Charlie was given two worksheets today with sentence starters for the eight elements of critical thinking as applied to a scene in a film we watched and evaluated. He had to articulate and write on the sheet, the purpose of the scene as set in the whole, the viewpoints he could discern and how they fit together, a question that could be asked, an assumption that either the viewer or a character made or could make, and so forth. He did extremely well. He is truly understanding the CT terms now and seeing how to apply them better. We did this a second time with an additional scene, completing half of the second worksheet. We will finish this next week.
Today Kate applied critical thinking to the third of the Habits of Covey's system for success, "Putting first things first." She created a chart where she listed four of her roles: sister, daughter, student, and gymnast. Following this, she thought about her long-term goals in each situation, and then what one thing she could do this week, specifically, in each category that would head in that right direction. She then wrote this out on the chart and posted it on her board. Her homework is to actually do the four things that she specifically thought of, and perhaps she will make this a regular habit to achieve her highest purposes in the most important areas of her life.
Bobby reviewed Habit 1 and 2 of the Covey system for business leaders and management, taking time with details and practical application (purpose and information CT). We also reviewed the concept "paradigm," and the eight elements of critical thinking. We then moved forward to the third "Habit," that is called "Putting First things First." In this strategy, we learn how to plan in one-week increments, and as CEO or manager, to have weekly meetings with the "team" according to their goals to ensure completion and success. To practice, Bobby first wrote three of his major "roles" in life. Then he thought out his main goal for each -- what he could do this week to bring him into accord with his aims. Following that, he scheduled the specific activity by day and time. One of these, as student, was to read ahead (Habit one, proactive) to surprise his English teacher. We read one short chapter, discussed it, and he is prepared to illustrate being proactive as a student and thereby be more successful. This is a great weekly habit that we will continue to revisit.
Review Standards of critical thinking and a reading
Lesson Outline
Today Charlie reviewed the Standards of Critical Thinking. He needed help to list them. He looked up definitions and crunched them into short more memorable phrases, and then wrote them in his notebook again. After this, he read the introductory paragraph to an article on where all the plastic goes that we throw out or recycle. He marked the "hook" and "thesis statement." We then watched a five minute documentary showing where all the plastic accumulates in the Pacific Ocean, and the wildlife being harmed by it. The article said that a few decades from now, the plastic in the ocean will weigh more than all the fish in it. We used critical thinking to try to come up with any possible solutions, as well as, thinking through what Charlie himself will do differently so that he is "part of the solution, not the pollution" as the video said. For the last ten minutes, we watched more of The Lone Ranger movie, stopping about six times to identify critical thinking standards.
Bobby completed Habit #2 in the Covey online website to develop leaders. It is to keep the end in mind as you initiate anything. If we don't know where we are going, there can be no clear direction. We discussed, using critical thinking, end goals for Bobby's planned business, as well as relationships and things he would like to either enjoy or accomplish in his life. We also revisited "paradigm" from last week which was clarified and elaborated. This time it made a deep impression. Bobby learned paradigm to be through what glasses one might view the world, or something specific. If someone has a negative paradigm, he carries around something like, I'm a failure, and until there's a paradigm shift, all experience will be subject more or less to that limited thought. He drew a circular chart on the board showing "see" (paradigm) to "do" action you take depending on your thought, and "get" -- the results.
Charlie first created a list of the intellectual traits, leaving room to write his own short definitions after each. Today we focused primarily on intellectual humility (being teachable; not a know-it-all), and fair-mindedness (considering multiple viewpoints without bias). After writing and discussing, I continued the movie, The Lone Ranger, where Charlie not only had to find instances of intellectual humility and fair-mindedness, but where he also needed to verbally articulate "clarity" (critical thinking Standard)in a couple of the scenes. To do that required inference, assumption, and remembering past information from the movie.
Review critical thinking elements in observing action
Lesson Outline
Kate first had to list (as review) the eight elements of critical thinking. She did pretty well, but still required some prompting and reminders. We then put these into active use by putting on a simple kid movie and finding eight places to stop that corresponded to an "element." Kate wrote eight sentences explaining how that element was used in the scene or by the character, as she checked off her list. Next week we will do this with the Standards and the following week with the Intellectual Traits. She will have nearly 30 sentences written in Standard English identifying critical thinking items as she discovered them in action. The following week I will give her a test.
