinking exercises.
• Secret Code - Students answer riddles through secret codes.
• Study Skills Worksheets - Great for test preparation.
• Sorting and Classifying - Great for meeting national standards.
• What Do You Remember? - A visual memory activity.

Activities That Improve Student Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is perhaps the most important skill we need. It is paramount not just for job success but also for making the best decisions in crucial life matters.

As an educator, you should explain to your students that almost all our mistakes can be attributed to a lack of critical thinking. You can pick just about any big blunder you made in the past. You will invariably find that it transpired because of a failure to think critically.

Remember, the best thing you can do as a teacher is to inculcate a strong sense of critical thinking in your students.

Here are the activities that will help students to develop critical thinking.

Discuss Cognitive Biases

There are myriad cognitive biases.

The fact of the matter is we succumb to these biases at some point in our lives. Hence, it pays to study these biases.

You can pick those biases you think are the most detrimental and insidious. You should then explain them to your students to learn to identify and avoid these biases.

Perhaps the most dangerous bias by far is the Optimism bias. It may sound rather innocuous because of the word ‘optimism’. However, it is far more sinister in reality.

Optimism bias tends to think that bad things won't happen to us - they will happen to others only. For example, many think they won't suffer a fatal car crash. Hence, some get involved in overspeeding and texting while driving despite knowing their perils. No wonder these two reckless acts are the main reasons for fatal car crashes.

Writing About Biases

After elucidating various biases and providing simple examples to help them grasp these concepts, you can instruct your students to write about adverse events in their lives when they succumbed to these biases.

What did you learn? What were the consequences? These are further questions you can ask.

Talking about one’s mistakes is never easy. It is hard to concede that we are wrong at times. However, if we want to become better human beings and find success, we must learn from our mistakes. But the first step entails admitting one’s mistakes.

This will also instill humility and reduce overconfidence.

Avoiding Biases – The Easy Way 

All biases and ensuring blunders are avoidable with one simple trick.

It just takes one word to get smarter – “why”. That is, you should question everything. As simple as that.

In particular, you should question all that you do and think.

Write it down first whenever you are about to take action or form an opinion about something. Then in front of it, just write “why?” You can then brainstorm and write for and against the idea in logical points.

If you make this a regular habit, you will avoid many mistakes and regrets. You will also maximize positive returns from your decisions.

Explain It to a 6-Year Old

This is something that can greatly benefit students in their academic endeavors.

We are inclined to think that we understand what has been just said. But just nodding along is not enough. You should be able to explain it to others.

The good news is that this goes far beyond altruism. In truth, it is self-empowerment. When you explain an abstruse concept to others, you bolster your own understanding of the same. Reiterating something embeds it more deeply into your long-term memory.

The social factor may also be beneficial and fruitful.

Do Your Research

Teach students to challenge common perceptions and conventional wisdom.

Explain carefully that this entails walking a fine line. You don't want to be dismissive, nor do you want to be naive. Instead, you should have an open mind and a willingness to do your research carefully.

Inform students about consulting reliable online sources. Explain that it is best to consider multiple authentic sources. Don't be satisfied with just the first entry in Google search results.

Here's how you can instill the importance of research in your students.

Instruct your students to research air pollution in the US. Those who do their research more meticulously will find that indoor air pollution is far deadlier than outdoor air pollution.

Tell them that they found out this key health fact courtesy of research. You can further instruct them to find ways of mitigating these risks.

Motivate your students to do research by telling them that they will be pleasantly surprised at the wealth of knowledge that they can uncover via dedicated research.

Beware of Disinformation

Disinformation is ubiquitous these days. It has become a weapon of choice for bad actors ranging from rogue states to unscrupulous individuals.

Critical thinking can help dispel misinformation and prevent you from becoming its victim.

You should help kids to detect and deal with weapons of mass distraction.

There was a time when fake news was disseminated largely via social media.

It is being spread by state-sponsored groups masquerading as legitimate media outlets on the internet. The scope and scale of these fake news campaigns are staggering to say the least.

One such fake news campaign involved no less than 750 fake sites posing as media outlets. Disinformation from this notorious racket reached millions around the globe and even found its way to UN and European Parliament meetings.

You can instruct kids in your class to do a project on internet disinformation, complete with case studies. You should also tell them to write about all possible ways to spot fakes and scams.

Bottom Line

Shown above are the activities to develop critical thinking in students.

You might agree that cultivating this key ability in your students is one of the best things you did for them. 

