Help your learners grow their critical thinking and analytical skills by asking them to examine logical fallacies. After reading an example, pupils determine if two sets of premises and conclusions are logical fallacies or not and...

Twenty-one pieces of tagboard can lead your class to a greater understanding of integers when you use them to form a human number line. After creating this math tool, two strategies for adding and subtracting will have your...

Your class may believe that geometry is a trial, but they don't know how right they are. A thorough math lesson combines the laws of logic with the laws of geometry. As high schoolers review the work of historical mathematicians and...

Learners recognize inductive and deductive reasoning and analyze common fallacies in critical thinking.  In this argumentation and logic lesson, students use role playing activities and specific instances of inductive and deductive...

What does that thing do? For learners with low or no vision, understanding an object's function is a necessary skill. Here learners handle a number of objects and are asked to determine which object is for a specific task. They can feel...

Wrap-up a unit on global climate change with a lesson that examines the causes and effects of climate change. Learners fill out a chart that represents what they think causes climate change—natural and human-based—and what they think...

Students discover the game of chess. In this critical thinking instructional activity, students learn the rules for each chess piece and the game as a whole. Students use critical thinking, problem solving, logic, and reasoning skills to...

What is the difference between making inferences and making observations? Young climatologists refer to a PowerPoint to make observations on each slide. They record their observations in a provided worksheet before drawing a...

What are ads really selling? High schoolers examine persuasive techniques used by print and television advertisements. They generate a list of persuasive techniques they're familiar with, and review other types argumentation and...

Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...

A unit on persuasive writing guides elementary learners through the writing process. The first part examines the elements of persuasive writing, including expressing an opinion, connecting ideas, using supporting facts, and writing...

Students explore the Louisiana Purchase territory. In this geography skills lesson plan, students use map skills in order to plot and note latitude and longitude, measure scale distance, and locate landforms that were part of the...

Learners explore the expedition of Christopher Columbus. For this geography skills lesson, students consider the technological advances that made Columbus's expedition possible as they complete a latitude and longitude activity.

Students explore nonfiction texts. In this language arts lesson, students read a nonfiction text and make predictions. Students identify facts and opinions in the text and draw conclusions as they read.

How have educational standards evolved? Educators of adults examine expectations in the 10th workshop out of 15 to better determine how standards have grown. Participants respond to a variety of sample questions to determine how they...

Seventh graders read stories, stopping periodically to make predictions. They discuss how the sequence of events, as well as cause and effect, can give hints to the outcome of the story. In addition, 7th graders use logic and...

Your learners need to develop skills to argue effectively, and this comes by understanding the traditions that make claims valid, and what detracts from their effectiveness.  Although this resource does not give advice on how to...

Don't let your pupils take everything at face value! They should analyze and evaluate what speakers say. Practice this skill with the two related activities described here. After brainstorming critical questions, learners can listen to...

Students plant a garden and keep track of it. In this geometrical garden lesson, students collect data from their garden twice a week. They graph their finding and figure out how many square feet of growing space each person needs...

Young scholars explore the ecosystem by conducting a ziploc bag experiment. In this recycling lesson, students identify decomposer organisms in our environment and how they speed up the recycling process. Young scholars utilize a ziploc...

Third graders measure their feet and their parents' feet, record data on computer-generated graphs, and calculate and record mean, median, and mode.

Students access the Internet to find information on current hurricanes. They get locations, speeds, and air pressures and then plot the location of the hurricane on a hurricane-tracking map. They also access the FEMA website to solve...

Second graders build a classroom community by getting to know each other better. They ask classmates various questions and use graphic organizer software and Microsoft PowerPoint. Students practice their oral language skills while asking...

Eighth graders identify various types of symbiotic relationships. In this ecology lesson, 8th graders predict whether certain organisms can form symbiosis with other organisms. They discuss and defend their reasoning.