Make Connections with Critical Thinking
Making those connections is important at school and in everyday life. Asking purposeful questions to gather relevant information is an essential skill. Encourage your students to think through solutions and draw conclusions in fun, engaging ways.
“All knowledge is connected to all other knowledge. The fun is in making the connections.” Arthur Aufderheide, the Mummy Doctor
Try these with your students as a transitional activity or even for bell work.
Brain Teaser #1
- How much dirt is in a hole that measures 2 feet by 3 feet by 4 feet?
- I exist when there is light, but direct light kills me. Who am I?
- You’re in a dark room with one match. You have a candle, a wood stove, and a gas lamp.
What do you light first? - A sundial has the fewest moving parts of any timepiece. Which has the most?
- What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
(Brain Teaser Time #1 answers: 1. None- it’s a hole; 2. A shadow; 3. The match; 4. An hourglass—it has thousands of grains of sand; 5. Short)
Brain Teaser #2
- What is full of holes but can still hold water?
- What is 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat, and 2/4 goat?
- What word in the English language is always spelled incorrectly?
- A farmer has 17 sheep. All but nine die. How many sheep does he have left?
- Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?
(Brain Teaser Time #2 answers: 1. A sponge; 2. Chicago; 3. Incorrectly; 4. Nine; 5. Mount Everest was still the tallest mountain. It just wasn’t discovered yet!)
“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” Helen Keller
How about bringing the whole family into the critical-thinking discussion? Send these home for students to solve with their families. Then, discuss the results as a whole class!
Brain Teaser #3
- How can 8 + 8 = 4?
- You have two coins that total 30 cents. One isn’t a nickel. What are the coins?
- What makes this number unique: 8,549,176,320?
- In a year, there are 12 months. Seven months have 31 days.
How many months have 28 days? - Which is heavier: a pound of feathers or a pound of rocks?
(Brain Teaser Time #3 answers: 1. Think in terms of time. 8 AM + 8 hours= 4 o’clock; 2. A quarter and a nickel; 3. It has each number, zero through nine, listed in alphabetical order; 4. All of them; 5. They weigh the same)
Motivation is Key to Success
Sometimes, students start to feel unmotivated and maybe even a little apathetic about schoolwork. However, it’s not the time to slow down.
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” Thomas Jefferson
Post this quote for students, then THINK, PAIR, SHARE. Ask them to think about what Thomas Jefferson meant about luck and hard work. Then, pair with partners to discuss. Finally, share with the class. Was Jefferson actually luckier? Or was it the hard work that made him SEEM luckier? Ask them to support their thinking with examples from their own lives. Extend the idea by asking how this relates to school.
ExploreLearning delivers critical thinking opportunities in math and science that are serious fun! Take a closer look!