Critical Thinking Skills/ Analogy Practice

Objectives: To practice critical thinking. To practice analogies. To identify and create true and false syllogisms.

Materials: Picture Cards from Proverbial Wisdom

Procedures:

1. Use the three given examples as models of true and false syllogisms.

   Syllogisms:

   1. If the squeaky wheel gets the grease and all wheels squeak. all wheels would get greased. (TRUE)

   2. If the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and Marge marries Jim. then Marge is a good cook. (FALSE.... What if they go to restaurants?)

   3. If every cloud has a silver lining and all bullets are silver. every bullet must be a cloud. (FALSE... not everything that is silver is a cloud.)

2. Allow students time to evaluate syllogisms.

3. As a class, discuss why number one is correct while numbers two and three are not.

4. Ask the students to cooperatively create four original syllogisms based on proverbs.

5. Distribute 8 picture cards to each group of 4 students and allow time for students to identify the proverbs.

6. Students should pick four proverbs and use them to create true and false syllogisms.

7. Exchange student -written syllogisms among groups for the true or false evaluation and discussion.