These Activities are Absurd!

More like these activities are all about absurdities, and they are intended to help your students grasp this critical thinking skill. 

The funny thing about absurdities is that they entertain and build thinking skills. Absurdities are a key component of humor. Because they are fun, absurd activities can turn a reluctant learner into an eager student.  And we all need a little more humor in our lives!

But absurdities have a serious side too! They are an effective teaching tool for problem solving and decision making.  Students become more aware of the need to analyze the logic in something and apply common sense reasoning to communication. As students do this, their skills in making judgments and finding solutions increases.

These fun, clever, and absurd activities will improve students' critical thinking skills!

Help Students Get Better at “Getting It”

Comprehension is that magic moment when your student assimilates information and suddenly “gets it.” That aha moment feels so good! Because comprehension requires a higher level of reasoning ability, once students master this skill, they will be able to tackle new challenges with the ability to think them through and discover solutions.

We’ve put together the following activities that will helps students progressively improve their abstract thinking skills and their ability to “get it.” 

Where are we going? 

This activity will have students reading simple symbols in a key and answering questions about a map. You can get lots of questions out of this one map that will improve comprehension skills. Simply display the map on your whiteboard or print it out so each student gets his or her own map. Then ask students to use the symbols to answer the questions below.

How to Improve Students' Critical Thinking Skills

Improve high-level, critical thinking skills and you're sure to improve reading comprehension, problem solving, writing skills, and more! We’ve gathered five important higher-level thinking skills, defined the skill, and suggested a way for you to help improve that skill. These tips are a terrific way to give your students the tools they need for success in school as well as in their daily lives!