Summary: What is critical thinking and how do you explain it to a class of four and five-year-olds? One of my students summed it up best when she said, “Mr. G! My brain is talking!”<br> Yup, that’s pretty much the best explanation of “thinking” I can imagine. And it got me thinking, “Critical thinking must be when your brain isn’t just talking; it’s when your brain is asking all the right questions!”<br> So how do your students go from “my brain is talking” to thinking through and answering super high-level, open-ended questions on their own? <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/punk-rock-preschool-podcast/id1226551045">Find out in this week’s episode: How to Teach Critical Thinking in Preschool.</a><br> <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/punk-rock-preschool-podcast/id1226551045"></a><br> Socrates once said, “Understanding a question is half an answer.” This is 100% true in preschool! Whenever you ask an open-ended question, it can be hit-or-miss: students either respond in a hurricane of answers or you are met with blank stares and silence. Here’s an example. When I would ask my students, “What are all the animals that live in the ocean?” I may one or two answers of “fish” followed by blank stares and silence.<br> And that’s okay! I’ve been there! Sometimes, it almost makes you want to shy away from asking these open-ended questions because that silence can be so uncomfortable. But the trick is to take Socrates’ advice and help your students understand the question! Ask it again and again and again and put it in their terms. Get on their level! Reframe and rephrase and lead them down the right path until the question clicks for them!<br> Kids know plenty of ocean animals; they are just not coming to mind right away because students starting off preschool and pre-k need a little help making those connections! They need help knowing what questions their brains should be asking. Always assume your students know the answers; they just need help realizing that the information in their heads in their heads is linked to what you are asking. So help them out by asking the follow-up “Socratic Questions!”<br> For example, after asking, “What are all the animals that live in the ocean?” I would then try to ask the question in as many different ways as I can to help my students make the connections from what they already know to what we are talking about right now! Here are some questions I would ask to help<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/punk-rock-preschool-podcast/id1226551045"> model the thinking process and set an example for the questions they will start asking themselves:</a><br> <br> * Who are some animals that live with SpongeBob in the ocean? What are some animals in Finding Nemo or Finding Dory?<br> * What are the biggest animals in the ocean? What are the scariest? The weirdest?<br> * What are some animals with shells? What are some animals that aren’t fish but still live in the ocean?<br> * What are some kinds of fish? What fish do you have for pets? What are some fish that you eat?<br> * Describe specific animals that they may know but didn’t already get. See if you can give them clues to guess. i.e. seahorse, octopus, shrimp, etc.<br> <br> <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/punk-rock-preschool-podcast/id1226551045"></a><br> These are just a few examples of the questions you can ask to help your class start answering any open-ended question on any theme. By asking follow-up questions and reframing your original question, you are teaching your students what kinds of questions to ask themselves “in their brains!” You are modeling the thinking process and helping kids make connections they will remember the rest of their lives. And once they start making these connections,
