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Children have a natural curiosity that, if nurtured and encouraged, can help them grow into the leaders and innovators they are meant to be. So how do you translate students’ questions and interests into the critical thinking skills they need for the future?
Discover how to teach critical thinking with a guide that includes ways to incorporate these professional skills into your curriculum, as well as teaching tips and valuable resources for developing deeper thinking skills. You’ll find simple and clear ways to turn your classroom into a sanctuary for critical thinking, and learn to help students understand why these skills are so important in the long run.
Teach children critical thinking skills
Critical thinking is the way students think about a problem before solving it. Critical thinking skills are the steps they go through when thinking, whether that’s asking questions, checking their assumptions, considering other perspectives, or involving observations and evidence.
But aren’t critical thinking skills appropriate for older kids? Absolutely not, developing critical thinking skills early on can enhance a learner’s ability to solve problems or new challenges. Key critical thinking skills incorporated into the curriculum include:
- Problem solved: How can you effectively and creatively find solutions to problems?
- Open thinking: A wide range of applications allows students to consider multiple perspectives and possibilities.
- Evaluate: Reflective thinking, using evidence and reasoning to make judgments about a situation.
- Innovation: A creative and more effective way to improve a situation, project, or process.
- Inquiry mentality: A questioning mindset that connects curiosity with observation.
When you read the list of skills above, they may sound like the typical soft skills required for a job interview, and they are! Learning how to teach critical thinking early can help students get out of the classroom and into their future careers.
1. Practice high-interest problem solving
Problem-solving skills mean even more when it comes to content in which students have a strong interest. Whether you’re designing a football-themed math lesson or assigning engaging STEM projects for your kids, you’ll find that students are able to solve common and complex problems more easily than they would in a non-practical setting.
To strengthen these critical thinking skills, use SODAS (Situations, Options, Disadvantages, Advantages, Solutions) in your classroom. Present a situation to a team or individual, decide on options, weigh the pros and cons, and let them come up with the best solution.
2. Increase the depth and complexity of the assignment
Is it possible to integrate critical thinking activities into your existing curriculum? When you focus on depth and complexity, it is! Find ways to get students thinking critically and collaboratively in daily assignments, whether responding to a class story or teaching a new science concept.
A common framework of depth and complexity includes big ideas, details, patterns, morals, trends, and multiple perspectives. Use these activities to promote deeper conversations in class, extend learning, and encourage students to spend more time considering aspects they haven’t considered before. For example, what is the big idea of this story? cinderella? What difference would it make if there were multiple perspectives? What patterns have you noticed with other fairy tales?
Push students to go beyond their first impressions
Can you tell everything you need to know in just one look? Not in school, and critical thinking activities about depth and complexity encourage children to take a moment before drawing conclusions about the lesson.
Depth and Complexity Critical Thinking Resources
Author: Read Like a Rock Star
Grade: K-3
Subjects: Literature, Mathematics, Social Studies
Use this resource for a more in-depth basic discussion, focusing on depth and complexity. A series of tasks and reflection mats lead students to a variety of perspectives, big ideas, important details and unanswered questions that apply to any subject.
3. Introduce daily challenges
You already know that students need to be challenged in order to grow. But when these challenges occur every day, such as during daily practice activities, scheduled discussions, or teamwork projects that push students outside their learning comfort zones, you will begin to see real growth in critical thinking.
For example, you can turn a typical math lesson into a math escape room for a challenging twist, or add brainteasers to tests for extra credit (and extra fun). Think of interdisciplinary assignments as a way to get students thinking critically about the course and help them make connections between two disciplines.
Challenge students with daily brain-busting
Students love brain busters and teachers love bell ringers! Bring a brain blast to your daily presentations with resources that include a variety of challenges for different topics and skill levels.
Critical Thinking Daily Brain Busters | Enrichment Activities | Morning Work
mountain view teaching
Grade: Grade 3 to Grade 5
Subjects: Creative Writing, English Language Arts
Standards: CCSS W.3.1b, 3.10, W.4.1, W.4.10, W.5.1, W.5.10, CCRA.W.3, W.10
You’re already tackling the school year with this CCSS-aligned resource! Master how to teach critical thinking to your kids with 180 days of critical thinking brain-busting activities, including math puzzles, hypothetical questions, essential creative writing prompts, analogies, and more. Each challenge allows students to practice important critical thinking skills before coming to class.
4. Encourage independent learning
Elementary school students who are quick to ask for help may have difficulty thinking critically about the assignment ahead. To encourage these skills, build independent learning opportunities into your day to allow them to struggle and problem-solve organically.
