Classroom Practices in Teaching English, 1986, NCTE Jeff Golub, Chair

Because thinking skills are so closely related to reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills the committee on Classroom Practices decided in 1984 to deal with this topic. The ability to analyze, classify, compare, formulate hypotheses, make inferences, and draw conclusions is essential for all adults, and can help students be successful both in the school setting and outside. This book, resulting from the convention, contains thirty practical classroom activities from primary to college classrooms, that engage students in thinking processes. All content areas are included, but with an emphasis on literature. I have selected ones that interest me and are most relative to middle school.

Pre discussion writing

Each student keeps a reader-response journal and as he reads a piece of literature he relates to the reading as follows:

emotionally

associatively at least 5 personal connections

figuratively identify a feature, theme, word, or phrase and adentify why it attracted their attention,

Students are encouraged to note troublesome passages. Questions generated from student are often better than the teacher's. Class discussion of the literature requires the teacher prepare questions prior to class. This author doesnt subscribe to a heirarchy of questions, but believes all types of questions are important but should relate to these three areas: The Matter ( text), personal reality (the reader) external reality (the world, other literature).

For discussion the teacher thinks of these areas as intersecting circles. The conjuncture of all three circles include parts of each area and are the most complex questions. These are good topics for the class discussion.

Writing historical fiction

In this activity students get the benefit of becoming an expert on a particular topic as well as take on a power position by altering history a little. They proceed as follows:

1. Read and discuss relevant historical fiction.

2. Research historical period.

3. Write report or topic.

4. Write historical fiction.

More than one correct answer

This activity teaches diverse thinking in primary through middle school. At the primary level, puzzles are presented to students that fit together in more than one way. A less concrete example is to present students with letters that can spell more than one word. (ostp = stop tops pots spot) More difficult yet is giving students words in a sentence that can be altered to change meaning by rearranging the words, adding commas or changing intonation.

Critical Thinking Through a Community of Inquiry

Matthew Lipman, a professor of philosophy at Columbia University was alarmed at his students inability to reason. He decided students must be taught at an earlier age . He wrote a book entitled, "Harry Slottlemeier's Discovery' to introduce children at a young age to both formal and informal rules of thought. He feels that children's natural inquisitiveness is their main tool for making sense out of the world. Yet formal education often squelches this natural sense of wonder.

Many activities resulted from the questions raised in this book at the sixth grade level. One took the form of a three month student directed creation of the ideal school.

Advertising Gimmicks to Teach Critical Thinking

Students start with a quiz that has them identify the product in a popular slogan.

They next identify the tricks used - appeal, propaganda, excellence, etc.

Students are then given magazines and scissors and asked to cut out two of each persuasion technique. Students then view video taped commercials from prime time t.v. and identify the psychological persuasion. Next, the students are asked to form small groups and create their own commercial and it is video taped. As the class watches the commercials, they again identify the persuasion technique used. This activity teaches students to analyze what they see and hear.

It is helpful to know hat other teachers are doing to encourage critical thinking. Many of the activities in this book were useful as presented or may serve as a springboard for a variety of lessons