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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Learned: Creating a Life Reports Project

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Horse Quiz

For Students 4th - 6th
Students test what they know about horses. This worksheet contains 10 multiple choice general knowledge questions about horses and an answer key.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Elephant Quiz

For Students 4th - 6th
Students test what they know about elephants. This learning exercise contains 9 multiple choice general knowledge questions about elephants. Answers are provided.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Puzzle

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students develop problem solving skills in science. In this creative thinking lesson, students manipulate puzzles and formulate solutions. Students share their process with peers to see if they can complete a given puzzle using the same...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Thinking Skills: Which Ball Is Right?

For Students 1st - 2nd
In this logic worksheet, students read a description of what kind of game a boy wants to play outside. From three picture choices, students circle the kind of ball that is the right one to fit his needs.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Thinking Skills: Which Animal Is Right?

For Students K - 1st
In this thinking skills worksheet, students read a description about the kind of pet a girl wants. From three choices, students circle the picture of the pet that best fits the description.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Thinking Skills: What Vehicle Is Right?

For Students K - 1st
For this thinking skills worksheet, students read a paragraph that describes the travel needs of a man who needs to get to a building on top of a mountain. From 3 picture choices, students circle the vehicle that is the right one to fit...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

What Does Not Belong?

For Students Pre-K - 1st
In this early childhood thinking skills worksheet, students identify the 1 object of 4 that does not have a relationship with the others by putting an "X" on it.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science Lab Skills

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners develop problem solving, decision-making and inquiry skills by planning experiments. They conduct systematic observations, interpret and analyze data and draw conclusions then communicate their results.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Correcting Mental Mistakes

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students recognize common mental mistakes to improve their critical thinking. In this thinking skills lesson, students complete various activities to analyze mental mistakes.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Thinking Skills

For Students 1st - 2nd
In this thinking skills instructional activity, students read the clues to determine which vehicle is matches the clue. Students draw an X on each vehicle that doesn't match the clues. Students circle the correct vehicle.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

What Doesn't Belong?

For Students 1st - 2nd
For this thinking skills worksheet, students study the three words for each question. Students then circle the word or object that does not belong and explain why.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

What Do We Have in Common?

For Students 1st - 2nd
In this common items worksheet, students study the words for each number and then explain what the words have in common with each other on the blank line.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Brain Teaser Five Pack

For Students 4th - 5th
In this critical thinking worksheet, students answer five brain teaser questions that challenge them to use their common sense and basic knowledge.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"My Side of the Mountain"

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Pupils demonstrate comprehension skills be retelling 6-8 significant events. They identify new vocabulary words and determine the meaning by using context clues. They contribute to group discussion by sharing at least 1 idea/reflection...
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Rubric
Buck Institute

Pbl Works: Critical Thinking Rubric (Non Ccss)

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This rubric helps teachers guide students in grades 3-5 in being effective critical thinkers in various phases of a project, and can be used to assess their performance. Alignment with CCSS is not...
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Activity
Other

Harvard University: Project Zero: Artful Thinking

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Find engaging ways to integrate visual art and music into regular classroom instruction and strengthen cognitive thinking skills and abilities to reason creatively from multiple perspectives. Get great classroom questioning tips, case...
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Activity
Curated OER

History Matters: Making Sense of Documents

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Designed to help teachers and students make effective use of primary documents. There are well written section on how to make sense of numbers, ads, music, diaries, and more. included are interactive activities for students to help them...
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Lesson Plan
University of Illinois

University of Illinois Extension: Character Education "Take a 2nd Look"

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Excellent classroom activities for building students' character. This strategy's focus is to promote higher-order thinking skills and cooperative learning.
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Article
Other

Curriculum Rationale

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Why are the arts important in education? This article explains why arts education is important to helping develop 21st century skills in todays students.
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Professional Doc
Other

Harvard University: Project Zero: Visible Thinking

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Learn about the key elements and practices of visible thinking, a mode of inquiry that develops students' thinking skills by encouraging them to be active processors. Includes a lot of advice about the kinds of small changes that...
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Activity
Other

Greg Freeman: Brainstorming Web

For Students 9th - 10th
Greg Freeman gives an example and explanation of the graphic diagram called "brainstorming web." Includes suggestions for effective use, working strategies, and useful links.
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Guess What's in the Bag a Language Based Activity

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
Contains plans for a language activity called "Guess What's in the Bag." Students try to guess the object in a bag in order to develop descriptive language, listening, and problem solving skills. In addition to objectives and standards,...
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Article
Other

Teaching for Creativity: What Is the Torrance Incubation Model?

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
This easy-to-read article explains this creative thinking method and gives suggestions for using it with lessons that are already in use in the classroom. Includes a bibliography.