9 Resources to Address the Growing Need for Better Critical Thinking in All Readers

To say that there is significantly more media daily presented to the public than ever before would be an understatement. Since the year 2000, there has been an increase of 34 percent in the number of Americans who use the internet, resulting in a total of 84 percent of all Americans regularly logging on (as of 2015, the most recent year for data). Because of this widespread use of the worldwide web in recent years, reading the growing barrage of digital media can sometimes be overwhelming, particularly when attention, focus, comprehension and retention of that information is essential. Then, the prioritizing of that information for further evaluation can be especially daunting for challenged readers, as this step requires a higher level of mental effort, better known as critical thinking.

In addition, we all know how much access to instructional and troubleshooting information has now been transferred from personal interaction (i.e., via phone or in-person dialogue) and physical, printed text to the digital presentation of that same information. Now more than ever, an individual who needs instructions for assembly of a recently purchased product or directions for how to repair an issue with one's computer or other device, must digitally access those instructions via the internet, as a hard copy of the directions may no longer be provided with the product or the service. What's more, the instructions may only be visible for a limited period of time or only when visiting a particular web page.

Discerning which information is applicable or pertinent to a current question or issue is also most important. Skimming and scanning skills must be honed to make shorter work of the information actually needed or targeted. Key points must be read carefully and put into a sequence, especially when instructions are sought. (For visual learners, a physical listing of these key points on a piece of paper might even be advisable here.) Finally, the successful implementation or application of what has been read is hopefully then able to be achieved.

Increasingly here at Brennan Innovators, we are discovering that each of us in the office must be able to effectively research, navigate, and troubleshoot technological issues to a certain extent in order to enable all clients and customers to access our products and services without interruption or difficulty. This is required together wit all other duties and responsibilities.

In short, reading is required everywhere and in increasing amounts with the added component of discernment and evaluation. What we're talking about here is critical thinking and problem solving. For this reason, we are providing resources here to help challenged readers and others develop better critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Included here are links to articles for general information as well as resources with games, activities and more for this purpose. We hope at least one of these listed links will help someone you know to improve those much needed skills in our digitally-daunting, media-driven world today.

Resources to Help Improve Critical-Thinking & Problem-Solving Skills

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving---by Partnership for 21st Century Learning
General information and resources (includes Bloom's Taxonomy, lesson plans, other resources for the classroom, etc.) to help promote, encourage and further develop skills that involve critical thinking and problem solving.
http://www.p21.org/about-us/p21-framework/260-critical-thinking-and-problem-solving

35+ Critical-Thinking & Problem-Solving Resources---by J. M. Brennan
A growing collection of direct links (via Pinterest) to many different kinds of resources (for all ages) that promote critical-thinking and problem-solving skills development. Links listed provide games, puzzles, activities and more for this purpose.
https://www.pinterest.com/brennajn2000/critical-thinking-problem-solving-resources/

Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Children---from Bright Horizons, Family Solutions
Information and tips for teaching critical thinking & problem solving
http://www.brighthorizons.com/family-resources/e-family-news/2014-developing-critical-thinking-skills-in-children/

How You Can Help Children Solve Problems---by Ellen Booth Church, Scholastic (for Pre-K to Gr. 2)
Children are natural problem solvers, and early childhood settings offer countless opportunities for children to grow in their problem-solving abilities. These important experiences help children learn to value different kinds of thinking, think logically and creatively, and take an active role in their world. The tips in this article will be helpful for parents and teachers of young children.
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/how-you-can-help-children-solve-problems

Creativity/Problem Solving/Critical Thinking Lesson Plans and Resources
The sites listed here provide lesson plans and resources for promoting problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking. Click on a topic from the site index to find what you need. Resources include math problems, puzzles, word games, brainteasers and mystery hunts.
http://www.eds-resources.com/edcreative.htm

Critical Thinking---from The Critical Thinking Company
A sizable list of links to articles is provided here to help teach critical thinking skills to all kinds of learners (including individuals with autism and other special needs)
http://www.criticalthinking.com/articles

