Inserting critical thinking activities into your lessons

NEVER: Ask students to just collect information and dump it on a page, poster or powerpoint.

ALWAYS: Ask students to manipulate the information they collect. See examples of higher level thinking from chart below.

Graphic organizers are really useful in guiding and scaffolding student thinkng.

Adapted from source based on Bloom's Taxonomy

Higher Level Thinking	Key Words

Comprehend: Understand the meaning, and interpretation of instructions and problems. State a problem in one's own words.	Key Words: comprehends, converts, defends, distinguishes, estimates, explains, extends, generalizes, gives an example, infers, interprets, paraphrases, predicts, rewrites, summarizes, translates.
Apply: Use a concept in a new situation or unprompted use of an abstraction.	Key Words: applies, changes, computes, constructs, demonstrates, discovers, manipulates, modifies, operates, predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows, solves, uses.
Analyse: Separates material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.	Key Words: analyzes, breaks down, compares, contrasts, diagrams, deconstructs, differentiates, discriminates, distinguishes, identifies, illustrates, infers, outlines, relates, selects, separates.
Synthesize: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.	Key Words: categorizes, combines, compiles, composes, creates, devises, designs, explains, generates, modifies, organizes, plans, rearranges, reconstructs, relates, reorganizes, revises, rewrites, summarizes, tells, writes.
Evaluate: Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.	Key Words: appraises, compares, concludes, contrasts, criticizes, critiques, defends, describes, discriminates, evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies, relates, summarizes, supports.

Guides to healthier eating

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While we like to think that we're different, Canadians and American are similar in many ways. We have similar eating habits, and unfortunately, have yielded similar results (an estimated 59% of Canadian, and 65% of American adults are overweight/obese). Nutritionists have long provided ways for people to make nutritionally sound choices when eating. Sometimes, though, they are difficult for the average person to understand. In order to ensure healthy citizens, our governments have created healthy eating guides (Canada's Food Guide and the American Food Pyramid) that are practical ways in which people can make healthier choices.

Even though we are similar, our respective governments have created different food guides. After spending time researching both the Canada's Food Guide and the American Food Pyramid, your task is to answer the following question:

Which Food Guide would you recommend that people use and why?

You will need to fully justify the reason for your selection of the food guide. Why have you recommended the particular food guide? Possible criteria could include:

Ease of use	Understandable
Racially and Culturally diverse	Nutritional advice
Presentation	Appropriateness to audience

You will compile your information and present it in computer format and email it to your teacher.

Due date:

Canada's Food Guide:

American Food Pyramid:

Media and the Family

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Working with a partner, choose various media sources that portray different family structures. You must choose one magazine ad, plus two of the following other media sources, for a total of three different sources:

Ads (billboards, radio, TV commercials)	Internet websites
Cartoons or comics	Song lyrics
Music videos	Movies
TV shows	Other, approved by teacher first

Critically analyse the three sources above by answering the following questions or each media source:
1. What message is this form of media trying to give about the family?
2. What impact or influence does this media have on your attitudes and values about the family?
3. What is your reaction to this message, and what impact do you think it would have on the individuals in your family?
4. What are your interpretations of this family? It is a realistic scenario or portrayal of family today? Fully explain your answer.
Choose a creative way to organise all your information. Make a hard copy of each source (e.g. copy song lyrics, tape shows/commercials), and ensure that write-ups are included with each media source. What commonalities and differences do you see among the various media sources' portrayal of families?
Prepare a creative presentation for the class explaining your 3 media sources and briefly summarise your responses, as well as your overall views of the commonalities and differences. Suggestions include:

Scrapbook	Poster
Create a video	Create an audio recording
Create a bulletin board	Role play

Fashion Designer Awards

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You have been hired as the Public Relations (PR) Director for a Leading fashion designer/design house. They have been nominated for the Swarovksi™ Perry Ellis Award by the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) for their contributions to fashion. Your new job is to create a presentation to give to the Council that they can consider when choosing the winning designer.

You will want to begin your assignment by becoming familiar with your designer/design house. Do not simply give a history of the designer/design house. The Council is looking for information about their work, and their legacy. What impact do you believe that they have made in the fashion industry, and why? What is their signature style? What role have they played in fashion? In other words, why do they deserve this award?

PROJECT REQUIRMENTS:

The final project will be computer based (e.g. Powerpoint®, Prezi). You will be presenting this to the Council.
Include sketches, photographs, or magazine clippings of garments created by the designer. Include any designs that demonstrate the designer's signature style. Include the designer's logo. You must also include quotes (properly cited), descriptions of the designer's/house's work, and anything else that would sway the judging panel.
The project must contain a bibliography (see instructions below). When using a quote from another source, it must be properly cited (see instructions below). Remember, if they're someone else's words, they must be quoted!!

INFORMATION SEARCHING AND CITING:

Use a variety of magazines, periodicals, and Internet sources to complete this project. Be sure to assess each source of information (e.g. who wrote the information? What is their background? Can you ensure the accuracy of their information?). A list of various Internet sources will be provided as a springboard. Some may not be suitable for your work. If you find a valuable site, please share the address with other students.

A bibliography is an alphabetical listing, by author's last name, of all sources used to research a project. It allows both yourself and anyone that reads your paper to see where you got your information and access that information if they have any questions. Internet work may have the author published on the site. In this case, list the source alphabetically by the name of the article. Follow the formats below.

Format—Book:

Last Name, First Name. (Year of Publication). Title. Publisher: Place of Publication. Pages (p or pp)

Example:

Boyé, Marie (2001). In Fashion. Cassell & Co.:London. Pp. 34-55.

Magazine article or newspaper article

Last Name, First Name (Year, Month). Name of Article. Title of Magazine. Pages.

Example:

Forden, Sara (2002, December 4). The show must go on, designers say. The Vancouver Sun. pp. C6-C7

Internet

Last Name, First Name [of author, if available]. Name of article (Date of publication if available). Retrieved [name the date] from http://www.address of the site.

Example:

Chulo Pony—Canada's next hottest line? Retrieved June 2, 2003 from http://www.minimidimaxi.com

When you want to include a quote, you must put the quote in "parentheses". In brackets after the quote, put the last name of the author and page of the quote. Then, be sure to list the full citation in the bibliography. For example:

Even though his designs are very popular, he makes most of his money selling accessories. "Purses shoes and belts make up between 30 percent and 50 percent of total sales". (Forden. C7).

Remember, while you're working on your project, keep a list of all resources that you use. Otherwise, you may end up forgetting where you found a great piece of information!!