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Teaching Critical Thinking Skills to Fourth Grade Students Identified as Gifted and Talented

    In this action research study, gifted elementary students benefited from the involvement in critical thinking activities. The gifted education community has frequently discussed the development of our learners’ thinking skills. As an educator of elementary gifted students, I have often been frustrated with the lack of depth I find in my students’ thinking, as well as the lack of challenge they experience in their regular classrooms. My goal for this action research study was to move a group of fourth grade students identified as gifted and talented from being naïve and self absorbed about their thinking to taking ownership of their thoughts. The primary materials used for this study were from The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking for Children (Elder, 2002). The study focused on a combination of affective and cognitive skills, and applied the intellectual standards of clarity, accuracy, relevance, logic, and fairmindedness to students’ thinking. Activities that did not use the above materials are not mentioned in this modified text.

    The characters of Selfish Sam, Naïve Nancy, and Fairminded Fran (Elder, 2002) allowed learners to become aware of and understand both positive and negative thinking behaviors in themselves and others. All students commented about personal application of the standards. In addition to understanding each standard, students saw the interrelatedness of the standards. Pre- and post-surveys showed an increased understanding and personal application of the standards.

    More work must be done to help all teachers understand and teach critical thinking skills to their learners. Teachers of gifted students need to create classrooms where critical thought is taught, practiced, and expected. The findings of this study would also suggest elementary classroom teachers, as a whole, are not comfortable with teaching and recognizing the intellectual standards of critical thought. Only when the language and practice of critical thinking are incorporated into daily use, will it become internalized by our young thinkers.

    Since the completion of this action research study, I have continued to use the language of critical thinking in my classroom. I am more aware of the standards and work to incorporate them into my lesson planning. This unit of study will become the initial unit for my fourth grade gifted learners each year and will be incorporated into my fourth and fifth grade lessons.

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Importance of learning science.

Learning science is particularly important for students as it equips them with the essential knowledge and skills to make sense of the world around them. Science education is not just about memorizing facts. It fosters critical thinking, inquiry, and problem-solving abilities. These skills are not only useful in school but also in everyday life beyond the classroom.

Benefits of learning science

Learning science offers many benefits to students both in school and beyond. In fact, it helps students:

• Question the world around them and seek evidence-based explanations
• Cultivate their ability to observe, experiment, and analyze data
• Nurture a sense of curiosity, awe, and wonder about the natural world
• Understand natural phenomena and the laws that govern the universe

With a solid foundation in science, teachers can help empower students to think critically, solve problems, make informed decisions, and engage with the world around them in meaningful ways.

Teaching with science resources

One of the best parts about science class is all of the possibilities for hands-on, collaborative learning! Think: labs, experiments, inquiry-based activities, and design challenges. These activities encourage students to explore scientific concepts by observing, asking questions, and conducting investigations. Additionally, with small group centers, students can engage in group experiments, discussions, and projects that require them to collaborate, share ideas, and solve problems together.

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On TPT, science resources come in various forms: from labs and worksheets to craftivities and doodle notes. They can be used to enhance learning, assess a student’s mastery of science concepts, or to reteach a tricky topic. With plenty of TPT resources at your fingertips, teaching and learning science will be so much easier. Plus, you can expand students’ knowledge even further by exploring TPT math resources, which are frequently paired with science lessons.

Frequently asked questions about teaching science

What types of science lessons are available on tpt.

There are many different types of science resources sold by Sellers on TPT. Some popular science lessons include biology, earth sciences, chemistry, environment, engineering, and anatomy.

How do I find science lessons on TPT?

Educators can save time preparing science lessons with resources created by experienced teachers. Simply start a search for science resources on the TPT marketplace, and filter by grade level, price, and/or resource type to find materials that've been proven to work in classrooms like yours. No matter what you’re teaching, there are plenty of science lessons and activities sold by Sellers on TPT that are tailored to meet your students' skill levels.

How can I make my science lessons fun and engaging?

Students learn best when they're engaged! Sprinkle a little fun into your science lessons and make them feel like real scientists by investigating everyday objects, exploring the world outside the classroom, and doing hands-on and collaborative experiments and design challenges.

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12 Ways To Boost 4th Grade Reading Comprehension

Make it fun, make it interesting.

By the time students reach the fourth grade, they have mastered the basics of phonics and decoding and are starting to dig deeper into understanding what they’re reading. It’s a great time to introduce learning strategies that will help them be lifelong readers. Here are a dozen ways to boost fourth grade reading comprehension.

