What is one thing that is common among Albert Einstein, John Dewy, and Abraham Lincoln? It is their critical and rational thought process. Along with their unique personalities, their unique thinking pattern and view toward the world make these individuals creative and different. Critical thinking is the ability of

I feel that it is essential for every English literature student–whether that be honors, regular, or support level– to have the ability to read a single text through a different critical lens. This skill teaches students how to have an open mindset and view the world through someone else’s perspective–which is one of the fundamental purposes ... Read More about Creative Ways to Teach Critical Lenses

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Critical thinking questions include, 'Why is this important? What are the causes and effects of this? How do we know if this is true?"

Unlock the power of rhetoric with this dynamic SPACECAT Rhetorical Analysis Graphic Organizer, meticulously designed to pair with any text, empowering students to explore and dissect the nuanced elements that shape persuasive communication. Crafted using Google Slides, this resource offers the flexibility of being both printable and digitally assignable. Key Features: Comprehensive Framework: The SPACECAT acronym serves as the framework for analysis, delving into the key components that drive the effectiveness of a message: SPEAKER: Students investigate the source's creator, their background, and point of view, enabling them to uncover potential biases and how they impact the source. PURPOSE: Uncover the purpose and goal behind the source's creation, illuminating the intentions and objectives of the message. AUDIENCE: Explore the target audience, shedding light on how their characteristics and expectations influence the source's meaning. CONTEXT: Dive into the historical and situational context of the source's creation, revealing how external factors shape its significance. EXIGENCE: Analyze the urgency and necessity of the message, understanding what prompted its creation and its lasting impact. CHOICES: Investigate the specific communication choices employed by the creator, from diction to organization, to reveal their influence on the message's effectiveness. APPEALS: Unearth the intended appeal to the audience, whether through emotion, logic, or credibility, and how these elements contribute to the message's persuasiveness. TONE: Identify the message's general tone and its impact on audience perception, providing insight into the speaker's attitude and intentions. Why Choose Our Rhetorical Analysis Graphic Organizer: Comprehensive Analysis: The SPACECAT framework ensures that students conduct in-depth, multi-faceted analyses, enhancing their understanding of persuasive communication. Digital and Printable: Crafted in Google Slides, this resource is adaptable to both traditional and digital learning environments, offering flexibility and convenience. Skill Development: This graphic organizer helps students build essential skills in rhetorical analysis, critical thinking, and textual interpretation. Empower your students to become astute analyzers of persuasive messages, unveiling the intricate layers that shape communication. Our Rhetorical Analysis Graphic Organizer, featuring the SPACECAT framework, is your key to fostering analytical thinking and rhetorical awareness. Elevate your teaching and inspire your students with a versatile resource designed to deepen their understanding of persuasive communication. Transform your classroom with the Rhetorical Analysis Graphic Organizer - SPACECAT for Text Analysis from History and Literacy for All! Welcome to History and Literacy for All, your go-to resource for engaging and educational materials designed to enrich the history classroom experience. Our store is dedicated to providing a wide range of resources, including graphic organizers, literacy tools, and history-focused content that empowers both teachers and students. Key Features of Our Shop: Graphic Organizers: Explore our collection of meticulously crafted graphic organizers that are tailored to support students in visualizing and comprehending historical concepts. These visual aids enhance learning and critical thinking in the history classroom. Literacy Enrichment: We understand the importance of literacy in the history classroom. Our materials integrate effective reading and writing strategies, designed to boost students' literacy skills while engaging with historical content. Digital and Printable Resources: Whether you prefer digital teaching tools for a tech-savvy classroom or traditional printables for a hands-on approach, our products are available in both formats. Our Google Slides-compatible materials make online teaching a breeze. Why Choose History and Literacy for All: Our products are created by an experienced educator with a passion for history and literacy in the classroom. We offer an array of resources suitable for various grade levels and teaching styles. Every item in our shop is designed to foster a deep understanding of historical events and inspire a love for learning. Discover how our graphic organizers, literacy tools, and history materials can transform your history classroom. Explore our shop today and equip yourself with the tools you need to engage, educate, and empower your students. Thank you for choosing History and Literacy for All as your trusted resource for history and literacy education. We're committed to helping you make a lasting impact in your classroom.

Quick and easy to implement STEM activities for teaching critical thinking in 30 minutes or less. Dive deep into learning with STEM!

Teaching metacognition is another tool that our homeschoolers can utilze as they strive for academic and real world problem solving mastery.

Critical thinking challenges are not only fun, but develop growth mindset, problem solving skills and resilience. Come find out how!

Are you looking for a way to teach critical thinking skills to your students? Give my favorite strategy, "Not the Answer" a try! This activity builds critical thinking skills through the use of multiple choice questions and allows you a look inside your students' thinking.

