Year 6 Critical thinking: Summer 1 worksheet

“Knowing Is Not Enough” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 6 critical thinking unit “Critical thinking: Summer 1”, for children aged 10 to 11, and takes about 22 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 25 to 30 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Knowing Is Not Enough

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 6 · Critical thinking · about 22 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can explain why knowing about a bias does not always stop it.

A Look back3 min

1.
9 of these 10 children said yes. You pick one child without looking. Which word fits picking a child who said yes? Circle one.
certainlikelyimpossible
2.
Ali says crisps are the best snack because they got the most votes. Write one thing he must assume is true.
3.
Mia wanted the trip to go to the beach. She says only the beach is fair. What is this called? Circle one.
motivated reasoninga facta survey result

B Watch me, then you4 min

In a made-up class survey, 10 children rated how much bias they saw in other people and in themselves.

Watch me

Nine children said other people show bias a lot.

Only two children said they do.

We spot bias in others more easily than in ourselves. This is called a blind spot.

Now you

1.
Ali says: “I learned about bias, so my thinking cannot be biased now.” Does this chart support his claim? Circle one.
YesNo
2.
Write one reason why knowing about a bias does not always stop it. Use the words “blind spot”.

C Your turn6 min

Each chart shows what people said or chose. Decide whether the chart can answer the question.

1.
Six children changed their mind after a talk about bias. Does the chart show how many changed? Circle your answer.
YesNo
2.
Eight children said their own judgement was fair. Does that prove their judgement was fair? Circle one.
YesNo
3.
Nine children said they were fair. Four said others were fair. Does this show that the nine are right? Circle one.
YesNo
4.
Seven children knew about a bias before they answered. Does the chart show whether knowing it stopped them? Circle one.
YesNo

Say it out loud: What does the chart count, and does it ever tell us the reason behind the count?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A round hand mirror lying on a wooden desk beside a pencil

Mia says: “I read about bias, so my choice cannot be biased.”

1.
Why is Mia wrong? Write one reason.

E Think deeper4 min

One check on our own bias is to swap sides. Picture the person you disagree with using exactly the same reason.

An empty hall with plain walls, a long table, and chairs in a circle around it

1.
Think of a time you were sure you were right in an argument at home or in a club. Would your reason still convince you if the other person had used it? Explain why.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Knowing Is Not Enough · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. likely If your child circled certain, ask: could you pick the one child who said no? Nine out of ten is strong, but not certain.

2. Look for: An unstated assumption such as the votes showing what is best, or everyone being asked fairly.

3. motivated reasoning If your child circled a fact, ask: did Mia pick the conclusion first, then look for reasons? That is motivated reasoning.

B

1. No If your child said yes, ask: do people with a blind spot also say their own judgement is fair? Saying fair is not proof of being fair.

2. Look for: A reason using the idea of a blind spot, such as people seeing bias in others more easily than in themselves.

C

1. Yes If your child said no, point to the Changed row. A chart can show a count, even when it cannot show a reason.

2. No If your child said yes, ask whether people with a blind spot would also say their judgement was fair.

3. No If your child said yes, ask: what would the chart need to show for us to know the nine are right?

4. No If your child said yes, ask: does the chart show their answers and whether they were biased? It only shows who knew.

D

1. Look for: Says knowing about bias does not stop it, because people find their own bias hard to see. If your child says Mia is right, look back at the Watch me chart. Ask: in whom did the children find it harder to see bias?

E

1. Look for: A real argument, the reason used, and an honest answer about whether that reason would convince them coming from the other side.

Words to use

Say“What would you need to see to change your mind?”

Instead of“Tell them they are biased and they should stop.”

After the sheet

Ask everyone at home to rate how fair a family rule is, from 1 to 5. Then ask each person what would change their mind.

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 Persuasive Signals(with a plan)
Four Ideas Working Together(with a plan)
How far does a claim reach?(with a plan)
Matching Claims to Evidence(with a plan)
Checking Where Evidence Comes From(with a plan)

Every Year 6 critical thinking worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

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