Critical Thinking Skills Teacher Resources

Established by Congress, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is a nonpartisan institution whose goal is to "increase the nation's capacity to manage international conflict without violence." The 15 USIP resources in the...

If you're reading The Lightning Thief with your class, check out these reading quizzes! There are six altogether that span throughout the novel. Use one or several. They are meant simply to test if a student has completed the required...

Ads no longer target just teens and adults. Kids from eight to 12 have become the focus of a whole new generation of advertisers. A collection of four resources help tweens develop the critical thinking skills they need to understand...

The National Constitution Center offers this collection of informative and entertaining videos intended to start conversations and develop critical thinking skills. Viewers learn about the rights granted by the constitution, about the...

The five lessons in the Cards, Cars, and Currency unit focus on credit cards, debit cards, and purchasing a car. Aligned to the National Personal Finance standards and National Economics standards, the lessons use real-world scenarios...

A series of five worksheets and a PowerPoint presentation gives readers a chance to practice making predictions and develop higher-level critical thinking skills. Scholars read short text that ends abruptly and gather textual evidence to...

Young historians study the Angel Island Immigration Station with activities examining primary and secondary source materials, maps, and websites. The unit begins with individuals creating a map of Angel Island, labeling sites on the...

What if the people of the United States started over and, knowing what we know now about how things are working, redesigned the government created by the founding fathers? That's the central premise of the 11 resources in the American...

Four resources comprise a unit module designed for Octavia E. Butler's Kindred instructors to use in their classes. The first resource in the series, a packet designed for instructors, includes an overview of the unit, a day-to-day...

William Golding's Lord of the Flies is the anchor text for a three-lesson unit module. The first instructional activity models for readers how authors use direct and indirect characterization to establish their characters. Other lessons...

The lessons in the "Beyond Rosa Parks: Powerful Voices for Civil Rights and Social Justice" unit module introduce young historians to four African-American women who made significant contributions to the modern civil rights movement....

A three-lesson unit module has scholars examine the many schisms and divisions in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. The first lesson looks at the fractured nature of Raskolnikov and other characters. The second lesson focuses on...

To download or not to download is often the question for teacher’s guides, especially for instructors who are old hands at using the bard’s plays in their classrooms. These guides are the stuff teachers dream about, full of background...

Five lessons in the Communication Unit Module of the Overcoming Obstacles Curriculum teach high schoolers how to communicate more effectively. Participants practice techniques that help them develop critical listening and non-verbal and...

Social-emotion learning has become even more critical in post-COVID classrooms as learners readjust to in-person instruction. A course in Overcoming Obstacles begins with an overview of the skills participants will learn in the course....

A six-lesson unit commemorates the historic Supreme Court decision Brown V. Board of Education. High schoolers discuss key elements of the decision and examine documents detailing the history of school desegregation and the conditions...

Sixteen lessons from the Massachusetts History Society comprise the “Abigail Adams, the Writer: ‘My pen is always freer than my tongue’” unit. Each lesson has scholars examining Adams’ letters and diaries to gain an understanding of what...

There are upstanders, bystanders, and whistle-blowers when it comes to dealing with dilemmas. The four lessons in this unit module ask young scholars to think about injustice and how to resolve difficult situations. Learners research...

What better way to develop an awareness of the power of presidential campaigns ads than by analyzing them? The resources in this collection ask class members to develop criteria for evaluating effective ads, and to examine the claims,...

The internet as well as the popularity of and availability of personal electronic devices equipped with social media has changed journalism forever. Here's a collection of resources that provide student journalists the tools they need to...

With all the hyperbole of an election year, it can be difficult to find the facts, just the facts about candidates, issues, and ballot measures. Young political scientists, with the help of 21 resources from a nonpartisan, information...

What to do with environmental hazards and where to put toxic waste is a global concern. The eight resources in the Environmental Justice collection ask young ecologists to consider how to incorporate environmental justice in future waste...

Eight lessons make up a collection designed to help high schoolers make sense of an election year. Class members learn about voting rights, the importance of a free press, and civic participation. The focus is on the 2020 presidential...

Green chemistry and sustainability are the focus of a unit module that asks young scientists to use the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry to assess how green a product’s chemicals, reactions, or processes are. Class members engage in...