Curated OER
Critical Thinking Strategies
Teach your readers to be critical thinkers. A strategy is outlined that can be used to compare and contrast entities. An example lists four states. The learner removes one state that "does not belong" in the list for some reason, and...
Curated OER
Helping Homeschoolers: Reading Critically and Analytically
Strategies for creatively monitoring reading to gauge comprehension and stimulate analysis without taking the joy out of reading.
Novelinks
Touching Spirit Bear: Question Answer Response Strategy
What types of questions help readers learn the most? Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders learn how to ask four types of questions from the Question Answer Response (QAR) reading strategy to help grow their comprehension of Touching Spirit...
Novelinks
Zach’s Lie: Questioning Strategy – Cubing
Your class won't be a bunch of squares from using this well-rounded activity! Instead, they'll be expressing thoughtful questions using the cubing strategy. The class brainstorms questions of increasing rigor about Zach's Lie in the...
Curated OER
Parrot in the Oven: Think Aloud
A think aloud activity is a great way for readers to develop critical thinking skills. This resource models for readers how to use this strategy to think critically about a passage from Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven.
Curated OER
Sentence Completion 6: Low-Advanced SAT Level
Consider using this worksheet, another in a series of sentence completion exercises, as the basis of a lesson on test taking or comprehension strategies, as a critical thinking exercise, or as extra practice for up-coming standardized...
Curated OER
Detective Fiction: Focus On Critical Thinking
Turn your 6th graders into detectives while growing their love of reading. Using critical thinking skills, they will be able to describe the five basic elements of detective fiction, read detective novels, make predictions, use the...
Conneticut Department of Education
Instructional Strategies That Facilitate Learning Across Content Areas
Imagine 28 instructional strategies, appropriate for all subject areas and all grade levels. Directed Reading-Thinking Activities (DRTA), Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) activities, KWL charts, comparison matrixes, classification...
Curated OER
Parrot in the Oven: Socratic Seminar
To conclude a study of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, class members sharpen their critical thinking skills by engaging in a Socratic seminar discussion of Martinez's novel.
Curated OER
Regarding the Fountain: Questioning Strategy—Cubing
Look deeper into the text with a reading strategy based on asking critical thinking questions. While reading Reading the Fountain by Kate Klise, learners think of questions that help them describe, compare, associate, analyze, apply, and...
Curated OER
Survivor Game
Learners discover competition and trickery by participating in a class game. They participate in a role-playing game called "Survivor" in which students utilize critical thinking skills to identify who is the "Bad Guy." Students win the...
Curated OER
DR-TA Reading Strategy
Foster critical thinking skills by using the DR-TA Strategy with Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.” Class members read portions of the essay, stop and discuss what is happening, make predictions based on evidence from the text, and...
Curated OER
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: DR-TA Strategy
Making predictions is an excellent reading strategy. Work on building this into your pupils' toolkit of strategies by trying out the process outlined here for reading the very beginning of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The...
Curated OER
Sentence Completion 13: Low-Advanced SAT Level
It's an erroneous assumption that vocabulary practice must be tedious. Rather than a draconian approach, tantalize your learners with a sentence completion exercise that will enthrall them. A detailed answer key makes the seemingly...
Curated OER
Critical Thinking Strategies
Students explore critical thinking strategies. For 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
Section 1: Analogies
Introduce your freshmen to analogies with this packet of prompts that also includes strategies for solving these critical thinking puzzles.
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension 5: Level 9
The piranha is the subject of a reading passage that is sure to engage your learners in a reading comprehension exercise. Pupils must employ multiple strategies to answer the questions based on the passage. Of particular value is the...
Curated OER
Tobacco: Promotion Tactics and the Law
Youths aged 13 & 14 are most likely to notice and remember in-store tobacco promotions. Class members dissect tobacco advertising tactics and learn about relevant legislation by participating in guided discussion. Assessing...
Curated OER
Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) in the History Classroom
SAC is a specific approach to discussing history and controversial issues. Rather than adhering to an either/or debate-style paradigm, it fosters speaking and constructivist listening to enable learners to build consensus through...
Urban Ministry
Interactive Read Aloud
Learning how to deliver good literacy instruction is key to becoming a successful teacher. This resource isn't so much a lesson as it is a guide to leading children in an interactive read-aloud session to increase fluency, comprehension,...
Novelinks
Words by Heart: Question Answer Relationship
Even though readers investigate matters of the heart, this activity promotes the inner workings of learners' brains. The fifth lesson of six has the teacher first model the strategy to the class before having small groups practice. To...
Novelinks
The Book Thief: Cubing Strategy
Whether used to review prior to a reading assessment or as a way to generate ideas for an essay, this activity is sure to encourage critical thinking about Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. Kids create a six-sided question cube with each...
Curated OER
Great Expectations: DRTA Strategy
A Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy for Great Expectations scaffolds and guides readers as they begin Dicken's novel. Step-by-step directions are provided, as are chapter one pair-share questions, a prediction worksheet,...
Novelinks
Where the Red Fern Grows: Question Answer Response Strategy
What makes a good question? Middle schoolers explore the use of questioning through QAR, the question answer response strategy, while reading Where the Red Fern Grows. They learn about the four types of questions: right there, think and...