Seekers

SEEKERS: An Introduction to Critical Thinking is a reader and workbook. This combination of reader and workbook is designed for readers in middle school or above. As a reader, it is a short introduction to the theme of religious seekers. There are a number of selections about people seeking "the divine." One selection is a famous short story that has become a part of religious folklore. There are a couple of poems about a special kind of seeker from two 19th century writers. There is also a hymn from 12th century Germany. SEEKERS: An Introduction to Critical Thinking briefly introduces students to graphics thinking organizers to teach logic and organization skills important in critical thinking. These organizers play an important role in the learning process in this reader-workbook. Organizers help students to see their thoughts on paper so that they can later do their writing. Before they use an organizer on their own, students learn step-by-step how to use it. Then, either alone or in groups, they organize their thoughts about the story. Finally, they write, using their organizer to help them visualize their final written work. Besides helping students to visualize their writing, SEEKERS: An Introduction to Critical Thinking introduces readers to different "rhetorical" and analytical techniques, such as comparison and contrast, sorting, and cause and effect. Just as students use graphic thinking organizers to help visualize their writing, the same organizers help them to analyze and conceptualize what they are reading in terms of these techniques. Finally, through the mini-exercises and study tables integral to understanding each selection, students analyze literary content. This means writing short answer essays about the selections. Thus students write about both their graphics-organizers and the literary content they have explored. All the writing students do is related to the selections they read. As mention earlier, SEEKERS: An Introduction to Critical Thinking is an introduction to critical thinking. A companion volume has additional graphic thinking organizers and many readings. It is called "Snipp snapp snute, så er eventyret ute" - Folklore Reader and Workbook. If you are interested in this volume, contact the author at grinite2@lycos.com for information. Please mention critical thinking skills in the subject line of your email.