Firing up critical thinking skills

1. Firing up critical thinking skills A Guide for the Successful student Vista Murrieta High School - Grade 11 American Literature and Expository Reading and Writing Classes Designed by A. Aitcheson 2011

2. Getting Started . . . • CRITICAL to academic success in the highly competitive environment of high school and university campuses of the 21st century is the ability to use CRITICAL THINKING skills when evaluating: • Fiction and Non-fiction writing, • Persuasive arguments, • Film and Dramatic presentations, • Scientific processes and experiments, • Choices and issues when making decisions! CRITICAL THINKING BEGINS WITH CRITICAL QUESTIONS!

3. INTERPRETIVE QUESTIONING • What does this mean? • What’s happening here? • How should I understand what has happened or what was • said? • What is the best way to characterize/categorize this information? • In this context, what was intended by saying/doing that? • How can I make sense out of this experience, feeling or • statement?

4. Time for Interpretive Practice! • Read the quote below and utilize the INTERPRETIVE QUESTIONS to form a basic understanding of the writer’s intent and what is happening beyond the printed words. Write down your answers to each interpretive question for the entry below. • “His goal was simple: just hang on until Christmas. He sucked greedily on the oxygen coming from the line in his nose. The converter that stayed in the corner of the small room was on maximum production, and Jack knew that one day soon it would be turned off. . . . Before Thanksgiving he was certain he could last another month. Now Jack was not sure he could make another day.” • Baldacci, David. One Summer. New York: Grand Central Publishing, • 2011. 1-2. Print.

5. Analytical Questions • Why is the writer/speaker making this claim? • What conclusion can you make? What can you claim from the information? • Why do you think your claim is correct? • What might be the arguments – pro and con for the claim? • What assumptions must you make to support your view? • What basis do you use to support your claim?

6. Analytical Practice! • Once again, read the passage from the previous practice slide and write down your responses to the analytical questions for that reading! • “His goal was simple: just hang on until Christmas. He sucked greedily on the oxygen coming from the line in his nose. The converter that stayed in the corner of the small room was on maximum production, and Jack knew that one day soon it would be turned off. . . . Before Thanksgiving he was certain he could last another month. Now Jack was not sure he could make another day.” • Baldacci, David. One Summer. New York: Grand Central Publishing, • 2011. 1-2. Print.

7. Inferential Questions • Given what I know so far, what conclusion(s) can I make? What can I rule out? • What does the evidence I have discovered imply? • If I abandon/accept my current assumptions, how would • things change? • What additional information would I need to resolve the question • or fully grasp the truth about what I have read? • If I believe what I have inferred so far, what does this imply for the • balance of the writing or action? • What are the consequences if our understanding is correct? • What are the alternatives that might not yet be explored? • By considering each option, where might they take me in understanding the passage/action? • What consequences have I not foreseen? ?

8. Inferential Practice! • You know the drill! Use the Inferential Questions and record your responses for our passage! • “His goal was simple: just hang on until Christmas. He sucked greedily on the oxygen coming from the line in his nose. The converter that stayed in the corner of the small room was on maximum production, and Jack knew that one day soon it would be turned off. . . . Before Thanksgiving he was certain he could last another month. Now Jack was not sure he could make another day.” • Baldacci, David. One Summer. New York: Grand Central Publishing, • 2011. 1-2. Print.

9. Evaluative Questions • At this point, how credible is my claim about the writing or action? • Why do I think I can trust the writer’s/speaker’s claims? • How strong is the evidence/arguments for the claims? • Do I have my facts right? Is there something I may have missed? • How confident can I be in my conclusion, given what I know now? • How might I “test out” my understandings of the claims I have made? Evaluative Practice Using the information you have gathered previously answer the questions above about your current thinking and claims for the passage!

10. Explanation and Reporting Questions • What are the specific findings/results of my investigation so far? • What steps helped me conclude my analysis of the reading/event? • How did I come to my particular interpretation? • What reasoning supports my claims and interpretation? • Why do you believe your conclusions, interpretation and analysis are the right answers or solutions? • How would you explain your findings to another person or group? Explanation Practice Write a paragraph that answers the questions above as if you were reporting this to a teacher or class study group!

11. SELF-REGULATION • If your position for this analysis is too vague, can you be more precise? • How good was your thinking method, and could others follow it? • If there are different claims/conclusions/interpretations, how can they be reconciled? • How good was your evidence? • What might still be missing from your critical analysis? • Are there other pieces of information needed, definitions clarified, or evidences sought before making a final decision or analysis?

12. For the future . . . . • Keep the questions for Critical Thinking in your class binder and use the process as you read and write for this class. The process will help you become successful as a critical thinker!