Year 5 Critical thinking: Autumn 1 worksheet

“My thinking toolkit” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 critical thinking unit “Critical thinking: Autumn 1”, for children aged 9 to 10, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 1 to 6 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

My thinking toolkit

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · Critical thinking · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can name the right thinking tool for a sentence, and explain why it fits.

A Look back3 min

1.
Ten children were asked their favourite fruit. The chart shows what they chose. Circle the claim.
8 children chose apples.Most children in our class like apples.
2.
The chain shows what happens on a grey day. Which event comes between the clouds and the puddles? Write it in the empty box.
Rain fallsSun shinesWind blows
3.
The chart shows ice cream sales rose in July. Swimming trips rose in July too. Does this show that one caused the other? Circle your answer.
It shows they happened together.It proves ice cream makes people go swimming.

B Watch me, then you4 min

A friend says: 'Our school should have a longer lunch break.' Look at how one argument can use three tools in order.

Watch me

The claim says what we should do: a longer lunch break.

The counter-argument says lessons would lose time.

The rebuttal says rested pupils learn better, so no time is wasted.

Now you

1.
Claim: Pets are good for people. Counter-argument: Pets cost a lot of money to keep. Write a rebuttal in one or two sentences.

C Your turn6 min

Read each sentence. Circle the thinking tool it shows. The tools are the same each time.

1.
Bea says: 'Our school should plant a vegetable garden.' Circle the tool.
claimevidencecorrelationvested interestcounter-argumentrebuttal
2.
Bea adds: 'Last year, 60 children in our school asked for a garden club.' Circle the tool.
claimevidencecorrelationvested interestcounter-argumentrebuttal
3.
A sweet shop owner says: 'Our sweets are the healthiest in town.' Circle the tool that best describes why you should check this.
claimevidencecorrelationvested interestcounter-argumentrebuttal
4.
Ali replies: 'A garden would take space from the playground, so the idea is a bad one.' Circle the tool.
claimevidencecorrelationvested interestcounter-argumentrebuttal

Say it out loud: Which words in each sentence gave you the clue? Say the clue out loud before you choose.

D Spot the mistake3 min

Lou says: “Ice cream sales rise in summer, so ice cream makes the weather warmer.”

1.
Which tool shows the mistake in Lou's reasoning? Circle one.
correlation and causationvested interestcounter-argument

E Think deeper4 min

1.
Think of two things in your life that seem to rise or fall together. Write one, then explain whether one causes the other and how you know.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

My thinking toolkit · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. Most children in our class like apples. The child may have picked the count, which is evidence: you can check it on the chart. Ask: which sentence goes further than the chart and could be argued about? That is the claim.

2. Rain falls If the child picks Sun shines, ask what the sun does to clouds. Cause and effect means one event leads to the next. Trace the arrows from left to right.

3. It shows they happened together. If the child picks the proof option, ask: could a hot day cause both? Two things rising together is correlation. Causation needs a reason, not just a pattern.

B

1. Look for: A rebuttal that answers the cost objection, for example by saying the benefits outweigh it or costs can be planned for. If the child just repeats the cost, ask: what reply would show the claim still stands? A rebuttal answers the objection, it does not repeat it.

C

1. claim

2. evidence If the child picks claim, ask: is this a statement that needs support, or is it the support? Survey results are facts that back up a claim.

3. vested interest

4. counter-argument If the child picks rebuttal, ask: does Ali answer someone else's point, or does he raise a new objection to the claim? An objection to the claim is a counter-argument.

D

1. correlation and causation If the child picks vested interest, ask whether Lou gains from the claim. The clue is that two things rise together. That is correlation, and a cause needs its own reason.

E

1. Look for: A pair of things that move together, plus a reason saying whether one causes the other, using the words correlation or causation or a clear cause.

Words to use

Say“Which tool does this sentence show? What words gave you the clue?”

Instead of“Tell them the answer, or say the tool names are too hard for Year 5.”

After the sheet

At the kitchen table, read one line from a cereal box or advert together. Ask: is this a claim, evidence, or vested interest? Swap roles and see who spots more.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

5 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Spotting Broken Reasoning(with a plan)
The 'Because' Test(with a plan)
Sorting Strong, Weak, Broken(with a plan)
Spotting Hidden Options(with a plan)
Two Sides or More?(with a plan)

Every Year 5 critical thinking worksheet

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