All teachers-yes, family you're teachers too- do a better job of encouraging critical thinking skills by keeping Bloom's Taxonomy in mind. The goal is to build up student understanding by moving through the simple levels such as recall to the more complex level such as create.
The levels of Bloom's are organized in a pyramid from the lowest to the highest level.
They are remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create.
(Type in Bloom's Taxonomy to any search engine for lots more information)
For example you would start by asking a lower level question: What are the names of the characters in the story? Then you would build up through the levels. How would you describe the main character? What do you think he or she would do in a different situation? Compare this character to the main character of a different story. Defend the character's actions. Write a new story about this character.
The goal is to get students accustomed to thinking at higher levels. Anyone can do it. It just takes practice.
