Critical Thinking Game for Toddlers and Kindergarteners

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

This game is both an assessment tool for teachers/parent-teachers and a tool that helps children work on the following skills insha'Allaah:

• Listening to and following directions
• Critical Thinking (the process of elimination based on provided clues)
• Sorting objects based on the attribute of colour

 

In this game, there are 27 picture cards (3 cards for each colour) and 9 cards that contain clues (1 card for each of the nine colours covered in the game). The teacher/parent-teacher decides how many cards he/she will present to the child(ren). When first presenting the game to children, it is a good idea to start with 6 cards (i.e. 3 cards for the 2 colours you will start with).

As the child understands the game and shows proficiency, the teacher/teacher-parent can increase the number of cards presented at one time and incorporate using the game board insha'Allaah.

To play, the teacher reads the clues to the child(ren) one at a time, providing time for the child(ren) to process the clue. Using the example pictured above, the teacher will read: "What I want is orange." The teacher pauses to allow children time to take all of the orange cards from among the other cards.  When the child has removed all of the orange cards and has lined them up in front of him, the teacher reads the second clue: "People eat it." Again, the teacher pauses allowing the child to process the clue and act on it. Here, the child may notice that there are two things that people eat (i.e. the orange and the carrot). The child will remove the card showing the cat because this card can no longer be the card the teacher is asking for.

The teacher reads the next and last clue: "And it is a vegetable." The child will look at the two cards he has in front of him and realize that the card the teacher is asking for can only be the carrot because an orange is a fruit. The child will take the card showing the carrot and place it on their colour mat (pictured above) in the spot that says orange.

The teacher plays the game in this fashion until the child has completed the board. Each card has 3 clues and after the first clue is given the child will always have two cards remaining that are possible answers. The child will not usually know the card the teacher is asking for until the last clue is read.

There is also an answer key in the file for the child to self-correct insha'Allaah and this game can be played with a whole class as well (you would need to print one copy of the game for each student in your class). **Note: the clue card for the colour yellow had an error that has now been corrected. The second clue should read: "We do not write with it.", not "It is long." **

Jazakumu Allaahu Khayran for respecting the terms of use for all material on A Muslim Child is Born; the activity can be downloaded here insha'Allaah.

Enjoy insha'Allaah!