Teaching Critical Thinking Skills with Current Events

1. Extra, extra! Read all about it! Teaching critical Thinking Skills in the gifted classroom by Lisa smith

2. Teaching students to think criticallyusing current events? • Yes, by teaching students to be thoughtful, engaged, discerning citizens by interacting with REAL WORLD news events.

3. Why should I consider doing it? We want students to be able to understand concepts, principles, theories, and generalizations throughout the content areas – Highest level on the pyramid of knowledge!

4. A recent example that is relevant, is tied to a unit of study (Gold RusH), and can evoke analytical dialog: A River Runs Orange? Yes, ironically. The EPA (what governmental agency does this stand for?) actually is responsible for the contamination of the Animas River outside Durango, CO, near an abandoned gold mine. Just looking at the weird color of the stream is enough to raise alarm. Scientists say that they are uncertain of just about everything involving the spill, but that tests are currently underway to determine the possible impacts, both to people and to the environment. Work with your team to determine who, what, short and long-term issues, and what next/questions to be answered after watching the video clip:http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/10/us/colorado-epa-mine-river-spill/index.html

5. From Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and learning for the 21st centuryby Richard M. Cash, Ed.D.: 1. Who questions should engage students in making choices.2. what questions should involve student hypothesizing.3. why questions should use student skill of analysis.

6. Based on the epa leak story, let’s give it a try: When is your birthday?? January – March – who questionsapril – june – what questionsjuly – september – short- and long-term issuesoctober – december – why questions

7. Another possible goal: Substantive classroom conversation **Debate – is it fair? Is it a good idea? Who decides?**discuss – what do you think? WHY? Evidence?**question- what are the assumptions? Truths? Ulterior motives?**decide - what should happen next? Why?

8. How many skills are addressed here? Innovation is underway in Spain to deal with two important issues: climate change and world hunger…Before reading further, write down at least one way you think they’re doing this. Now, click on this link and read/discuss: http://www.dogonews.com/2015/8/10/how-a-single-fridge-is-helping-curb-food-waste-in-spainWorking with a partner or a team, decide what are all of the things that one would have to consider to begin this same process in a single community. Make a web and be ready to share your thoughts with others. Be sure to address the stakeholders and possible consequences/outcomes for this endeavor.

9. Leave no stone unturned! 1. How does the author portray his/her point of view? 2. What does the author likely believe about this topic? What evidence can you provide to support your claim?3. How might someone else see this issue?4. Are there economic/cultural/historical/personal contexts that would change someone’s viewpoint?5. What insights can you gain from this story?6. Are there other possible applications possible from the framework provided in this article?

10. Gifted and 21st century thinking Skills addressed and assessed via current events’ lessons: HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills)  Draws conclusions, strive for clarity of communication to improve logical thinking, engages in peer discussion, engages in learning linked to prior knowledgeCPS (Creative Problem Solving)Uses analogies, metaphors, and/or complex models to explain concepts, synthesizes ideasARS (Advanced Research Skills) Gathers, analyzes, and synthesizes information from multiple sources, creates a written and alternative product to support research findings, and creates a reflection of the process, articulates, and shares experiences.

11. Benefits: Student engagement #1 outcome! Also excellent tool to determine reasoning skills.

12. A recent current events’ lesson (4 square): • Watch this story and then summarize what happened, why it happened, who has been impacted so far, and what might happen next: • http://abcnews.go.com/Business/volkswagen-risked-allegedly-cheating-emissions/story?id=34011457

13. don’t forget political cartoons…They’re powerful!

14. Political Cartoons: • A political cartoon is a type of drawing used to present opinions, comments, or criticisms of a situation, person, or event. Cartoons help us understand information by presenting it in a visual and memorable way. • Cartoonists use many different techniques to achieve their goals: • Caricature - exaggerating one or more physical features – example: a large mouth to show someone who often speaks out on an issue. • Symbols - using a recognizable item to communicate an idea – example: an elephant to represent the Republican Party or a donkey to represent the Democratic Party. • Caption - having the characters speak or summarizing the message in a few words above or below the cartoon.

