critical thinking activities for kids

critical thinking activities for kids

Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Children

1. The Importance of Critical Thinking for Kids

Furthermore, the movement toward more, not less, assessment underscores the importance of teaching critical thinking skills. Standardized tests that are assessing more conceptual understanding often have constructed response items that assess critical thinking. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is developing a new assessment in the arts that has as its target the measurement of students’ critical thinking and production skills. This trend is likely to continue and even increase. If kids are prepared to cope with the demands of a critical assessment, they are more likely to perform well. The more practice kids have in understanding what they are doing, why they are doing it, the more they will own their learning. Critical thinking is an essential part of a student’s path to success throughout her career.

It’s essential that kids develop critical thinking skills as they grow. Why, you ask? Because critical thinking is important in all careers, as it helps employees solve problems and make better informed decisions. These are valuable skills to have and they develop over time. The concepts taught, the intrinsic motivation and the ability to think critically and solve problems are greatly treasured. Being able to apply and use their skills enhances and develops their abilities even further.

2. Strategies to Encourage Critical Thinking in Children

B. Intellectual Environment An intellectual environment is a self-directed, open environment promoting goodwill and trust, where the teacher and student are involved in joint thinking. The teacher must be a good example of the adjectives they want their students to be. If they want the students to be critical thinkers, they must encourage it by example. The teacher should try to make sure the students are part of an environment that is accepting of thinking rather than one that discourages it. In an intellectual environment, there will be much encouragement, praise, and reward of good thinking and thinking behavior, and much criticism of the opposite. This is a very important point. In order for thinking to be encouraged, the students must see the value of good thinking and the harm in poor thinking. This is much the same as the student of whom unless they see the value in what we are trying to teach, will not learn it. An intellectual environment will often have a special class period designated for thinking skills instruction.

A. Questions Ask questions? Yes, the simple method of asking questions can make a major difference in the development of thinking and language if properly done. Questions should not be threatening with inquisition, but rather be asked as a challenge with the intent to stimulate thinking and good conversation. Open-ended questions are the type that are the most beneficial to the type of thinking we are trying to encourage. “Why do you say that?” “What leads you to that conclusion?” “Can you explain further?” are examples of questions that can be asked.

Encouraging children to form their own ideas and opinions as they reach a higher level of thinking through the use of intellectual standards should be a goal of education in a democratic society. Discussing ideas and deciding what to believe or do is, and should be, a goal of education in a democratic society. As they think, they can reach educated decisions – a skill that is much needed in our society. Teachers should make an effort to begin understanding the thinking processes of their students. The following ideas are focused on ways that children can be encouraged to take thinking and decision making to a deeper level.

3. Engaging Activities to Foster Critical Thinking

These are good questions because there are so many possible answers. Encourage the children to be questioners as well as answerers. Avoid too many closed questions like “What is this?” or “What is that?” and too much “Yes/No” questioning. Children actually learn to like questions less if they are mainly asked as a test to prove if they were listening and if they give the “right answer”.

1) Ask open-ended questions and follow them up: – “What makes rain?” – “Why do some things float and others sink?” – “Why do we decorate eggs at Easter?”

Average children do enough rote learning in school. What’s needed now is for them to think more actively and critically. This means giving them problems to solve and encouraging them to think creatively, independently, and flexibly. There are various ways to do this. Here are some suggestions.

4. Incorporating Critical Thinking in Everyday Life

One of the most powerful ways to educate children is by example. Critical thinking is something that can be developed when you make a conscious effort to ask good questions and think things through. When children see adults thinking out loud and making decisions, they are provided with examples of thinking processes. This will help to instill the habit of thinking in a disciplined manner. An example of this would be if a child sees their parents facing a problem and working through possible solutions and outcomes to the problem. This shows them that it is important to think critically and problem solve. By working through decisions and problems aloud, children are able to start to link actions with their outcomes, an important step in developing critical thinking.

To develop critical thinking skills in children, it is important to teach them how to think rather than what to think. There are plenty of opportunities to incorporate critical thinking into our daily activities. For example, follow a recipe to cook a meal together or construct a model. Activities like these give children the opportunity to solve problems, make decisions, ask questions, and make sense of the world around them.

5. The Benefits of Nurturing Critical Thinking in Kids

To begin, we must be clear that critical thinking is not the sort of thing one can simply spoon-feed to children as they nod assent. Parents also know that it is a mistake to simply tell kids to do one’s best and assume that they know what the command means. Because critical thinking is so closely related to teaching, it is probable that whatever can be said about critical thinking can be said about teaching. Let’s take a look at types of critical thinking learners and thinkers. The Unreflective Thinker: Often seen in young children, they are unaware of thinking as a process. Unreflective thinkers ignore thinking and act on impulse. The important thing is that the thinker is aware that he/she is using thinking skills and able to identify a specific type of thinking and able to assess the quality of that thinking. Because the result of a quality life and effective learning is the development of a broad range of intellectual traits and abilities rather than a narrow range, the methods used to foster intellectual traits are not aimed at promoting some traits and discouraging others. Stimulating intellectual work must engage students in learning subject matter as well as learning how to think about that subject matter. Teaching aimed at intellectual traits and skills uses the same content as teaching aimed at fostering intellectual discipline. All humans waste some time; that is, fail to use all of their time productively or even pleasurably. Sometimes we intend to take a break from our work in order to relax, but the sort of break we have in mind would be one that is refreshing and helps us to return to work with renewed energy and clearness of mind.