Teaching metacognition is another tool that our homeschoolers can utilze as they strive for academic and real world problem solving mastery.

What is STEM? STEM stands for: Science Technology Engineering Mathetics STEM refers to a set of interlinked subjects that are important foundational concepts for kids and adults in today's world. STEM is an educational curriculum

Whether your students are reading a novel, learning a math concept, or being introduced to new content in Social Studies and Science, critical thinking activites play an intricate role to help students learn on a deeper level. Being able to think outside the box or at a deeper level, helps students not only retain the information, but they develop an appreciation for the lesson. This post will provide you with ideas for provoking critical thinking to use across the curriculum and FREE charts to use with your students. 1. Think Pair Share TPS is a strategy in which students work collaboratively to answer a question or solve a problem. This strategy helps focus attention and engage students in comprehending the material. The model is desgined for teachers to: a. Think- Ask students a specific question about the topic or a theme in story. Tell them to "think individually" about what they know or have learned about this topic or theme. b. Pair- Pair your students with a partner or small group. c. Share- Encourage students to share their ideas with their partner or small group, then as a whole group. 2. Choice Provide students with a choice. Choice motivates, empowers and leads to a deeper understanding. In many instances, it caters to Multiple Intelligence. Choice can be provided in many ways. You can give your students a choice of how to present a project or a choice of strategies to solve a challenging problem. The opportunities are endless and will feed your students' innate desire for variety. An example in math might be showing them different ways to achieve the correct answer. For example, students can: a. draw a diagram b. make a list c. create a table or graph d. model with objects. This can be accomplished with specific skills as well. For example: Multiplication: a. Teach the traditional way b. Teach the method of lattice multiplication Students can use the method that works for them or a combination of methods and in turn they will be able to explain how to get the correct answer better. 3. KWHLAQ It began with KWL charts to encourage students to think deeper. This chart elicits students prior knowledge, sets a purpose for reading, and helps students to monitor their comprehension. Begin a new social studies unit with one of these charts. K- What do I know? W- What do I want to know? L- What did I learn? Next the H got added: KWHL H- How do I find out? Then Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano developed 21st century chart: KWHLAQ A- What action will I take? Q- What questions do I have now? CLICK FOR FREE CHARTS 4. Shared Inquiry I first learned about his strategy when teaching a gifted class with Junior Great Books. Shared Inquiry is a type of student-led discussions that are engaging and thought-provoking. It is recommended to read the literature twice prior to the inquiry. Students sit in a literacy circle and the teacher begins with an interpretive question that has more than one plausible answer. For example, "Students then learn to take part in a discussion where each person actively participates and the teacher listens. Students ask questions, respond to questions, interpret the text, refer back to the text, listen to the thoughts and idea of others. Once you introduce this strategy and students learn how to use it, you will see them develop a deeper understanding of their reading. Shared inquiry has three basic kinds of questions:. Here are examples for Jack and the Beanstalk a. Factual- What was the name of Jack's cow? b. Interpretive- Does Jack believe the beans will grow right up to the sky? c. Evaulative- Is it necessary to take risks to grow up like Jack does? 5. Notice Think Wonder Another chart that is effective when looking at historical illustrations, is NOTICE THINK WONDER. It can be used in other subject areas too. Find a photograph that depicts an event in the social studies unit. Display it on your smart board or give each group a copy. I found it is best to do one step at a time. Have students discuss NOTICE in small groups, then discuss as a whole group. Students will be fascinated at what others are thinking and cause them to think even deeper with the next step! Notice- Talk about the things you notice in the illustration. Think- Then think deeper and tell what you think is happening. Wonder- What questions do you have? CLICK FOR FREE MANIFEST DESTINY PRINTABLE 6. Scientific Method The SCIENTIFIC METHOD is a great tool for promoting critical thinking in science. 1. ASK QUESTIONS- Ask: "What do I want to learn more about?" "I wonder what might happen if...?" 2. GATHER INFORMATION- Research your topic to better understand it. 3. MAKE A HYPOTHESIS- Make an educated guess to your questions about the topic. 4. CONDUCT AN EXPERIMENT- Plan and follow steps to test your hypothesis. 5. OBSERVE AND RECORD RESULTS- After making an observation, reflect on your results and draw conclusions. 6. SHARE RESULTS- Present your results by sharing your experiment, observations, and conclusions. 7. Poetry An activity I found extremely effective when I want my students to dig deeper into a topic or story, is writing poetry. I love this quote from a modern-day poet Criss Jami, "When a poet digs himself into a hole, he doesn't climb out. He digs deeper, enjoys the scenery, and comes out the other side enlightened." I've found this statement to be true when students write poetry about a topic they are learning. Examples: Ideas from this blog post were collected from: The Critical Thinking Consortium NEA.org Reading Rockets Great Books Foundation Education World Poetry templates can be found here: Connect With Me! TPT Store Facebook Pinterest My Blog

4 ways to engage your students in critical thinking: enjoy creating, develop connections, encourage creativity, and inspire reflection.

