Looking for a ready-to go classroom tool for critical thinking? Try the logic wheel.
The wheel is made up of the 8 elements of thought from the Foundation for Critical Thinking and can be applied to just about anything to gain a deeper analysis. The questions it prompts can be questions that students begin to ask themselves automatically as they become more sophisticated critical thinkers.
Here’s an example for ELA:
Read the Malcolm X’s speech at the Oxford Union and ask the following questions:
- What is Malcolm X’s purpose in this speech?
- What is the question at issue?
- What information does he present?
- What inferences does he make? How does he interpret that information?
- What concepts and principles does cite to support his purpose?
- What are his assumptions?
- What are the implications of his speech?
- What is his point of view?
Try it out yourself and let us know how it works!