The Best Examples of Critical Thinking Activities for Middle School Classrooms

Real examples of critical thinking activities for middle school you can use tomorrow

Let’s skip theory and start with concrete ideas. Below are real examples of critical thinking activities for middle school that teachers actually use. You’ll see how to set them up, what to say to students, and how to nudge them into deeper thinking without turning the lesson into a lecture.

Example of a media literacy “Fake or For Real?” challenge

Best for: ELA, social studies, advisory, digital citizenship

Students are swimming in information: TikTok clips, headlines, AI-generated images, and viral “facts.” Teaching them to question what they see is one of the best examples of critical thinking activities for middle school in 2024–2025.

How it works

You bring in 4–6 short pieces of content:

• A real news headline from a reliable source
• A misleading headline from a clickbait site
• A screenshot of an AI-generated image with a claim
• A social media post that mixes fact and opinion

Students work in small groups to sort each item into “Likely Reliable,” “Questionable,” or “Probably False.” Their job is to:

• Highlight words that make them trust or doubt the source
• Identify emotional language vs. neutral language
• List questions they would ask before sharing it

Then you reveal the truth about each item and ask:

• What clues did you miss?
• What questions helped you most?
• How could you check this in real life?

You can model fact-checking using sites like Common Sense Education or news literacy resources from the News Literacy Project.

This activity pushes students to evaluate evidence, recognize bias, and explain their reasoning—clear examples of critical thinking activities for middle school that connect directly to their online lives.

Examples of critical thinking activities for middle school science classes

Science is naturally full of “Why?” and “How do we know?” questions. Here are two science-focused examples of critical thinking activities for middle school that go beyond memorizing definitions.

Mystery Data: What Happened to the Fish?

Best for: Life science, environmental science

You give students a simple story: A local pond has suddenly lost most of its fish. You provide a packet of messy data:

• A graph of water temperature over 6 months
• A chart of fertilizer sales in nearby farms
• A map showing a new housing development
• A short article about algae blooms

Students work in groups to:

• Identify patterns in the data
• Generate at least three possible explanations
• Decide which explanation is most likely and why

Then they create a short explanation to present to the “town council” (the class). Encourage them to say things like, “We think this because…” and “One limitation of our explanation is…”

To deepen the lesson, connect it to real-world environmental issues using resources from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or NOAA Education.

Build a Better Experiment

Best for: Any science unit with experiments

Instead of handing students a lab with every step written out, give them the research question and the materials, and let them design the procedure.

For example:

Question: How does the amount of light affect plant growth?
Materials: Seeds, soil, cups, water, light sources, rulers

Students must decide:

• What to keep the same (controlled variables)
• What to change (independent variable)
• What to measure (dependent variable)

They sketch their experiment, then trade plans with another group, who has to find flaws or missing steps. This back-and-forth critique is one of the best examples of critical thinking activities for middle school science because it forces students to reason about cause and effect, not just follow directions.

Examples of critical thinking activities for middle school ELA and social studies

Reading and history classes are perfect places to push students beyond “what happened” into “why it happened” and “what it means.” Here are a few examples of critical thinking activities for middle school humanities.

The “Perspective Switch” Debate

Best for: Social studies, ELA, civics

Pick a debatable issue that fits your curriculum and your community norms. It could be:

• Should school start later in the morning?
• Should plastic water bottles be banned on campus?
• Was a specific historical decision justified?

Students are assigned a position at random, then given time to research both sides. The twist: halfway through the debate, they must switch sides and argue the opposite.

This structure forces students to:

• Understand arguments they disagree with
• Identify the strongest evidence on both sides
• Separate personal feelings from logical reasoning

You can support the research piece with guidelines from the Library of Congress on evaluating historical sources or university writing center resources like the Harvard College Writing Center.

Character on Trial

Best for: ELA novels, plays, or short stories

A character from your current text is “on trial” for a key decision. For example:

• Is Jonas in The Giver justified in leaving the community?
• Is a character guilty of betrayal, negligence, or courage?

Roles include:

• Defense team
• Prosecution team
• Witnesses (other characters, the author, or even the setting)
• Jury

Students must pull text evidence, interpret motives, and anticipate counterarguments. This is a powerful example of a critical thinking activity for middle school because it blends close reading with argumentation and speaking skills.

Real examples of critical thinking activities for middle school math

Math often gets reduced to “do these 20 problems,” but it can be a playground for logic and reasoning. These examples of critical thinking activities for middle school math help students see math as thinking, not just answer-getting.

The Broken Solution

You present a worked-out solution to a problem on the board. The catch: it contains two or three mistakes.

