A guide for parents to help children of all ages process the onslaught of unfiltered information in the digital age. Education is not solely about acquiring information and skills across subject areas, but also about understanding how and why we believe what we do. At a time when online media has created a virtual firehose of information and opinions, parents and teachers worry how students will interpret what they read and see. Amid the noise, it has become increasingly important to examine different perspectives with both curiosity and discernment. But how do parents teach these skills to their children? Drawing on more than twenty years’ experience homeschooling and developing curricula, Julie Bogart offers practical tools to help children at every stage of development to grow in their ability to explore the world around them, examine how their loyalties and biases affect their beliefs, and generate fresh insight rather than simply recycling what they’ve been taught. Full of accessible stories and activities for children of all ages, Raising Critical Thinkers helps parents to nurture passionate learners with thoughtful minds and empathetic hearts.

This book is based on a simple series of psychological concepts. While ability to think has always been important, the knowledge economy significantly increases the demand for higher order thinking and problem-solving abilities. Parents should take a much more active role in teaching their children to think. Early preschool years are critical because long-term attitudes and early strategies are learned then. Approaches and perspectives on learning to think can be clearly communicated to parents in ways which will make it possible for them to use the correct strategies to stimulate their students to think more clearly and critically. There are five elements involved in good, logical, critical, and creative thinking: 1. The skills involved in effective, efficient, and lasting learning, or commonly referred to as cognitive processing strategies 2. The mastery of logic and structure of what is being learned 3. Awareness of what one knows and does not know, and how one knows and how one thinks 4. The standards or guidelines for the validity and reliability of what one knows, called intellectual standards 5. The knowledge and skills involved in critical thinking and solving problems in different subjects or domains

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.

Help newly independent readers ages 6 to 9 think more critically Foster a lifelong love of thinking outside the box with activities that show just how fun critical thinking for kids can be. Whether it's using deduction to figure out what ride everyone would enjoy going on at an amusement park or solving math problems with balls instead of numbers, this book of critical thinking for kids is packed with puzzles to exercise their brains. Expand on what new readers are learning in school and give them the tools they need to build thinking skills early. These activities teach them to identify, analyze, reason, evaluate, solve problems, and make decisions. Boost critical thinking for kids with: Guided learning--Puzzles have clear directions and gradually grow in difficulty, helping kids complete challenges and build their abilities without getting frustrated. A variety of activities--Kids will stay engaged as they switch between matching puzzles, logic grids, fill-in-the-blanks, word scrambles, and more. Real-world examples--Keep critical thinking for kids relatable with exercises that are based on fun activities, like visiting the zoo or going to a party. Build critical thinking for kids with an activity book that helps new readers learn to solve problems independently.

Help children of all learning styles and strengths improve their critical thinking skills with these creative, cross-curricular activities. Each engaging activity focuses on skills such as recognizing and recalling, evaluating, and analyzing.