Critical+Thinking+and+Problem+Solving


 * Students today are forming their opinions based more on the posts they read on social networks, the media they view, and/or the Internet sites they visit. In order to decipher fact from fiction, students must engage in critical thinking. To help strengthen critical thinking skills, review the following resource: **
 * **Wikipedia ** – is an open source document that can help teach students to apply critical thinking. Although the online encyclopedia does lock some content, there is a lot of material that can be edited by anyone who creates a free account. Asking students to critically analyze this content against other research material (online, in textbooks or magazines) will be significant in the development of good research habits.

When engaging parents in a discussion around proper Internet research, this video on Wikipedia may be of assistance:

**Common Sense: Tech Tips for Parents**
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Tools and Lessons to Develop Critical Thinking

 * **ReadWriteThink Notetaker ** – is interactive tools that can help students organize their notes, ideas and research, resulting in a product that can be printed upon completion.
 * **Evernote **- a free cyberspace tool for organizing everything from things you like, to things you hear, to things you see. It works with almost every computer, phone, and mobile device. You can find stored items fast using the search feature. (See **Evernote Tutorial** for learning how to use it effectively for personal and educational purposes.)

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 * **ReadWriteThink Webbing Tool ** – is interactive webbing tools that will help students organize their thoughts, resulting in a product that can be printed upon completion.
 * **Literary Graffiti ** – is an interactive tool that combines the process of drawing with analytical thinking as students create pictures of what they are reading, resulting in a product that can be printed upon completion.
 * Additional Resources -
 * Gaming Interactives
 * **iCivics ** - requires students to think critically through interactive games where they must make decisions based on their civic knowledge.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Calculation Nation **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> - enables students to play online math strategy games against the computer or competitors from across the globe. If students create a free account, it will keep track of their progress.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Gen I Revolution **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> - has fifteen interactive missions to help students learn important personal finance concepts.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Mission US **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> - contains a series of free interactive adventure games for the different eras of U.S. history. The games can be streamed online or played from a downloadable version (an Internet connection is still required, but this method is recommended for students playing simultaneously in a classroom). It also allows students to save their work.
 * **Student Interactives Index** - provided for all grade levels and subject areas by Verizon Thinkfinity and their partners.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Sample lessons
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Evaluating Eyewitness Reports **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> - is a lesson in which students are asked to review media and eyewitness reports of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and then discuss how they vary from one another.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">What is History? Timelines and Oral Histories **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> - has students compare and contrast accounts of their family history.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Critical Media Literacy: TV Programs <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> - **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">asks students to analyze television shows for stereotypes.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Draft Letters: Improving Student Writing through Critical Thinking **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> – is a lesson in which students critically reflect on their writing.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Investigating Junk Mail: Negotiating Critical Literacy at the Mailbox **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> - has students analyze junk mail.

Wonderopolis
In 2010, the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) launched Wonderopolis.org in an effort to give Americans the tools they need to learn and tap into their sense of curiosity. Since then, thousands of children, families, educators, and classrooms around the country have visited **Wonderopolis**, embracing the wonder in their daily lives.

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