Tag Archives: Thinking Skills

What Type of Learner Do You Have

People learn things in different ways. Some learn by watching demonstrations. Some learn better with diagrams and charts. Still others learn best by getting in there and doing something. By understanding how our students learn best, we can present new concepts in a more effective way. The first thing you’ll want to do is determineContinue reading “What Type of Learner Do You Have”

5 Steps to Developing a Lifelong Learner

Hey, that’s the point, right? We all want to be able to learn anything for ourselves. And we want to keep learning our entire lives. So, as educators, how do we encourage lifelong learning? Here are 5 simple steps — things to focus on when developing a lifelong learner:   1. Exploration Lifelong learners areContinue reading “5 Steps to Developing a Lifelong Learner”

3 Ways to Develop Critical Thinking Skills

In a chapter titled “Thinking Skills” in her book A Biblical Home Education, Ruth Beechick explains that we don’t need a “thinking” class. Instead we want our children to apply critical thinking skills to every subject. She relates an anecdote involving four children, five and under, whose mother has helped them think about the factContinue reading “3 Ways to Develop Critical Thinking Skills”

Bloom’s & Critical Thinking {Update}

We have updated our entire Bloom’s & Critical Thinking series.  The purpose of the series is to provide ideas on how to incorporate critical thinking skills across the curriculum — all of the subjects, interests, and activities that our children are engaged in throughout the day.  Most of these ideas are pulled from a naturalContinue reading “Bloom’s & Critical Thinking {Update}”

College Prep Reading List {Free}

Whether your child ends up needing a college education to pursue his profession or not, you’ll appreciate this free college prep recommended reading list from Dr. James Stobaugh at For Such a Time as This. Like all reading lists, you’ll want to preview and pick, choose, and add those titles that fit your family.  NotContinue reading “College Prep Reading List {Free}”

Bloom’s & Critical Thinking: Creating

The Creating or Synthesis level (Bloom’s Taxonomy) reflects an output. A student understands how something works and uses or incorporates that information in creating a new idea. We often see this when our children build that better mousetrap — invent their own contraption, write their own book on a favorite subject, or compose an originalContinue reading “Bloom’s & Critical Thinking: Creating”

Bloom’s & Critical Thinking: Evaluating

The Evaluating or Evaluation level (Bloom’s Taxonomy) reflects the ability to apply judgment, determine the value of something, or justify a position. A student understands how something works and is able to make decisions or recommendations. We often see this when our children have studied a subject in depth, questioned the way things have beenContinue reading “Bloom’s & Critical Thinking: Evaluating”

Bloom’s & Critical Thinking: Analyzing

The Analyzing or Analysis level (Bloom’s Taxonomy) reflects the ability to break a whole into parts, to understand how the parts relate to one another or are organized; and additionally, to be able to see motives, causes, and understand inferences. At this level, thinking is more abstract.  We often see this when our children beginContinue reading “Bloom’s & Critical Thinking: Analyzing”

Bloom’s & Critical Thinking: Understanding

The Understanding or Comprehension level (Bloom’s Taxonomy) encompasses the ability to take in information, understand it, and be able to restate the information in our own words. Many homeschool moms already incorporate the Understanding or Comprehension tool of narration. (Some may rightly conclude that narration also encompasses some of the other levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.)Continue reading “Bloom’s & Critical Thinking: Understanding”

Bloom’s & Critical Thinking: Remembering

The Remembering or Knowledge level (Bloom’s Taxonomy) involves bringing to mind the information to be recalled.  That’s it.  Simple.  Simple unless you have a difficult time remembering things, or the information to be remembered had little or no significance to you at the time you encountered it. Remembering requires bringing back to mind something weContinue reading “Bloom’s & Critical Thinking: Remembering”

Incorporating Bloom’s Taxonomy & Critical Thinking

Want to know a quick way to evaluate how much your child is learning?  Where are they on the Bloom’s Taxonomy chart? Can they recall, describe, or tell? Can they state in their own words and explain? Can they apply what they know by showing or predicting? Can they classify, compare, or outline? Can theyContinue reading “Incorporating Bloom’s Taxonomy & Critical Thinking”

Beacon Lights of History {Free eBooks}

The  Beacon Lights of History is a 12-volume series written by John Lord in the late 1800s to early 1900s. If you are looking for a history spine written from a Christian perspective, you’ll find the Beacon Lights an excellent world history “text” for the older student. It has been my object in these LecturesContinue reading “Beacon Lights of History {Free eBooks}”