Today’s Excerpt:

Practice using critical thinking strategies to have a discussion or to think about a topic.

Choose a topic to explore that is alive or interesting. Here are some possibilities:

• Are zoos good for animals or bad for animals?
• Are video games good or bad?
• Should students have homework?
• At what age should children be allowed to ride their bike to the store alone?
• Do we still need movie theaters?
• When should bedtime be?

First, brainstorm the best reasons you can think of on one side of the question. (For instance, list all the reasons you can think of why zoos are good for animals.)

Second, brainstorm the best reasons you can think of on the other side of the question.

Discuss:

• What did you think about the topic before the discussion?
• Did you change your views about the topic? Why or why not?