Positional Words are difficult to teach especially for preschoolers, kindergarteners, and learners with special needs. Make if fun and engaging!

Teach your students to use critical thinking with this activity that is guaranteed to use higher order thinking (HOTS). And BONUS: this strategy is perfect for any elementary content area too!

This is a sponsored post. However, all opinions are 100% my very own. Critical Thinking questions are so important in teaching reading. However, a lot of my students struggle when asked in-depth questions pertaining to a text we are reading. It's definitely a learned skill that takes time and

Teaching respect in the classroom is a critical element of classroom management. Respect can be demonstrated in various ways, and we can teach students what respect looks like through a range of concrete examples and social situations. Using these strategies can improve your elementary classroom.

Download Free School Jokes Code Breaker Activity for Kids! This fun and educational resource helps sharpen problem-solving skills while adding

Teaching rhetorical analysis is one of my absolute favorite units to complete with my students. I love teaching my students about rhetorical strategies and devices, analyzing what makes an effective and persuasive argument, and reading critical speeches with my students. Here is a quick list of some of my favorite speeches for rhetorical analysis.

If you have kids, the terms chaos and disorder take on a whole new meaning. If you are experiencing these feelings within your family, it may be time to work

Teach your students how to explore content with depth and complexity.   Here it is, a complete and ready-to-use resource for teaching all 11 elements (Big Ideas, Rules, Trends, Patterns, Language of the Discipline, Ethics, Relationships Over Time, Details, Unanswered Questions, Across Disciplines, and Multiple Perspectives) of critical thinking! Your students will explore of these elements by applying them to familiar stories, such as “Cinderella,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” and “The Three Little Pigs.” These enduring fairytales present countless avenues for critical analysis and can be used with many grade levels (4-10+). Everything you need is included; no need to purchase additional materials or books!   Two versions–with and without icons–are now included!!   What's included:  Instructions: Detailed information and suggestions for implementing these materials. 6 Fairytales: Formatted and ready to print. Titles are listed above. 6 Explorations Guides: Each guide includes specific and concrete examples of how to apply the 11 different icons to the included fairytales. 11 Graphic Organizers: One for each critical thinking "Thinking Tool". (provided in color and grayscale versions). 4 Addition Fairytales: "The Frog Prince," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Rapunzel," and "Rumplestiltskin". These can be used for extension activities of your choosing. ➡FREE Depth and Complexity Posters   This resource was created based on the Depth and Complexity framework, which was developed by Dr. Sandra Kaplan under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement: 1996 BYOB! Build Your Own Bundle Pick and choose the Depth and Complexity resources you want and receive a bundle discount. The more you buy, the more you save. The discount will appear in your cart for all qualifying quantities. 3+ Depth and Complexity Resources = 10% off 6+ Depth and Complexity Resources = 20% off 9+ Depth and Complexity Resources = 30% off   Get all the latest Teacher Thrive news! ➜SIGN UP for my newsletter! ➜FOLLOW me on TeacherThrive.com! ➜FOLLOW me on Facebook! ➜FOLLOW me on Pinterest! ➜FOLLOW me on Instagram! Please read: This is a nonrefundable digital download. Please read the description carefully and examine the preview file before purchasing. © Copyright 2018 M. Tallman. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy pages specifically designed for student or teacher use by the original purchaser or licensee. This is intended to be used by one teacher unless additional licenses have been purchased. The reproduction of any other part of this product is strictly prohibited. Copying any part of this product and placing it on the Internet in any form (even a personal/classroom website) is strictly forbidden. Doing so makes it possible for an Internet search to make the document available on the Internet, free of charge, and is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Our kids are future problem solvers and world changers. Help them on their way by learning how to teach critical thinking skills.

Squiggle challenges are a fun way to enjoy the end of the year or any time of the year to be honest! Your students will love this.

If Montezuma had an Instagram account, what would he say when Cortez arrived in 1519? My fourth graders have some ideas. We are finishing our study of the conquests of the Inca and Aztec empires and have been reading about … Continue reading →

Are you a teacher or a parent searching for thought-provoking activities to challenge your students or children? Look no further, because brain teasers worksheets are the perfect solution! These worksheets offer a wide range of engaging puzzles and riddles, designed to stimulate critical thinking and problem-solving skills. With their captivating content and variety of levels, brain teasers worksheets will keep your young learners entertained while enhancing their cognitive abilities.

What is the definition of critical thinking? What are critical thinking skills and what strategies to use to increase these in students?

