DE SOS Strategies critical thinking

DE SOS Strats for Critical Thinking

These ideas are taken directly from an email I received from Discovery Education on 1/15/19.The full article can be found here. There you will find videos where teachers explain the lessons.

Help students practice their critical thinking skills using these activities with Discovery Education resources (or any resources for that matter...these activities are awesome)

Reason Effectively Through Careful Analysis of Details

  • Inquiry Chart - Students use a chart to synthesize multiple sources on a topic and generate new questions.
  • 4 C's - Students develop synthesizing and organizational skills by focusing their thinking on four elements: making connections, challenging decisions, understanding concepts, and suggesting changes.
  • Save the Last Word for Me - Fosters discussion and allows students to explain and defend their own thinking.

Make Evidence-Based Reflections and Decisions

  • Let's Roll - Students deepen their understanding of a topic through discussion. 
  • Whittle it Down - Scaffolds students as they lean to summarize information.
  • Take a Stand - Simple game that encourages students to take a stand on an issue and provide evidence to back it up.
  • Myth Bustin' - Students consider statements provided by the teacher and determine whether the statements are true or false by exploring a variety of resources.

Take a Systematic Approach to Solving Problems

  • Concept Circles - Students use a circle organizer to analyze how vocabulary words are or are not related to a concept or topic.