If students have limited resources and time, they are more likely to come up with innovative and convincing solutions rather than have the teacher intervene throughout the process. For younger learners, include independent problem-solving assignments or low-stakes portions of projects, while older students may be able to complete entire open-ended projects on their own.
Provide choices for student activities
Nothing encourages independent learning more than giving students choice. Prepare resources and a range of projects for students to choose from and increase their ability to follow their own paths and make their own decisions.
Early Completer Choice Board | Monthly Critical Thinking Activities
Lauren Ely
Grade: Grade 3 to Grade 5
Topics: Creative Writing
Develop student ownership and improve critical thinking skills through a series of monthly choice boards. Ideal for early finishers or extra enrichment, this resource includes printable choice boards for each month of the year for students to self-direct their own activities.
5. Add critical thinking to art
Art is undoubtedly a creative process, but it is also an effective way to teach critical thinking. Add depth to classroom art projects by stimulating assessment, observation, and open-ended perspectives in elementary students.
After the class completes an art project, set up a gallery walk and have students write down their observations of their peers’ work. They can evaluate the artist’s choices without criticizing the work itself, they can evaluate their own work and see it from a different perspective than their own.
Follow the instructions to create a new image
Every choice in art is an expression of critical thinking because once made, one stroke excludes all other strokes! Encouraging the integration of art and critical thinking skills with art projects guides students through the decision-making process of creating something that did not exist before.
Complete Drawing Activity Critical Thinking Early Finishers Worksheet
Author: Your diligent and thrifty co-teacher
Grade: Grade 3 to Grade 5
Topics: Creative Writing
Teach critical thinking to elementary school classes through a unique art challenge: They must follow written instructions to complete a drawing using two or three shapes. This engaging and informative activity is a great addition to a basic shapes lesson, sub-project or early finisher pack for students who need something to do.
6. Model making observation
Every time we get dressed, we use critical thinking skills based on the weather that day and choose the fastest route to work based on traffic conditions. Making observations is a key part of the critical thinking process, and chances are your students are already doing it (there’s room for improvement—just ask any teacher who has had students ask “Are you 100 years old?”).
Model the observation process by describing what you noticed throughout the day. You can also incorporate observation-based projects into your lessons, such as weather tracking or observing patterns in stories, and encourage friendly observation during class discussions or basic debates.
Teach students to observe their own observations
Observation-based resources are perfect for introducing any topic throughout your day, developing these important skills before the course even begins. Have students jot down their observations of book covers, scientific charts, historical paintings, or other images, and then have them write down their own observations. Why would they notice this detail? What does it tell them about their own understanding?
Notice, Think, Curiosity – Critical Thinking from Rockin Resources
by rock resources
Grade: second grade to sixth grade
What do students notice in the image? What questions do they have about it? Use 20 photos to spark students’ curiosity and encourage them to describe in detail what they saw, what they thought, and what they wanted to know or ask questions.
7. Ask open-ended questions
You don’t need to look far in a basic course to find questions with “right” and “wrong” answers. By the time students arrive in class, they may already know that these are the only two acceptable answers, and if they don’t know the “right” answer, they may be inclined to remain quiet.
Guard against such closed-minded thinking and ask your questions beyond notions of right and wrong. Start more questions with “Why do you think…?” and “How does this make you feel?”, including in-class assessments. Open-ended questions encourage students to think critically about the topic at hand and engage otherwise quiet students in discussions where their thoughts and opinions are welcomed.
8. Let them be leaders
The traditional teacher-led classroom structure puts the teacher at the front of the class, with students asking questions and paying attention to them. While this approach may increase proficiency in certain academic skills, it is not an ideal way to develop critical thinking among students who desperately need leadership experience.
Add student-led content to your day to encourage creativity and leadership. Divide the class into groups and assign the children a team-building activity, with each team member acting as a leader for one part of the project. You can even involve students in your course planning by asking them about their interests and preferred learning styles!
Benefits of teaching children critical thinking skills
With the dramatic increase in disinformation and manipulated news and images in online media in the 21st century, critical thinking is more important than ever. Getting students on this path early on also has many positive benefits for their overall development, including:
- Be more confident in who you are as a student
- healthier relationships
- Inspire them to challenge the status quo
- Help them become leaders in their communities
- The ability to improve future skills such as financial literacy and emotional regulation
As they get older, students can learn more complex critical thinking skills, including evaluating sources to determine bias. The fundamentals they learn in elementary school will prepare them to meet these educational challenges and prepare them to think critically for the many opportunities after graduation.
The moment students walk into the classroom, they can start developing those important critical thinking skills. With great resources and daily implementation, you’ll find that these lessons may be the most valuable (and fun!) activities you teach all year. Find more essential critical thinking resources to learn how to teach critical thinking and inspire and challenge students year-round.
