KHEC Curriculum Framework 2.1

2.1 and 2.2 -- Encouraging Critical Thinking Skills in Children.  Several simple but effective ideas which should be incorporated into every lesson plan:

Encourage students to ask questions -- and keep asking more questions.
Always respond to their questions enthusiastically.
Remember the difference between drill-type questions that recall information and thought-provoking questions.
Guide students toward discovering answers on their own.
Make the atmosphere open to ideas so that students are willing to question everything.
Consider a “wrong answer” as a learning opportunity.
Respect your students opinions and encourage them to have their own ideas.
Help students to be well informed about a topic before coming to any conclusions.
Source: Googol

Maybe Right, Maybe Wrong: A Guide for Young Thinkers by Dan Barker. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. 1992.
Dan Barker affirms a child's ability to think, to seek information, and to ask ""Why?" By using factually based information and the tools of critical thought, without recourse to dogma or holy books, the book's main character, Andrea, learns vital moral lessons. Her most important insight: Regardless of one's own beliefs, you should respect everybody's human rights.

Maybe Yes, Maybe No by Dan Barker. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. 1991.
Few books help children to order their thoughts or to use questions in a structured way. In this book, Wanda investigates her friend's tales of ghosts, following the rules of a scientific inquiry. The cartoon story in accompanied by a simple text and followed by ideas on how to disprove or prove a theory.

Additional resources:
Improving Your Child's Thinking Skills
Types of Questions to Encourage Critical Thinking
Varied Definitions of a Critical Thinker
Critical and Creative Thinking
Teaching Thinking Skills
Inventive Thinking Lesson Plans