Curated OER
Critical Reading #1: "The Myth of Doomed Kids"
In this critical reading activity, students establish the context, author, and purpose of the piece then sum up the ideas that the author is trying to convey.
Curated OER
Be Yourself Not a Lemming
While simplistic, this resource provides a creative way to talk about peer pressure and making good decisions. The theme is that learners should not be like lemmings, following a leader without thinking. The presentation talks about the...
Curated OER
Critical Thinking Strategies
Students explore critical thinking strategies. In this critical thinking lesson, students evaluate multiple choice answers. Students note similarities between incorrect answers and discover how to compare and contrast incorrect and...
Curated OER
Making Predictions:
Pupils of all ages practice making predictions about what will happen next in a fairy tale as the teacher reads it aloud. They demonstrate how to support their predictions with information and facts from the story.
Curated OER
"Weighing the Elephant"
Can your class solve the problem presented in the Chinese folktale, "Weighing the Elephant?" Read your class the description before having them attempt to solve the problem. After they've come up with an answer (or attempted to!), finish...
Sharp School
Career Project 2
Help your pupils find some direction with a career research project. Individuals research three careers, using the included graphic organizers to record their findings. They then create a visual aid on a computer and present their...
Curated OER
Class Soup
Youngsters identify the ingredients in a can of vegetable soup and record a recipe for the soup. They volunteer to bring in soup ingredients, graph the quantities of each vegetable in the soup, and make the soup with help from parents....
Curated OER
Bernoulli Principle
The class conducts a simple experiment to demonstrate the Bernoulli Principle. After completing the experiment, they will discuss their findings. To prep for this activity, appropriate resource material on the Bernoulli Principle will be...
Curated OER
Graphic Organizing: Early American History
In collaborative groups, young US historians sort cards (each labeled with a single early American event or issue) according to which of the first four presidents was leading the country at the time. Learners copy the events onto a...
Curated OER
Food and Dialect
The dialect words for types of food from across the British Isles get pupils thinking about native dialects and how they differ from Standard English. Class members create a dialect dictionary and discuss the difference between accent...
Curated OER
Chess Lesson Plans
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...
DiscoverE
Critical Load
Help your class master the important concept of critical load. Pupils work together to build a structure using 12 playing cards. They test the critical load of the structure using pennies or paper clips.
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Blooms’ Taxonomy Questions
Question what you read with a lesson based on Bloom's Taxonomy. As kids read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, they formulate questions with cues from a graphic organizer, and answer them to work on critical thinking skills.
K20 LEARN
You Think You Have Problems: Perspective in Multi-Genre Literature
Young scholars are asked to reflect on how personal experiences might influence points of view and perspectives. They read poems and biographies of the poets and then match the poem to the poet. To justify their matches, learners...
Curated OER
Reading the Movies: Another Approach To Teaching Critical Thinking Skills And Writing
Students explore the elements of film to analyze character, action, and the themes in the movie, "Quiz Show." The lesson encourages students to make personal connections and real life applications as they view the movie, critically.
Curated OER
The U.S. in Afghanistan: Analyzing Political Cartoons
Students take a closer look at the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. In this global issues instructional activity, students analyze political cartoons related to the War on Terror. Students discuss their impressions of the war and then...
Curated OER
Leaks and Gossip: Examining WikiLeaks Through Political Cartoons
Use political cartoons to spice up a discussion on national security! Two cartoons, one by Normal Rockwell in 1948, the other a parody of Rockwell's by Chuck Asay in 2010, depict the dangers of leaking information. Background information...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: The Future of Newspapers
Are newspapers dying, or fighting to survive? Give your scholars access to this controversial debate using political cartoons. In this analsyis handout, 2 cartoons display the changing role of newspapers in a world of online media....
Curated OER
Understanding “If”
Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" provides readers with a chance to practice their reading comprehension skills. After a close reading of the poem, individuals respond to the comprehension and critical thinking questions included in the resource.
Curated OER
Excerpt from Edward Bain's The History of Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain (1835)
Great Britain was where the industrial revolution began. The class reads an excerpt from a document written in 1835 describing cotton manufacture in Great Britain. They then answer two critical analysis questions.
Curated OER
Center for Northwestern Art: Featured Objects
Each of the slides in this presentation provide learners with an image found at a northwestern art museum and a critical analysis of what can be seen in each piece. Learners can view this prior to a museum trip in order to build...
New York City Department of Education
Egypt
This six-week unit encompasses all subjects with a focus study on world history and the development of ancient civilizations. As gifted and talented students dive into the interesting yet challenging topic of Egypt, they think critically...
Global Oneness Project
Learning with Nature
Think outside the box - and think about education beyond the classroom walls - with a resource that has your critical thinkers watching a video about a nursery in Scotland that lets youngsters roam wild in a forest. Viewers reflect on...
Curated OER
Understanding the Bush Tax Cut Plan
The class examines the new tax cut plan proposed by President Bush. They practice calculating income tax rates and interpreting the data. Then they research topics that are of interest to them related to taxes.