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Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking

  • A deep understanding of and capacity to apply the elements and processes associated with critical thinking and problem solving. 
  • The ability to acquire, process, interpret, rationalize and critically analyze large volumes of often conflicting information to the point of making an informed decision and taking action in a timely fashion. 

 

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MediaSmarts Canada's Centre for Digital & Media Literacy
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MediaSmarts has been developing digital and media literacy programs and resources for Canadian homes, schools and communities since 1996. Through our work we support adults with information and tools so they can help children and teens develop the critical thinking skills they need for interacting with the media they love.

Resources are available for the following areas:
Crime Portrayal
Sexting
Blogging
Media Literacy 101
Internet & Mobile
Alcohol Marketing
Environment
Visible Minorities
Cyberbullying
Aboriginal People
Resources
Educational Games
Lesson Plans
Licensed Resources
Media Literacy Week
Outcome Charts by Province & Territory
Tip Sheets
Tutorials & Workshops
YouTube Videos
Recently on MediaSmarts
Knowing My Password
Doing Good with Social Media
Reality Check: The Game

Subject:
Computer Science
Education
Educational Technology
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Homework/Assignment
Teaching/Learning Strategy
Author:
MediaSmarts
Date Added:
01/07/2019
Middle Years Inquiry Resource Guidebook
Conditional Remix & Share Permitted
CC BY-NC-SA
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Middle Years Inquiry Guidebook.
A resource guide for beginning the inquiry process with your students. Links to many resources and mini-lesson ideas.
Resources included:
- Brainstorming & forming research questions
- Skimming & Scanning
- Online Research Skills
- Note taking & paraphrasing
- Embedding quotations
- In text citations & works cited

Subject:
English Language Arts
History
Science
Social Studies
Material Type:
Lesson
Teaching/Learning Strategy
Date Added:
11/29/2018
The Most Amazing Race: Folktales from Around the World Grade 4 and 5
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CC BY-NC-SA
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Students will explore the transmission of folktales over time and continent to evaluate their validity of a literary genre. By reading and analyzing a variety of folktales, students will realize the cultural implications of the genre. Students will create and perform their own original folktale in the form of a script that combines and modernizes the tales that they read. Learning will enhanced by technology infusion and the incorporation of 21 Century learning competencies.


Driving Question: How can folktales give us insight into other cultures? Why do we continue to tell and retell the same old stories?

Subject:
Arts Education
English Language Arts
Social Studies
Material Type:
Homework/Assignment
Date Added:
06/25/2018
#MyFoodChoice
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CC BY
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The #MyFoodChoice resource is an inquiry-based resource answering the overall question of "How can I make informed food choices?" This resources has videos, interactive student sheets, approved resources and more. It is aimed at grade 9-12 students in subjects such as science, food studies, English, agriculture, social studies, humanities to name a few.

Subject:
Agriculture Studies
Agriculture, Food Sustainability & Security
Food Studies
Practical & Applied Arts
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Lesson
Author:
Agriculture in the Classroom Canada
Melissa Galay
Nicole Freeden
Date Added:
05/10/2021
My Social Media Life Lesson from Common Sense Education
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This lesson should take about 45 minutes.

"For most middle-schoolers, being on social media can mean connecting with friends, sharing pictures, and keeping up to date. But it can also mean big-time distractions, social pressures, and more. Help students navigate the different feelings they may already be experiencing on social media.

Students will be able to:
*Identify the role of social media in students' lives.
*Reflect on the positive and negative effects of using social media on their relationships.
*Recognize "red flag feelings" when using social media, and consider ways to handle them."

Lesson slides, video, handouts, quiz, family engagement activities & family tips.

You will need to sign up for a FREE account to access all of the resources.

Subject:
Education
Health & Fitness
Health Education
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Author:
Common Sense Media
Date Added:
01/22/2020
National Film Board (NFB CAMPUS)
Restricted Use
Copyright Restricted
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The National Film Board (NFB) streaming video database includes documentaries, animations, experimental films, fiction and interactive works. The NFB showcases films that take a stand on issues of global importance that matter to Canadians—stories about the environment, human rights, international conflict, the arts and more.Content is available in both French and English.