15. 5 elements of political cartoons: • Exaggeration: overstating or magnifying a problem or a physical feature or habit: big nose, bushy eyebrows, large ears, baldness • Irony: the difference between the way things are and the way things should be or the way things are expected to be; the exact opposite of what you would expect to happen • Analogy: a comparison between two unlike things that share some characteristics • Captioning/Labeling: used for clarity and emphasis • Symbolism: using an object to stand for an idea • *From M. Slack – lesson on Political Cartoon shared 10/15

16. Define the following: 1. symbols 2. irony 3. exaggeration 3. analogies 4. captions

17. Don’t forget! Creating images or visual representations of information helps students to process, retain, and analyze more effectively.

18. Take a story a step further: • Why does the statistic given here suggest that Volkswagen’s problems could be even more problematic? • Why do car manufacturer’s make multiple fuel types? • What should consumers consider when making a car choice? • Should fuel type be a top consideration? Why or why not? • Make a list of all the things a consumer should consider when purchasing a car. Will all lists be the same? Why or why not?

20. What is thinking? Four Types: From Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and learning in the 21st Century by Richard M. cash, Minneapolis, MN. Free Spirit Publishing, 2011 • Receivers – take information as given “as is.” Does not seek to analyze or validate information. • Intuitive – use gut feelings to validate thoughts. Based on past experience, evaluate information and make decisions based on this information. Critical of authority. • Sequential – hold information to a set of criteria to interpret, can over-think information or find it difficult to draw a conclusion. • Connected – able to connect from one discipline to another, open or fair-minded. Able look beyond the facts and develop global awareness and new perspectives.

21. Ways to differentiate using current events:

22. Examples of 5th grade social studies STANDARDS easily covered using current events: *SS5H9 – IMPORTANCE OF KEY PEOPLE, EVENTS, AND DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 1975.*SS5G1 – LOCATE IMPORTANT PLACES IN THE U.S.*SS5G2 – EXPLAIN REASONS FOR SPATIAL PATTERNS OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES*SSGCG1 – EXPLAIN HOW A CITIZEN’S RIGHTS ARE PROTECTED UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. *SS5E1 – USE BASIC ECONOMIC CONCEPTS TO ILLUSTRATE HISTORICAL EVENTS.*SS5E2 – DESCRIBE THE FUNCTIONS OF FOUR MAJOR SECTORS IN THE U.S. ECONOMY (HOUSEHOLD, BANK, PRIVATE BUSINESS, AND GOVERNMENT)*SS5E3 – DESCRIBE HOW CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES INTERACT IN THE U.S. ECONOMY.

23. Possible ways to increase critical thinking using current events: • Validate: are sources valid? How do you know? • Is there bias in the article? Examples? • Is it an example of propaganda? • Are opinions expressed or is it factual information? • Source: Richard Cash. Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century. Minneapolis, MN. Free Spirit Publishing, 2011. • What are the ripple effects? (webs) • What ifs? • What are positive, negative, interesting attributes? • How can the issues be ranked by level of importance?

25. Possible assessment thoughts: Can student think critically? Evidence:*All evidence is evaluated before judgments are made*Emotive content or language can be recognized and processed appropriately*False implications (biased statistical evidence) are recognized and/or challenged*Assumptions are limited. Student can evaluate the logic in the ‘argument’ or story.*biased information is quickly recognized and has limited impact.-from UK department of education (2008). Developing critical and creative thinking in science.

26. Current Events’ Survey

27. One word of caution: • High Involvement - Gifted students can perceive greater levels of complexity in the world around them. They can become quite bewildered that others don’t share this need to explore everything in depth. • Super-Sensitivity – Gifted students can be super sensitive to moral or ethical issues. They can be quick to judge and slow to forgive others who don’t think as they do. While intellectually precocious, they might lack emotional maturity. • From Judy Gallbraith and Jim Delisle. When Gifted Kids Don’t Have All the Answers: How to Meet Their Social and Emotional Needs. Minneopolis, MN. Free Spirit Publishing. Revised 2015

28. Creating norms for your group Suggested agreements:1. Have current events ready by Friday. Share Power Points by COB.2. Use larger fonts for easy viewing/printing.3. make sure links work.4. put consistent dates to avoid confusion.5. share supplementals!

29. Where to find excellent student-friendly material: 1. CNN STUDENT NEWS: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/index.html2. dogo Student news:http://www.dogonews.com/3. Time for kids on-line:http://www.timeforkids.com/4. Newsela(on-line tests, different reading levels with teacher tracking)https://newsela.com/5. New York Times – Lesson plans and word of the day with quizhttp://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/