Critical Thinking in K-6: Why It Matters And How To Develop It

Growing Up And Having To Develop Critical Thinking

Growing up in a small town during the 70s was a privilege. At the age of 7, I was able to wander the town, parks and venues unsupervised. I took full advantage. At the age of 10, I was allowed to ride my bike on the highway shoulder 28 km round trip to the next small town.

I would ride the Greyhound bus from our small town to Edmonton once a month for 3 years for orthodontic appointments. I would disembark on Jasper Avenue and walk the 5 blocks to the orthodontist, ride the elevator to the 7th floor and sit in the waiting room while the receptionist notified my mom that I had arrived. These frequent freedoms offered countless opportunities to develop and practice critical thought. 

One day, as I approached the 12 km marker of my highway bike route, I heard something crying and noticed a small lump on the road.  As I got closer, I discovered it was a gopher with one leg crushed. It must have been trying to run across the road, and its leg got crushed by a passing car. The gopher was alive and breathing heavily, with blood slowly streaming from his nose.

I realized it was not just his leg that was damaged. His eyes darted about as he watched me, then settled to a calm stare as I picked him up, walked him over to the grassy ditch and laid him to rest there for a bit. I surmised that I could put him in my backpack and pedal quickly back to my town to the veterinarian for first aid, as the small town that I was closer to did not have a pet doctor.

But even if I made it to town in time, the gopher would have suffered severe pain and trauma. As he lay in the grass, still crying and breathing heavily, I decided that no adult would ever try to revive a gopher. He was in severe pain. I picked up a nearby rock and placed several hard blows to the gopher so he would not have to suffer anymore. 

It is not easy to be forced to make a critical decision in a given moment of time, yet with daily practice, it becomes a habit. A very valuable, life-saving habit. Research supports the less is more approach to parenting.

My parents made sure I would become a resilient, responsible and respectful individual. They did not view me as an extension of themselves. They always viewed me as an individual.

Current Challenges In Helping Your Children Develop Critical Thinking

The challenge for parents today, who were raised to be hyperdependent on their own parents, is to allow their children more freedom. More freedom to go to the nearby park with friends. To ride their bike around the block by themselves. To play at the local school playground after school while waiting for their parents to pick them up. To go into the grocery store alone and purchase a needed item. To make their own play dates, not having to rely on their parents to arrange them.

Less parental worry and more child independence will allow this generation of children to practice critical thinking on a daily basis. This may seem overwhelming so at Education Rocks we offer a way to streamline this process.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills With Education Rocks Products

The unit and lesson plans in our K-6 Learning Library can help your K-6 child or students develop critical thinking skills. The best part is that you can edit these resources so that your child or students can focus on what they can do right now and build on it, rather than internalize that they are not performing at grade level.

All of our resources include engaging instructional videos, audio functions, and high-definition images. These resources can be used both digitally and non-digitally at home or at school.

If you want to fully preview all unit and lesson plans, you can do so on our Teachers Pay Teachers page!

If you have any questions about any of our products, then you can email me at hello@educationrocks.ca.

Thank you for reading this blog post on why critical thinking matters and how to develop it for K-6 aged children. I wish you and your child(ren) or students all the best in this upcoming school year!