Subject:
English Language Arts
Health Education
History
Media Studies
Science
Social Studies
Wellness
Material Type:
Homework/Assignment
Author:
Regan Gunningham
Elgin Bunston
Date Added:
07/10/2024
News and Media Literacy Resource Center (Common Sense Media)
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"From misinformation to the 24-hour news cycle (on TV and now on social media), students must learn to navigate a noisy, biased, and challenging world. But with the right support, they can learn to be critical and not cynical -- to speak up, not sit back. This collection of news and media lessons, videos, printables, and more is a great place to start. Everything's been carefully vetted by Common Sense editors (and fellow teachers) to help you find that "just right" resource for your classroom.

Check out our current favorites below. Read on for full collections. "

Subject:
Business
Communication Media
Communication Studies
English Language Arts
History
Science
Social Studies
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Game
Lesson
Teaching/Learning Strategy
Unit of Study
Date Added:
03/12/2020
Offline Choice Boards
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If teachers or parents are looking for ways to engage students in offline learning activities at home, check out this choice board. It is composed of activities that encourage students to think critically and creatively, document their learning, reflect on these unconventional learning experiences, and share what they’ve worked on with their peers.

Subject:
Arts Education
Education
English Language Arts
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Homework/Assignment
Author:
Catlin Tucker
Date Added:
04/22/2020
Open Ended Math Questions
Conditional Remix & Share Permitted
CC BY-NC-SA
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*For every unit in Math I gave students a problem that did not have one right
answer, but many possible answers.
*Students were given a question on Monday and given time to research information
over the week.
*On Friday, the students were put into groups to discuss their findings. As a group
they needed to decide what information did they think made the best sense to use
for the problem.
*The group presented their answer to the class and explained why their group
chose to answer the question in the way that they did.

Subject:
Math
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Date Added:
06/25/2018
PAA 10: Cooking Competition
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CC BY
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Students needed to become a little bit more independent in the cooking lab in creating their own final product to present to a panel of judges. Students had a lot of fun with the “competition” aspect of it. They competed for 5 classes worth of not having to wash dishes.

Subject:
Practical & Applied Arts
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Homework/Assignment
Date Added:
09/09/2018
PAA 7-12: Cupcake Color Wheel
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CC BY
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The Cupcake Color Wheel activity provides a meaningful, memorable way for students to study Color Theory. Used in my Practical and Applied Arts 10- Survey class, it is part of the Interior Design module. Through this activity, students learn color terminology, mixing colors, and gain knowledge and understanding in the concepts of complementary colors, values, and chroma. If this activity is completed as part of a Food Studies class, it provides students an opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in the kitchen basics, and in the preparation of cakes and frostings.

Subject:
Arts Education
Design Studies
Food Studies
Interior Design
Practical & Applied Arts
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Homework/Assignment
Date Added:
09/09/2018
PAA 7-9: LEGO EV3 Robotics Challenges
Unrestricted Use
CC BY
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All the students in our school have iPads and I recently had received 2 LEGO robotics kits; I wanted to find a way to mesh the two together. LEGO has a free app (for iPads only) that allows students to program their robot and connect to it via Bluetooth. The goal of this assignment is to learn about basic function of the LEGO EV3 robot. This includes the motor, color sensor and ultrasonic sensor. The main objective is to learn how to program, or "code", the robot to perform various functions using the "LEGO Mindstorms Programming App".

Subject:
Practical & Applied Arts
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Simulation
Date Added:
09/09/2018
PBS NewsHour Extra - Trusted news brand's current events site could pique teens' interest
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"PBS NewsHour Extra's lesson plans are outstanding and clever. For example, a lesson on unions asks students to watch a few short videos and then get into teams to resolve an imaginary labor dispute based on what they've learned about negotiation. Beyond the provided lesson plans, there are many videos with resources to help students process what they're watching -- like an essential question and key vocabulary -- as well as discussion questions to kick off post-viewing conversations. Plus, the majority of the lesson plans are tied to STEM-related issues, so they're ideal for cross-curricular collaboration.

