Critical Thinking Skills Teacher Resources

Designed for use in high school science and biology classes, the six lessons in the Beyond the Trees Unit Module use a systems thinking framework to teach basic concepts of forest health. Scholars learn content-related vocabulary and...

Accompany your classroom's reading of Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis with a 17-lesson unit designed to spark critical thinking, dialogue, and stretch writing muscles. The EngageNY collection goes beyond pupils' reading...

Established by Congress, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is a nonpartisan institution whose goal is to "increase the nation's capacity to manage international conflict without violence." The 15 USIP resources in the...

If you're reading The Lightning Thief with your class, check out these reading quizzes! There are six altogether that span throughout the novel. Use one or several. They are meant simply to test if a student has completed the required...

Ads no longer target just teens and adults. Kids from eight to 12 have become the focus of a whole new generation of advertisers. A collection of four resources help tweens develop the critical thinking skills they need to understand...

The National Constitution Center offers this collection of informative and entertaining videos intended to start conversations and develop critical thinking skills. Viewers learn about the rights granted by the constitution, about the...

The five lessons in the Cards, Cars, and Currency unit focus on credit cards, debit cards, and purchasing a car. Aligned to the National Personal Finance standards and National Economics standards, the lessons use real-world scenarios...

A series of five worksheets and a PowerPoint presentation gives readers a chance to practice making predictions and develop higher-level critical thinking skills. Scholars read short text that ends abruptly and gather textual evidence to...

Young historians study the Angel Island Immigration Station with activities examining primary and secondary source materials, maps, and websites. The unit begins with individuals creating a map of Angel Island, labeling sites on the...

What if the people of the United States started over and, knowing what we know now about how things are working, redesigned the government created by the founding fathers? That's the central premise of the 11 resources in the American...

Analysis of complex texts requires close reading. The six lessons in the first unit of Module 1 teach readers how to annotate text, as well as how to conduct evidence-based discussions, and produce evidence-based writing, the skills they...

Four resources comprise a unit module designed for Octavia E. Butler's Kindred instructors to use in their classes. The first resource in the series, a packet designed for instructors, includes an overview of the unit, a day-to-day...

William Golding's Lord of the Flies is the anchor text for a three-lesson unit module. The first instructional activity models for readers how authors use direct and indirect characterization to establish their characters. Other lessons...

The lessons in the "Beyond Rosa Parks: Powerful Voices for Civil Rights and Social Justice" unit module introduce young historians to four African-American women who made significant contributions to the modern civil rights movement....

A three-lesson unit module has scholars examine the many schisms and divisions in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. The first lesson looks at the fractured nature of Raskolnikov and other characters. The second lesson focuses on...

To download or not to download is often the question for teacher’s guides, especially for instructors who are old hands at using the bard’s plays in their classrooms. These guides are the stuff teachers dream about, full of background...

Five lessons in the Communication Unit Module of the Overcoming Obstacles Curriculum teach high schoolers how to communicate more effectively. Participants practice techniques that help them develop critical listening and non-verbal...

Social-emotion learning has become even more critical in post-COVID classrooms as learners readjust to in-person instruction. A course in Overcoming Obstacles begins with an overview of the skills participants will learn in the course....

The internet as well as the popularity of and availability of personal electronic devices equipped with social media has changed journalism forever. Here's a collection of resources that provide student journalists the tools they need to...

There are upstanders, bystanders, and whistle-blowers when it comes to dealing with dilemmas. The four lessons in this unit module ask young scholars to think about injustice and how to resolve difficult situations. Learners research...

Viewers take a Crash Course in Media Literacy. They watch 12 videos that take them through media history, the positive and negative effects of media, and regulations and policies affecting media producers. The series aims to help viewers...

The KidsHealth in the Classroom: Personal Health Series for grades 9-12 includes 21 lessons divided into 5 topics: fitness, hygiene, puberty and growing up, and safety. Each lesson has two hands-on activities designed to engage teens and...

The Personal Health Series is designed to teach middle schoolers how to improve their own health. The 22 lessons address the CASEL competencies and are divided into five categories: Fitness and Fun; Hygiene; Nutrition; Puberty, Growing...

The When I Grow Up series of career lessons and activities are designed to get high schoolers thinking about post-secondary pathways. Learners begin by working on defining their vision and identifying their dream job. They rate their...