1. Color-code your thinking

Taking notes and highlighting reading passages with color can help students differentiate, retain, and transfer knowledge as well as pay attention to critical information for meaningful learning. Teach your students to use colors to highlight passages as they read to help them identify features such as main idea, details and vocabulary words. Or use different colors to mark different sections of a graphic organizer.

Learn more: Think, Grow, Giggle

2. Try think-alouds

Another way to improve fourth grade comprehension is through think-alouds. While reading a text to students, share the questions and answers that are going through your mind. For example, “How does the story make you feel?”

Learn more: The Balanced Literacy Diet

3. Watch a story-elements rap video

You know how they say setting learning to music helps improve retention? Well, with this story-elements rap video, kids will find themselves chanting the chorus long after they watch it. And if rap’s not your thing, check out this list of Our Favorite YouTube Videos for Teaching Story Elements.

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4. Play a round of reading comprehension Jenga

Who doesn’t love a rousing game of Jenga? The careful strategy in picking just the right block … the rush of successfully pulling out a block … the loud crash of the whole tower tumbling down! This classroom version is not only a blast, it helps boost reading comprehension skills. Score a used Jenga set at a garage sale or thrift store, then download this huge collection of fiction and nonfiction reading comprehension questions from Elementary Assessments.

Learn more: Remedia Publications

5. Beef up vocabulary skills

The more words a student knows, the greater their access to complex reading passages. Practice vocabulary skills in a fun way with these 20 Meaningful Vocabulary Activities . Draw vocabulary Sketchnotes , play Vocabulary Jeopardy, join the Million Dollar Word Club, and more.

6. Practice using context clues

Image source: Crafting Connections

It is vitally important for all students to be able to use context clues to determine the definitions of unknown words. This poster and lesson plan from Crafting Connections will give your students the strategies they need to be a word detective.

7. Find creative ways to respond to reading

Image source: An Educator’s Life

Gone are the days of the dreaded, old-fashioned, stand-in-front-of-the-class and read your boring book report. How about making a mint-tin book report? Or a book report cake? Or a mobile made from a clothes hanger or a paper bag book report? These are just a few of the Creative Ways Kids Can Respond to Books we’ve rounded up to get your students excited about reading.

8. Learn about close-reading strategies

Image source: D Lu on Pinterest

Close reading is defined as “an intensive analysis of a text in order to come to terms with what it says, how it says it, and what it means.” And research shows that teaching students how to close-read helps them become better readers. The trick is spicing it up so that students apply close-reading skills without getting bored. Here are Innovative Teacher Ideas for Teaching Close Reading.

9. Create anchor charts together

From marking a text to visualizing to understanding a character’s journey, we’ve got the fourth grade reading comprehension anchor charts for you! Choose from dozens of colorful samples for you to build along with your students during direct instruction time.

10. Introduce figurative language

Image source: YourDictionary.com 

Figurative language—things like metaphors, similes, and onomatopoeia—make reading more colorful and interesting. Understanding figurative language is a complex literacy skill that will stretch your students’ understanding. Center your lessons around these fantastic figurative language anchor charts .

11. Focus on theme

Image source: Upper Elementary Snapshots

To fully explore theme, students must be able to understand what they read and then extract ideas from the text. Here are essential tips for teaching theme in language arts .

12. Read between the lines

Learning to make inferences is a key literacy skill and something all good readers do. When students pause while they are reading to ask questions and make connections, it strengthens their comprehension. For more on this topic, visit Teaching With a Mountain View .

Looking for more ways to encourage fourth grade reading comprehension? Check out our list of 60 of the Best Books for 4th Grade .

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Critical Thinking Skills Grade 4

Displaying top 8 worksheets found for - Critical Thinking Skills Grade 4 .

Some of the worksheets for this concept are The critical thinking, 81 fresh fun critical thinking activities, Grade 4 english standards based skills work 2010, Critical thinking, Empower the mind critical thinking, The test of critical thinking, Critical thinking classic tales fables, Critical thinking in the language classroom.

Found worksheet you are looking for? To download/print, click on pop-out icon or print icon to worksheet to print or download. Worksheet will open in a new window. You can & download or print using the browser document reader options.

1. THE CRITICAL THINKING

2. 81 fresh & fun critical-thinking activities, 3. grade 4 english standards based skills worksheet (2010), 4. critical thinking, 5. empower the mind critical thinking, 6. the test of critical thinking, 7. critical thinking & classic tales fables, 8. critical thinking in the language classroom.