Because the daily videos include transcripts, supporting links, questions, and an extension activity, they could be assigned as independent work, group work, or both. For instance, part of the class could work on their own with the video -- assuming individual internet access -- and then, as they finish, they could move into small groups to tackle the extension activity.

For journalism, media studies, or ELA classes, make sure to check out the Student Voices samples. They'd serve as great models for editorial writing. For classrooms that want do dive deeper into media creation and production, the Student Reporting Labs website has a great curriculum and supporting resources, including video tutorials for things like audio recording and lighting." (Review from Common Sense Media)

Subject:
Biology
Education
English Language Arts
Science
Social Studies
Material Type:
Lesson
Primary Source
Author:
PBS
Date Added:
01/22/2020
Pear Deck - Powerful Learning Moments  for Every Student, Every Day
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"Pear Deck was founded by educators on a mission to help teachers engage every student, every day. With solutions rooted in active learning and formative assessment, we make it easy for you to connect with learners of every age and ability. When that happens, more students participate and learn, classroom community improves, and you'll know you're making a difference."

Watch the video to see how Pear Deck works!

The Free Version includes the ability to:
Design brilliant lessons with interactive questions, polls, quizzes, formative assessments

Work seamlessly with powerful classroom tools from Google and Microsoft

Ready-to-teach templates designed by educators

Support flexible work with Student Paced mode

Teach vocabulary with Flashcard Factory*

Subject:
Education
English Language Arts
Math
Science
Social Studies
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Assessment
Author:
Pear Deck
Date Added:
12/06/2019
Physical Education 8 - Critical Thinking and Creativity in Designing a Personal Skill Related Fitness Plan
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CC BY
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My plan for my 21st century competency dealt with critical thinking and creativity in designing a personal skill related fitness plan in my Physical Education 8 class. The assignment I had the students complete was a personal plan in an area, of a sport or activity, that they struggled in. Students were encouraged to develop skills in an activity or sport they enjoyed. This was determined in order to develop a physical education program that was designed for their needs. In order to develop this skill plan, students were taught about the components of skill related fitness, different types of muscle fibers, and different planning methods (i.e. F.I.T.T.) in class one. They were then given two classes to work on their plan. Throughout the year, they were given class time to work on their own plans and practice what they had put down on paper.

Subject:
Health & Fitness
Physical Education
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Homework/Assignment
Date Added:
09/12/2018
Pods & Flipped Classroom
Conditional Remix & Share Permitted
CC BY-NC-SA
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This year my major plan for integrating critical thinking and collaboration included a major classroom change. I was rearranged my classroom into pods and I started presenting my lessons in a flipped form.
The pods and flipped classroom provided an opportunity for critical thinking and collaboration. The students were to watch the videos and write down any questions they had on the material. They then met up as a group to go over the material. I found the students would have impressive conversations on the material. They then also worked in their pods to complete the daily practice. I found it was great for the students to be able to work together through problems and struggles. I was constantly happy to hear the students offer their own explanations to each other.

Subject:
Math
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Date Added:
09/20/2018
Powerful Thinking Routines - graphic organizers
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Project Zero at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education has created a collection of Core Thinking Routines as part of their Visible Thinking Project. Teachers can view the entire collection on the Project Zero website (https://pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines#CoreThinkingRoutines), where each routine is described in detail (e.g., purpose, application, launch) in both English and Spanish.

These routines encourage students to be intentional thinkers.

What do they know or notice?
What is their perspective or position on an issue or idea?
How can they support their position or thinking?
What do they wonder? What are they confused about?
How has their thinking changed? What caused that change?

Subject:
Education
English Language Arts
Math
Science
Social Studies
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Author:
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Date Added:
10/01/2020