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Children always want to know how things work and why rules exist. Critical thinking games help answer questions in all areas of ELA, math, social studies, science, and other subject areas. Almost any game can be upgraded for beginning learners by adding pictures, prompts, or analysis tasks.
Improve language skills with ELA critical thinking games
Critical thinking activities for kids help students dig deeper into stories, strengthen reading comprehension, and conduct research with curiosity while meeting CCSS standards for reading, writing, and research. Younger learners can continue to engage in action-based activities such as sentence sequencing or acting out text clues, while older students can benefit from discussion challenges and strategy games. These games are integrated into your ELA modules to turn reading, writing, and research into active, standards-based experiences that students love.
- Design word rules: Pair students up and have them create lists of words that follow hidden rules, such as word types or spelling patterns. Have another team try to identify the rule and generate new words that follow that rule. Play until all the rules are settled.
- Predict missing words:Create a worksheet containing a few words that are missing from the sentence. Divide students into groups and have them use the context of the sentence to suggest what the missing word might be and explain their reasoning. The first one to finish wins.
- Design the perfect clue: Teams create challenging but clear clues for vocabulary words and have others try to guess the words to earn points. The one with the highest score wins.
- Create a text trap: Work with students and have them devise three multiple-choice word options that almost fit into the sentence and one correct option. Each group tries the word trap to see who gets the most points. However, if a mistake is made in redeeming points, the pair can try to argue their choice.
- Rescue the misused word: In timed groups, students must identify an incorrectly used word in a sentence and replace it with a better choice.
Animal Reasoning Games | Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking for Kids
by studying abroad
Grade: K-3
Subjects: Vocabulary, Science
Standard: CCSS SL.K.2, K.3; SL.1.2
This no-prep digital resource includes 10 whole-class games, perfect for brain breaks, fun Friday activities or classroom rewards. Each game is designed to help students improve critical thinking, reasoning, and listening skills as they work together to solve puzzles. These games feature real photos and are fair to all learners.
Twistle – Critical thinking word game for time-saving tools
With time-saving tools
Grade: Grade 3 to Grade 6
Twistle is a twist on the classic word game where students are challenged to complete twisted word puzzles. Each page requires students to complete a word puzzle in a different way. The PDF includes 18 pages of word fun.
Facts & Opinions “I Got It, Who Got It?” Game – Print & Digital | Critical Thinking
Deb Hansen
Grade: Grade 3 to Grade 5
Subjects: Literature, Reading
Help your students improve their critical thinking and reading comprehension skills with this engaging collection of facts and opinions, “I Got It, Who Got It?” game! This collaborative classroom activity requires students to identify and differentiate factual statements and opinions on a variety of high-interest topics. Through 28 interactive cards, students must listen carefully, analyze the content, and determine whether their facts or opinions are correct in order to keep the game going.
Cracking the math code with logic building games
Board and dice games like Yahtzee, Qwirkle, Blokus, and Proof are powerful tools for building logic, number sense, and probability. If you don’t have these on hand, a blank board, dice, and cards will work too. Use critical thinking games during center, small group instruction, intervention, or review days to increase engagement while reinforcing key math skills.
- Have a score war: The player flips over two cards to create a score and decides how to place the cards to produce the smallest possible score. Opponents may challenge this score, demanding proof that it is the lowest.
- fighting equations: Paired students flip two to four number cards and use strategic decisions to create an equation with the largest sum to win the round.
- Verify the truth: Students are given several cards with good and bad actions and the team must classify the actions as correct, partially correct, or incorrect. They must correctly classify all questions to win.
- Prove that it can be moved: On the game board, players roll the dice and flip action cards. They must solve or prove operational errors in order to advance on the board toward the winner’s circle.
Make 24 – Critical Thinking Arithmetic Math Game!
Author: Ryan B’s Classroom
Grade: second grade to eighth grade
Subjects: Arithmetic, basic operations, mental arithmetic
Standard: CCSS 2.NBT.B.9; 2.OA.B.2, 3.OA.B.5
The 24 game is a great math game that helps students practice arithmetic and basic math operations skills. Each “turn” starts with a card, each with 4 numbers. Players must use each number just once to create an equation equal to 24!
