As teachers, we want to help our students become critical thinkers. We want them to be able to analyze what they read and think about the text in a deeper way. One way to do this is by using reading comprehension activities and novel study activities in our classroom. These activities will help students understand the text better, and as they do, their critical thinking skills will improve. In this blog post, we will discuss how to use reading comprehension activities and novel study activities in your classroom to improve critical thinking skills in students!
What’s the Question?
Reading comprehension activities are a great way to improve critical thinking skills in students. By asking THE RIGHT questions about the text and having students discuss their answers, you can help them think more deeply about what they are reading. What are the right questions, you ask? When you are evaluating comprehension questions you can use the thick/thin filter. Thin questions can be answered in just a few words and there is only one correct answer. Thick questions, on the other hand, are open-ended and can’t be answered with just a few words. They often have more than one correct answer. You want to focus on asking thick questions in order to get your students thinking critically about the text.
Some examples of thin questions would be:
– Who is the author of the text?
– What is the main character’s name?
– What is the setting of the story?
These are all important details to know, but they can be answered quickly and there is only one correct answer. You want to ask questions that will make your students think more deeply about the text.
Some examples of thick questions would be:
– Why do you think the author chose to write the story this way?
– What do you think the main character is feeling in this scene?
– What would you have done if you were in the character’s shoes?
These are questions that don’t have one correct answer. They require your students to really think about the text and come up with their own answers. These are the types of questions that will help improve critical thinking skills.
The Write Stuff for Boosting Critical Thinking Skills in Students
Another great way to improve critical thinking skills in students is to use writing prompts. Writing prompts can be used with any type of text, and they can be open-ended or more specific. The important thing is that they require students to think critically about the text.
Some examples of writing prompts are:
– Write a letter from one character to another character in the story.
– Pretend you are the author of the story. Rewrite the ending and explain why you chose to end it this way.
– Write a diary entry from the perspective of a character in the story.
These are just a few examples, but you can use any type of writing prompt that you think will help your students think critically about the text.
Intensify with Inference Activities to Build Critical Thinking Skills in Students
Inference activities are another great way to improve critical thinking skills in students. These activities require students to read between the lines and make inferences based on the text. This is a difficult skill, but it’s one that is important for students to learn.
Some examples of inference activities are:
– Have students choose a character from the story and write about what they think the character is thinking or feeling. They can use evidence from the text to support their answer.
– Have students make predictions about what will happen next in the story. They can use evidence from the text to support their predictions.
– Have students write about a character’s motivation for doing something in the story. They can use evidence from the text to support their answer.
These are just a few examples, but there are many other inference activities that you can do with your students
A Novel Idea for Building Students’ Critical Thinking Skills
While reading comprehension, writing prompts, and inference activities could be used with any short story, there is an added benefit to studying a whole novel. Novel study activities are a great way to improve critical thinking skills. By having students analyze the characters, plot, and setting of a novel, they will be able to think more deeply about the text. In addition, these activities will also help students understand the author’s purpose for writing the novel. They can start identifying themes in a novel and start looking for evidence of how the author continues to develop a theme throughout the entire story. By understanding the author’s purpose and themes, students will be able to think more critically about the text. My favorite novel to study with critical thinking in mind is Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.
By using these activities in your classroom, you can help your students become better critical thinkers! Check out this free leveled list of great books for upper elementary classrooms to find your next book and try out a few of these comprehension or writing activities to boost critical thinking skills in students!
