Critical Thinking application example

This application example is addressed to children of 11 years old who have an

intermediate level of the language. At the end of the lesson, children will be able to explain
the moral of the fable (The stork and the fox). The goal of the lesson is to develop reading
comprehension.

As a whole class activity

First of all, I will show two pictures of the two characters of the fable, and I’ll ask children
the following questions:

What can storks /foxes do?

Where do they live?

What do they eat?

Do you like storks/foxes?

Individual activity

After the questioning activity, I’ll ask children to choose one of the animals and introduce
themselves like the following pattern:

fox
stork

I am a stork because I am a fox because

………….. …………..
The goal of this activity is to develop children’s critical thinking because they have to give
reasons for their choices.
 For instance, I am a fox because I am very smart and astute. I am strong and can
run, jump and even swim.
 If they choose the stork, they may say. I am a stork because I am very protective
and caring, I can fly very high
Individual work

Once children have expressed freely their choices, present the pictures of the fable for
children to make predictions. They have to make two predictions for the stork and two for
the fox. In this phase students have to think about some possible events they are going to
find in the fable. This is an example of critical thinking, because they have to organize their
ideas according to their previous knowledge. The previous activity of the introductions is
also going to help them to process the information to try to predict some events of the story.

TEXT: The stork and the fox PREDICTION Text JUSTIFICATION

paragra
PREDICTIONS True Fals
ph
e
1
2
3
4

After students have made their predictions in the table above, they have to read the
fable and at the same time they have to check their predictions and mark as true or false
accordingly. In the last column of the table, they have to provide the justification for their
responses by indicating the number of the paragraph or the line that confirms whether the
prediction was true or false.
 Group work

Students work in groups to compare and contrast their predictions and justifications.
They also give and receive feedback to each other. Teacher has to monitor students to
provide clarifications and feedback.
As a whole class activity

At the end of the class, teacher asks for volunteers to explain in front of the class the
moral of the fable, and engages children in a brief discussion to reflect upon the message of
the fable.
Annex

Source http://read.gov/aesop/016.html
The stork and the fox
The Fox one day thought of a plan to amuse himself at the
expense of the Stork, at whose odd appearance he was
always laughing.

"You must come and dine with me today," he said to the

Stork, smiling to himself at the trick he was going to play.
The Stork gladly accepted the invitation and arrived in good
time and with a very good appetite.

For dinner the Fox served soup. But it was set out in a very
shallow dish, and all the Stork could do was to wet the very
tip of his bill. Not a drop of soup could he get. But the Fox
lapped it up easily, and, to increase the disappointment of
the Stork, made a great show of enjoyment.

The hungry Stork was much displeased at the trick, but he

was a calm, even-tempered fellow and saw no good in flying
into a rage. Instead, not long afterward, he invited the Fox
to dine with him in turn. The Fox arrived promptly at the
time that had been set, and the Stork served a fish dinner
that had a very appetizing smell. But it was served in a tall
jar with a very narrow neck. The Stork could easily get at
the food with his long bill, but all the Fox could do was to
lick the outside of the jar, and sniff at the delicious odor.
And when the Fox lost his temper, the Stork said calmly:

Do not play tricks on your neighbors unless you can stand

the same treatment yourself.