The Basics of Critical Thinking book is designed to teach critical thinking to middle and upper elementary students. Many workbooks claim to teach or develop critical thinking skills, but most of these products never define critical thinking or try to teach the meaning to students. This book defines and teaches critical thinking in a way all students can understand through simple explanations, diagrams, and short, engaging activities. In addition to being a course in critical thinking, the activities in this book can be used to supplement lessons in all subjects.

Although this book teaches common argument forms, its primary focus is identifying and evaluating evidence – the very basis of critical thinking. Most propaganda, advertising schemes, legal trickery, and bad science are not the result of complex arguments; they are the result of half-truths and simple arguments. Students who successfully complete this book will have a fundamental set of critical thinking skills they can use their entire lives.

CONTENTS

• What Is Critical Thinking?
• Conclusions and Decisions
• Beliefs and Claims
• Finding (Identifying) Evidence
• Evaluating Evidence
• Inferring and Inferences
• Facts and Opinions
• Facts and Probable Truths
• False and Probably False
• Facts, Probably True, and Probably False
• Venn Diagrams
• Logical Connectives
• Advertising
• Agreements and Contracts
• Common Errors in Reasoning
• Arguments
• Valid and Invalid Arguments
• Fallacies
• Analogy Argument