Think like a historian with social studies strategy game
Critical thinking games for kids that put themselves in the shoes of past explorers, leaders, and ordinary people. Younger students can play with visuals and guided choices, while older students tackle complex decision-making and evidence-based reasoning. Add actions like placing scenes around the room, analyzing classroom maps, or performing activities to increase engagement.
- Evaluate the evidence: Teams must evaluate multiple sources to support a claim and rank them from strongest to weakest before time runs out.
- Make a judgment: Provide elementary school students with a famous claim and have them analyze historical documents in an attempt to draw a conclusion. The strongest argument wins.
- Tracking impact: Divide students into groups and assign them a geographic area and an event, such as a drought. They must use systems thinking to hypothesize the social and economic impact it will have on the region and how to address it before time runs out.
- balancing force: Teams are given a scenario where they must decide which level of government should take action and why. The team with the strongest reasoning skills wins.
Logic Puzzles Worksheets Brain Teasers Activities Critical Thinking Game States
by grabbing my product
Grade: 4th-6th grade
Subject: United States History
Standard: CCSS CCRA.R.1; CCRA.W.7, CCRA.W.10
This 22-page set includes 12 logic puzzles and two Sudoku puzzles. Topics range from celebrities to domestic dogs to the Pacific, and all the puzzles have answers.
Investigate the world through science-based critical thinking activities
Short, purposeful critical thinking games can turn everyday science time into meaningful reasoning and discovery opportunities. Games can be differentiated for early or late primary school students, ranging from basic observations and predictions to analyzing data and defending conclusions with evidence. These NGSS-compliant games can be seamlessly integrated into science modules as a morning “wake-up” challenge, a low-readiness transition from math to science, or as a brain-boosting review at the end of a course.
- Defend a claim: Divide the class into two teams and have them compete to find out whether a simple claim is supported by evidence.
- solve problems: On the game board, students make progress by solving simple science scenario cards, such as what happens if you forget to water your plants for a week. Turn the classroom into a game board to add activities for younger children.
- determine if it is true: Divide the class into two groups and provide each group with a science scenario, situation, or problem. They must decide together whether it is true or not in 60 seconds or less.
Inspire creative reasoning with clever thinking
Art class becomes a mental playground as students solve, create, and reflect through critical thinking games. Even simple homework can be turned into a game. For example, students might redesign an object in multiple ways or compete to spot differences in an artwork. Younger learners can explore with guided prompts and practice materials, while older elementary students analyze techniques and justify their artistic choices.
- Create design: Pair up students and provide them with non-traditional supplies to make masks within a specific time frame. Best in Show wins.
- repair parts: Teams of students are tasked with fixing imbalanced artwork in order to become top artists.
- Invent a new artistic technique: Students must work in pairs to invent a new art technique and use it to create a piece of work. The winner is the first to complete their masterpiece.
- change the rules: Everyone starts drawing a sun scene together, but then the teacher changes the drawing. Students need to figure out how to change their pictures without starting over before time runs out.
Click your way for deeper reflection
Online games make critical thinking engaging and interactive for students. Games include brain teasers, logic puzzles, and problem-solving challenges to help students reason and reflect while practicing core skills. Learning how to teach critical thinking is easy when you add some online fun.
- ABCya: Includes brain teasers and logic-based interactive online games for grades K-6 designed to develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and metacognition skills.
- IXL Language Arts Games: Offers online ELA games for grades PreK-5 to develop reading comprehension and research skills.
- IXL Math Games: Interactive online games for grades PreK-5 that challenge students to think critically, solve problems, and apply mathematical reasoning.
Explore critical thinking games on TPT
Turn everyday games into logic challenges and watch elementary school students expand their critical thinking. Ready-made games from TPT teacher authors take the energy out of solving problems and make thinking feel like a game. Help students stretch their metacognitive muscles by enjoying more basic games for critical thinking. Skip the prep work and have fun printing with engaging games designed to make critical thinking irresistible!
