Teaching Critical Thinking Skills

This practical teaching resource has been designed to give children aged 9–12 the basic tools required to challenge some of the conflicting information which they may encounter in everyday life. With increasing exposure to modern information technology and social media, amongst other things, children are increasingly exposed to misleading information that can seriously influence their worldview and self-esteem. The sooner they are helped to approach some of this material with a critical eye, the better they will be able to make independent judgements and resist undue persuasion.

Key features of this book include:

• Short texts designed to give opportunities for critical examination, created to be points of discussion with individuals, groups or whole classes

• Topics covering seven areas of critical thought, ordered in level of difficulty, including finding contradictions, and detecting bias and fake news

• Supporting teacher prompts and questions, as well as photocopiable resources without prompts

The ability to question and evaluate information is an essential life skill, as well as a key skill for academic learning, yet it remains one of the most challenging aspects of comprehension to teach. This is a vital text for teachers, teaching assistants and other professionals looking to develop critical thinking skills in their students.