How to Teach Critical Thinking Skills - An inquiry - Based learning activity

Children are naturally curious and begin to ask “why?” from a very young age. This activity develops this very natural skill. Before class, collect a number of different objects that you will place in a bag. Objects which work really well are things like a lemon, an apple, a marker, a ball, a notebook and building blocks. In class, show the children the bag and ask them what they think is inside and why. Listen and discuss their ideas, but don’t tell them yet. Ask one child to come to the front of the class and tell them to put their hand in the bag and hold the object. They do not look at it and they keep it hidden in the bag. Encourage the rest of the class to ask the child questions to try and guess what the object is. For example, “Is it big?” “Is it soft?” “Does it feel cold?” The child answers the questions as best as they can. Do this for about 30 seconds. Then, ask the child these two questions: "What do you think it is?” and “Why?” They might say, for example, “I think it’s an apple because it’s hard and it’s round.” The child then takes out the object to show the class and see if they are correct. This critical thinking activity is always a hit with very young learners and engages all levels and abilities.