Teach Critical Thinking with Stories in these Printables
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TEACH CRITICAL THINKING WITH STORIES

Confidently teach your students to seek and love the truth wherever it is found.
 

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​​People skilled in critical thinking are:

  • Problem solvers

  • Creative

  • Curious

  • Truth seekers

  • Reflective

  • Logical

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​Critical thinking is using reason to pursue the truth by:

  • Making distinctions between what is true, and what is not true

  • Considering the possible consequences of an action or an idea

  • Discovering the principles at the foundations of an idea

  • Developing your natural process of reasoning

​Critical thinking skills train your mind to:

  • Observe a situation or object

  • Analyze what you've observed

  • Arrive at a logical conclusion

Printables for Teaching Critical Thinkin

  HOW DO YOU LEARN TO DO THAT WITH STORIES?  

I'll walk you through how to teach critical thinking skills to your students by using stories in my lesson plans.

​Critical thinking is using reason to pursue the truth by:

  • Making distinctions between what is true, and what is not true

  • Considering the possible consequences of an action or an idea

  • Discovering the principles at the foundations of an idea

  • Developing your natural process of reasoning

​Critical thinking skills train your mind to:

  • Observe a situation or object

  • Analyze what you've observed

  • Arrive at a logical conclusion

Printables for Teaching Critical Thinkin

  HOW DO YOU LEARN TO DO THAT WITH STORIES?  

Teaching Critical Thinking with Stories is a series of printable exercises that give you:

 

Planned Series of Exercises

All students can begin with the first set of exercises. When they're ready for more challenges, you can add additional levels, or incorporate the challenges in the levels

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Additional Challenges to Exercises

The exercises also have additional levels to challenge students to go deeper into the story and develop their capacity for more complex thoughts. That allows you to use the same exercise for an entire class, while making adjustments for individual students who need more of an intellectual challenge

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Human Development

I include explanations on what abilities your students will develop as they work through the different exercises, and what foundations they’re laying so that students can learn how to think more clearly and engage in more thoughtful discussions.

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These lesson plans can be used with any work of fiction.

These exercises are grouped into 3 levels:

Level 1 Teaching Critical Thinking with
Level 2 Learning How Characters Change i
Level 3 Discovering Common Elements Acro

Level 1 (Observation): Memory, Logic, and Sequencing

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The exercises help your students to develop their imagination and memory, while learning cause and effect through sequencing exercises. They also take our natural ability to use reason, and develop it. The first few exercises in these lesson plans can be used for children as young as 3, but the rest of the exercises are intended for children who are at least 5. The extra levels to some of the exercises can challenge students even through middle school.

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Level 2 (Reasoning to a Conclusion): Transformation in Stories

 

You’ll be helping your students learn to think about change, and how changes and conflict that a character experiences lead to that character’s transformation by the end of the story. The exercises guide them through what they should be paying attention to, and how the author prepares the reader for the character's transformation. The first exercises can be used for younger children who are able to read and write. The rest of these exercises are best used beginning with Grade 5/age 10 and continue through high school. Some of the extra challenges should only be attempted by very advanced students.

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Level 3 (Abstract Thought): Symbols and Allusions in Stories

 

You’ll be teaching your students how to identify and understand symbols and metaphors in stories. They will also learn how authors are often referring to other sources when using symbols, and how those references affect the story they're reading. These exercises require the ability to think abstractly, so they’re best used for high school and above. Students in middle school are usually not ready to engage in abstract thought, so my recommendation for using these is for grades 9 through adult. Just as with the Level 2 exercises, some of the extra levels should only be attempted by very advanced students.

Each Lesson Plan Includes:

  • Background information on what skills the student will develop with the exercises

  • Additional levels for exercises to challenge your student

  • A list of recommended stories and authors

  • A series of exercises that progressively challenge your student

The exercises in Teaching Critical Thinking with Stories allow teachers and parents—who know their kids better than anyone—to decide what their students and children are ready for, and to discern what challenges each individual student or child needs, at every level.

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These exercises can be used with any story, so they can be used over and over again.

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These exercises help your students:

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  • Form the mind by directing it towards the truth

  • Engage with ideas in greater depth

  • Make distinctions between truth and error

  • Develop abstract thinking

  • Engage with stories in greater depth

  • Encourage discussion of ideas

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That leads to a higher quality discussion for:

 

  • Literature circles for younger students

  • Book club discussions for adult learners 

 

Readers of any age will get more out of every story and
bring their own insights to any discussion.

Level 1 Teaching Critical Thinking with

LEVEL 1:

Regular Price: $9.97

Level 2 Learning How Characters Change i

LEVEL 2:

Regular Price: $19.97

Level 3 Discovering Common Elements Acro

LEVEL 3:

Regular Price: $19.97

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 How to Get Started: 

1. DOWNLOAD THE FILE

Once you purchase the file, you will receive
a link to download
the PDF.

2. READ THE STORY

The story is the foundation. Pick any story and read it, or start with one from the included list of suggested stories and authors.

3. PRINT THE EXERCISES

The pages are color-coded so you can go right to the exercises and print them out, or choose to read more about the “why” behind each of the exercises in the packet.

Level 1 Teaching Critical Thinking with

LEVEL 1:

Regular Price: $9.97


Memory, Sequencing,
and Logic

  • Developing the imagination

  • Strengthening memory

  • Understanding how stories work

     

Level 2 Learning How Characters Change i

LEVEL 2:

Regular Price: $19.97
 

Discovering How Characters Change
in a Story

  • How characters are transformed

  • Where changes happen

  • Develop memory, logic, analytical skills

Level 3 Discovering Common Elements Acro

LEVEL 3:

Regular Price: $19.97

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Discovering Common Elements Across Stories

  • Understanding symbols

  • Literary allusions

  • Developing abstract thought



     

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Teach Critical Thinking with Stories Pri

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This is the first time these lesson plans have been made available,which is why they are being offered at a low price. When they are updated to the final version, I will send you a link to download the final version.
 

Critical Thinking Printables

Printables are downloadable digital files which can't be returned, so I don't offer refunds on them.

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