Teaching Critical Thinking to Children: Games, Activities, and Books

Skills are the tools that help you to overcome the obstacles of life. But most parents are not well aware of its various aspects. Their kid might fail to compete with fellow students. There is a wide range of skills, but critical thinking for kids is the most vital of them.

Through this article, you will learn about teaching critical thinking to children and what is critical thinking?

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What is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking for kids is a way to think about a situation in a logical way. In their life, kids will face several problems. They can either run from it or face it and overcome it. Critical thinking will help them to look at the situation from a different perspective and solve it accordingly.

Critical thinking is about children analyzing a problem, understanding the possible solutions, analyzing them, and finally executing it. There are various ways of teaching critical thinking to children. The subsequent sections deal with some of these ways.

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Activities to Develop Critical Thinking for Kids

Here is a list of activities for kids they should read to understand what is critical thinking?

Instill Creativity

Critical thinking requires a creative mindset. You can develop it with a simple activity. Give kids a particular picture and ask them to explain their thoughts on it. You can ask about the active and passive meanings of that art piece. You can also ask them the mistakes or other ways to depict the same idea. These questions will open their mind to a huge extent.

Play Sorting Games

Children thinking require active mental work. The best way to do it is sorting games. Give your kids a list of animals, plants, vehicles, countries, and birds. Also, provide them a basis to categorize these things in different ways. Also, set a time limit for the completion of work. You can motivate them with gifts, chocolates or ice-creams.

For example, you can give them a list of animals and ask them to separate them based on wild and pet animals or two-legged and four-legged animals. You can also add birds to that list to make the game a bit difficult. Initially give them 2 mins time. But decrease the time limit once they become experts in the game.

Play with a Real Problem

Kids solve mathematical problems in school. With time, they become quick and accurate in solving them. However, in life, they will not get problems they solve in mathematics. They will come across real-life difficulties. Thus, they need to tackle such situations.

For example, you can give them a problem like there is water scarcity in an area. Ask kids how they will deal with the problem? (if they are the residence of that area, members of the water council, or head of a society). You can decide the situation according to the age and mental capacity of your kid.

Solve Brain Teasers and Worksheets

The key element of critical thinking for kids is problem-solving. Your kids’ ability to analyze a problem will increase with practice. Thus, it is vital to give them brain teasers and worksheets. There are unlimited resources available on the net that provides worksheets and brain teasers for different age groups.

Let Them Hypothesise

One of the most preferred ways of teaching critical thinking to children is to let them think as much as possible. When they are reading a story or watching a documentary, stop them for a while and ask them what they think will happen next in the story. Let them think of every possible ending. Look where their thinking ends.

Make sure you ask them as many questions as possible but, do not force them. If you disturb them every single moment, they might lose interest in books. Thus it is extremely vital to stay balanced. Also, try to bring out their creative thinking with your questions. Make sure to design fun questions to avoid boredom.

These are some of the activities to develop critical thinking for kids.

Also Read: How Preschool Activities Enhance the Quality of Learning? Importance Of Preschool Activities In Your Child’s Learning

Games for Teaching Critical Thinking to Children

There are many fun games that not only provide fun but also contribute to developing children’s thinking ability. Some of them are:

Guess Who?

It is a family game. You can play it with your kids. The game involves a set of cards with the name of an animal, plant, famous personality, things, birds, and countries mentioned in them. Each player picks ten cards and lets their opponents guess about the name on the card. They give hints of the thing the opponent can guess.

For example, if the player gives a hint that the answer is the biggest continent of the world. The opponent will quickly guess the correct answer, Asia.

Connect Four

It is one of the most efficient games in boosting strategy-making capabilities in kids. It teaches kids the way to plan their steps and execute them accurately. It is a fun game that can also improve their calculation skills.

Othello

This game is suitable for children above six years of age. It is a game that involves a board with small boxes or circles on them. Play the game according to the rules mentioned in the guidebook. It is a fun, addictive game that boosts mental stimulates.

These are some of the many games to develop critical thinking for kids.

Also Read: Math Game For Kids: Develop Maths Skills with a Mix of Fun and Entertainment

Books to develop children thinking ability

Here is a list of books that boost the thinking ability of your kids.

1. More-igami
2. Big Ideas for Curious Minds: An Introduction to Philosophy
3. Flat Earth? Round Earth?
4. What To Do With a Box?
5. Learning to Fly
6. Thingamabob
7. Nibbling on Einstein’s Brain: The Good, the Bad and the Bogus in Science
8. A Home For a Bird
9. Perfectly Logical
10. Thinking Like a Lawyer

These books will develop their critical thinking and reading ability.

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Conclusion

Kids are the future of society. It is vital to equip them with skills. So, they participate actively in its problems rather than only listening to them. Critical thinking will help them to see a problem in a way no other person can see. Instead of only gaining information, they will work to make a better world.

Hopefully, this article has cleared all your queries. For more such articles you can check our website’s blog section. You can also share your views by commenting in the box given below.