Critical Thinking for Children with Developmental Disorders: A Strategy that Works---from Upbility
Drawing on the vast range of definitions and techniques available for teaching critical thinking skills, the 3-cycle strategy presented here and developed by Upbility can be easily and flexibly used to address the particular needs of pre-school and primary school children with developmental disorders.
https://upbility.net/blogs/news/48373505-critical-thinking-for-children-with-developmental-disorders-a-strategy-that-works

All Kinds of Brain-Training Exercises---for You & Your Child!
Resources for improving brain function both with specific, physical exercises and with other brain-building activities.
http://helpforstrugglingreaders.blogspot.com/2013/06/all-kinds-of-brain-training-exercises.html

Engaging Critical Thinking Skills with Learners of the Special Populations---by Stacie Deyglio
A FREE 10-page printable that describes the importance of teaching all students to pose good questions and to learn how to make meaning from complex ideas. Through Socratic dialogue, project-based learning, and other methods designed to engage all students deeply in the learning process, this teacher helps all learners to be engaged. The author is a dual-certified educator in 7-12 adolescent education within the specialty areas of biology and students with disabilities.
http://www.nysut.org/~/media/files/nysut/resources/2015/april/6_edvoiceviii_ch6.pdf?la=en

Sources
Americans’ Internet Access: 2000-2015---by Andrew Perrin and Maeve Duggan
As internet use nears saturation for some groups, a look at patterns of adoption
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/06/26/americans-internet-access-2000-2015/

For information on customizable tools to improve focus and attention at work, school or at home, please visit:
www.FocusandRead.com Tools for struggling readers of all ages!
www.BrennanInnovators.com Info & support for struggling readers
314-892-3897

Image courtesy of:
Brennan Innovators, LLC at www.focusandread.com

No Summer Learning Loss Here! Resources to Help ALL Summer Long!---Part 3

Part 3: Discover MORE Reading & Learning Activities to KEEP Them Engaged
(The 3rd in a series of 5 articles)

Our first two articles in this series presented good ideas and resources to help you Build a GREAT Book List! and create a collection of Reading and Learning Games That Count! to further promote literacy and prevent any learning loss---all summer long. This week, we are adding to this list of ideas with a third installment in our series---Discover MORE Reading & Learning Activities to Keep Them Engaged!

Create a list of go-to activities to keep children interested in reading and learning. Think about including activities that will also promote and support independence, improve critical thinking and problem solving in addition to building vocabulary, reading skills and general background knowledge in your child or students. Because many parents will be at work on summer weekdays, etc., children will sometimes be in the care of grandparents or other day care providers. Choosing and creating a ready collection of engaging literacy and learning activities will encourage more productive thinking and provide children with some degree of structure for their summer days. Be sure to include clear directions and helpful information that will go a long way in the ease and consistency of use for these activities---especially for those times when parental presence or assistance is not possible. Again, this will also add to the element of independence for your child, something that becomes more and more important as a child moves through the elementary grade levels.

To help you get started in creating a great list of reading and learning activities to span various content areas (another important point to keep in mind), we have provided a categorized list of such resources to follow here. Most of these resources will be FREE or at very low cost. We hope our research efforts here on your behalf will make easy work of a task that could take days or weekso complete. We also hope that your children or those you assist in your classroom will benefit from these resources, promoting better literacy and learning skills---ALL summer long!

1. Activities to Help Build Vocabulary Skills

Collection of Vocabulary Activities (FREE)
A variety of links provided by Scholastic Books with activities and related resources to help build vocabulary skills for students in K-8.
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/search/teacher?VT=2&channelOnly=true&Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&_N=fff&Ntk=SCHL30_SI&query=vocabulary+activities+k-8&N=0&No=0&Ntt=vocabulary+activities+k-8

Most Popular Vocabulary Games (Online)
1,000 FREE English vocabulary-building games---the FUN way to build vocabulary skills! Includes English language games, foreign language games and literature games.
http://www.vocabulary.co.il/

Activities to Build Vocabulary and Word Skills (FREE)
These activities will help your child or student build a better vocabulary.
http://www.reading.org/Libraries/books/bk476-4-Athans.pdf