So how can we best support our beginning ELLs in math? There is a reason I put vocabulary instruction at the top of the list. It simply cannot be ignored if

Try this landslide science experiment to simulate a fast earth change. Students think critically about how landslides can be prevented!

Read 81 Fun Critical Thinking Activities by ESOL Club on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

You don't have to talk to strangers just to be polite.

This blog post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. Want to incorporate math puzzles into your classroom to help your students build their critical thinking and problem-solving skills? As a busy teacher, your time is limited. That’s why I created this collection of free printable...

Prompt versus cue - Have you ever wondered the difference? Prompting and cueing are critical components of teaching new skills.

With September just around the corner and all of the back to school excitement in the air, you may not have had the chance to plan your lesson for Patriot

Unlock the layers of meaning within texts with our versatile SOAPStone Graphic Organizer. Created on Google Slides, this resource offers the perfect blend of digital assignment and traditional printing. It serves as an invaluable tool for students to analyze and interpret texts effectively through the SOAPStone acronym, deciphering Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Significance, and Tone. Key Features: Structured Analysis: The SOAPStone acronym provides a systematic framework for students to follow, guiding them through a comprehensive text analysis. Digital and Printable: Accessible via digital platforms or traditional print, this resource adapts to diverse learning preferences and environments, ensuring accessibility and convenience. Textual Insight: This organizer prompts students to delve deep into texts, fostering a profound understanding of the author's perspective, context, and intent. SOAPStone Breakdown: Speaker: Students will investigate the source's creator, their background, and point of view, considering social status, job, gender, religion, and more, to understand how these factors may affect the source. Occasion: The organizer encourages students to explore the time and place of the source's creation, along with significant events of the era, illuminating the context's impact on the source's meaning. Audience: Students will delve into the intended audience of the source, recognizing how this affects the source's meaning. Purpose: The resource prompts students to analyze the source's purpose, uncovering its intent and objectives. Significance: Students will contemplate why the source is important, considering its broader implications. Tone: The organizer challenges students to discern the author's attitude and emotional sense toward the subject, fostering an understanding of the piece's tone. Why Choose Our SOAPStone Graphic Organizer: Structured Learning: This resource provides a structured framework for students to analyze texts, making it accessible to learners of all levels. Digital and Printable: Designed for both digital and print use, this graphic organizer adapts to various learning environments, enhancing accessibility. Comprehensive Analysis: By guiding students to consider the SOAPStone elements, this organizer fosters a comprehensive understanding of texts and their nuances. Empower your students to become proficient text analysts, uncovering the layers of meaning within documents, speeches, and literary works. The SOAPStone Graphic Organizer is an invaluable tool for promoting critical analysis, interpretation, and deep insight into texts. Elevate your teaching and inspire your students with a resource designed to deepen their text analysis skills and broaden their understanding of complex writings, preparing them for academic excellence. Transform your classroom with the SOAPStone Graphic Organizer from History and Literacy for All! Welcome to History and Literacy for All, your go-to resource for engaging and educational materials designed to enrich the history classroom experience. Our store is dedicated to providing a wide range of resources, including graphic organizers, literacy tools, and history-focused content that empowers both teachers and students. Key Features of Our Shop: Graphic Organizers: Explore our collection of meticulously crafted graphic organizers that are tailored to support students in visualizing and comprehending historical concepts. These visual aids enhance learning and critical thinking in the history classroom. Literacy Enrichment: We understand the importance of literacy in the history classroom. Our materials integrate effective reading and writing strategies, designed to boost students' literacy skills while engaging with historical content. Digital and Printable Resources: Whether you prefer digital teaching tools for a tech-savvy classroom or traditional printables for a hands-on approach, our products are available in both formats. Our Google Slides-compatible materials make online teaching a breeze. Why Choose History and Literacy for All: Our products are created by an experienced educator with a passion for history and literacy in the classroom. We offer an array of resources suitable for various grade levels and teaching styles. Every item in our shop is designed to foster a deep understanding of historical events and inspire a love for learning. Discover how our graphic organizers, literacy tools, and history materials can transform your history classroom. Explore our shop today and equip yourself with the tools you need to engage, educate, and empower your students. Thank you for choosing History and Literacy for All as your trusted resource for history and literacy education. We're committed to helping you make a lasting impact in your classroom.

Discover engaging back-to-school cryptogram code breakers to boost student problem-solving and promote a growth mindset.

Critical thinking games provide an entertaining way to teach your students how to become critical thinkers.

This resource is designed to engage students in deep analysis of literary characters. With sections for character traits, motivations, relationships, and growth, this worksheet allows educators to guide students through the critical examination of characters in any text or movie. Enhance literary co...

This critical thinking activity is all about getting your students to think deeper and to synthesize in your elementary classrooms via forced relationships!