Students must:

• Identify every error
• Explain why each step is wrong in words
• Rewrite the solution correctly

For example, you might show a flawed solution to a proportional reasoning problem or a geometry proof. This activity slows students down and trains them to analyze steps, not just rush to an answer.

Create the Problem

Instead of giving students a problem, you give them an answer and a topic.

Answer: 24

Topic: Area of rectangles

Their job is to create three different problems that could have 24 as the answer. They must:

• Write the problem clearly
• Solve it
• Explain why it makes sense

When students swap problems with classmates, they practice checking others’ reasoning and giving feedback. This is one of the best examples of critical thinking activities for middle school math because it flips students into the role of problem designer, not just problem solver.

Collaborative, project-based examples of critical thinking activities for middle school

Some of the richest thinking happens when students work together on open-ended challenges. Here are a few collaborative examples to try.

Design a Better School Space

Best for: Advisory, STEM, social studies, or cross-curricular projects

Students identify a real problem in their school environment:

• A noisy cafeteria
• A crowded hallway
• A boring outdoor area

They then follow a simple design-thinking cycle:

• Define the problem in their own words
• Interview classmates or staff to gather perspectives
• Brainstorm multiple solutions
• Choose one and create a model or presentation

They present their proposal to a real audience—an administrator, facilities manager, or PTA. This real-world audience raises the stakes and encourages thoughtful reasoning. You can connect this to project-based learning frameworks from organizations like PBLWorks.

Ethical Dilemmas Circle

Best for: Advisory, ELA, social studies, health

You present short scenarios that don’t have a clear right answer, such as:

• A friend asks you to share homework answers
• You see a classmate being left out of a group chat
• A student uses AI to write most of an assignment

Students sit in a circle. For each scenario, they:

• Decide what they would do
• Explain their reasoning
• Listen to others’ perspectives

You can add sentence stems like:

• I chose this because…
• A downside of my choice might be…
• Another option could be…

This is a simple but powerful example of a critical thinking activity for middle school because it blends reasoning, empathy, and real-life situations—especially around modern issues like AI and social media.

How to turn almost any lesson into a critical thinking activity

Once you’ve tried a few of these examples of critical thinking activities for middle school, you’ll start to see patterns. You don’t always need a brand-new project; often you can tweak what you already do.

Here are a few simple moves that transform a regular assignment into a critical thinking task:

Ask “Why?” and “How do you know?”
Whenever a student gives an answer—right or wrong—follow up with:

• What made you think that?
• What evidence supports that?
• Could someone disagree with you? Why?

Build in comparison.
Instead of asking students to study one event, text, or process, ask them to compare two:

• Two characters’ decisions
• Two historical sources about the same event
• Two different solution methods in math

Invite students to revise.
After a discussion, lab, or writing assignment, ask:

• What would you change about your first answer now?
• What did you learn that made you rethink something?

These small shifts turn ordinary tasks into everyday examples of critical thinking activities for middle school, without adding hours of prep.

FAQ: Common questions about examples of critical thinking activities for middle school

Q: What are some quick examples of critical thinking activities for middle school I can do in 10–15 minutes?
Short options include: analyzing a “broken” math solution, sorting headlines into reliable vs. questionable, doing a one-scenario ethical dilemma circle, or having students write two different endings to a story and explain which one fits the character better and why.

Q: How often should I use these kinds of activities?
You don’t have to run a big project every week. Aim to sprinkle in at least one small example of a critical thinking activity for middle school students in every unit—a debate, a source comparison, a design challenge, or a reflection that asks them to explain their thinking.

Q: Do critical thinking activities work with struggling readers or students with IEPs?
Yes, as long as you adjust the reading load and the way students show their thinking. You can use shorter texts, audio versions, visuals, and sentence starters. The thinking can still be deep, even if the reading level is lower. Many special education and literacy experts, including those cited by the U.S. Department of Education, recommend explicit modeling and scaffolding for these kinds of tasks.

Q: How do I grade these activities fairly?
Use simple, clear rubrics that focus on reasoning, not just correctness. For example, you might assess how well students use evidence, consider multiple perspectives, or revise their ideas. Share the rubric before the activity so students know what “good thinking” looks like.

Q: What is one example of a critical thinking activity for middle school that works in any subject?
A versatile example is the “Claim–Evidence–Reasoning” routine. Students make a claim (answer), support it with evidence (facts, data, quotes), and explain their reasoning (how the evidence supports the claim). You can use this in science explanations, history questions, literature analysis, and even math word problems.

Critical thinking doesn’t have to be mysterious or reserved for honors classes. With these real examples of critical thinking activities for middle school—media literacy challenges, debates, design projects, and more—you can turn everyday lessons into opportunities for students to question, reason, and grow.