2. Activities to Help Build Reading Comprehension Skills

Super Teacher Summer Worksheets (FREE)
Printable summer puzzles, reading comprehension passages, and activities. Many of the summer worksheets in this collection are aligned with the Common Core Standards and also includes math, writing and problem-solving activities.
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/summer.html

Reading Passages for Summer Reading (FREE)---from ReadWorks.org
Comprehension units, novel study units, reading passages for grades 6-8, lesson plans and more!
http://www.readworks.org/reading-passages-summer-reading

Summer Reading Worksheets and Printables (FREE)
These summer reading worksheets help make learning engaging for your child! Browse through and download our summer reading worksheets to help supplement your child's education.
http://www.education.com/worksheets/summer-reading/

3. Activities to Help Build Math Skills

Top 10 Best FREE Math Resources on the Web---by Kristen Hicks, Edudemic
Students who find math boring now may just need to be given a new way of looking at it. Naturally, the internet has come to the rescue with a wide range of math resources designed to help students see how math can be fun and useful. Here are some of the best ones out there.
http://www.edudemic.com/top-10-free-math-resources-web/

Summer Activities at Math Goodies (FREE)
Research shows students lose about two months of math skills during the summer, especially for some at-risk students. Some schools have math packets to prevent the summer slide. But the packets get lost and so does the child's motivation. So what's the solution? Visit Math Goodies this summer! Math Goodies has plenty of fun activities for kids, teachers, and adult learners. Use their "goodies" either online or off line!
http://www.mathgoodies.com/summer/

11 Everyday Ways to Learn Math While Having Fun (FREE)---by Lindsay Hutton, Education Network
Math is everywhere, not just in the classroom, and summer is a great time to learn how math relates to the real world. It's more than just addition and subtraction worksheets---it's everywhere you look. Keep your child learning this summer with these ways to find math in daily life.
http://school.familyeducation.com/summer-learning/math/70200.html

4. Activities to Help Build Critical-Thinking & Problem-Solving Skills (Includes STEM & Science Resources)

Problem Solving Printables---from TeacherVision
This is a collection of worksheets and activities that promote problem-solving skills. The resources here include some math problem solving activities, as well.
https://www.teachervision.com/tv/tvsearch/site=TV&type=printable&keywords=%22problem%20solving%22&excl=43236|6734|29063|54642|59268|7270|54135|59880|44661&fmt=adv&title=More%20Problem%20Solving%20Printables&termname=teaching-methods-and-management

Critical Thinking Activities for Kids---from JumpStart
Kids are open and willing to learn new fundamental skills as long as they are taught in a fun and entertaining manner. JumpStart’s critical thinking activities are therefore a great way to engage students and encourage critical thinking and logical reasoning skills in them!
A. Activities for younger children: http://www.jumpstart.com/parents/activities/critical-thinking-activities
B. Worksheets for older children: http://www.jumpstart.com/parents/worksheets/critical-thinking-worksheets

STEM: K-8 Engineering---by Leah Shaffer
General Information about STEM and STEM classes for Levels Pre-K to Gr. 8. As more K–8 programs focus on science, technology, engineering, and math, teachers are finding that chaos creates learning opportunities.
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/stem-k-8-engineering
Activities & Printables: http://www.scholastic.com/browse/search/teacher?query=STEM+student+activities&as_values_09487=&channelOnly=true

Intel® Education STEM Resources---K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering & Math
Intel believes that young people are the key to solving global challenges. A solid math and science foundation coupled with skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving are crucial for their success. To help educators foster the next generation of innovators, Intel provides STEM curriculum, competitions, and online resources to encourage students' interest and participation.
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/education/k12/stem.html

For information on customizable low-tech & digital reading tools for all kinds of challenged readers, please visit:
www.FocusandRead.com Tools for struggling readers of all ages!
www.BrennanInnovators.com Info and support for struggling readers
314-892-3897

Image courtesy of:
Brennan Innovators, LLC at www.focusandread.com