Language Development|| Unit 1 - Critical Thinking

Unit 1 - Critical Thinking

Know Thyself

Before you read

(a) What are critical thinking skills?

Ans. The critical skills are :

• analysis, interpretation, inference, explanation, self, regulation, open-mindedness, problem, solving and decision making.

(b) How do critical thinkers solve the problems? Guess the steps they follow while tackling a problem.

Ans.

Critical thinkers solve the problems by following these steps:

• recognizing a problem or situation

• comprehending development by using concepts and generalizations

• testing hypothesis and gather data

• revising hypothesis and testing to revise a new hypothesis

• forming a conclusion.

Read the following text and do the given tasks.

There was a lot of shuffling around when the bell rang and everybody got up to leave. I checked my schedule and it said my next class was English, room 321. I didn't stop to see if anyone else from my homeroom was going my way: I just zoomed out of the class and down the hall and sat down as far from the front as possible. The teacher, a really tall man with a yellow beard, was writing on the chalkboard.

Kids came in laughing and talking in little groups but I didn't look up. Basically, the same thing that happened in homeroom happened again: no one sat next to me except for Jack, who was joking around with some kids who weren't in our homeroom. I could tell Jack was the kind of kid other kids like. He had a lot of friends. He made people laugh.

When the second bell rang, everyone got quiet and the teacher turned around and faced us. He said his name was Mr. Browne, and then he started talking about what we would be doing this semester . At a certain point, somewhere between A Wrinkle in Time and Shen of the Sea, he noticed me but kept right on talking. I was mostly in my notebook while he talked, but every once in a while I would sneak a look at the other students. Charlotte was in this class. So were Julian and Henry. Miles wasn't.

Mr. Browne had written on the chalkboard in big block letters:

             P-R-E-C-E-P-T ! 

"Okay, everybody writes this down at the very top of the very first page in your English notebook."

As we did what he told us to do, he said: , so who can tell me what a precept Does anyone know?"

No one raised their hands.

Mr. Browne smiled, nodded , and turned around to write on the chalkboard again:

    PRECEPTS = RULES -  ABOUT REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS! 

"Like a motto?" someone called out.

"Like a motto!" said Mr. Browne, nodding as he continued writing on the board. "Like a famous quote . Like a line from a fortune cookie . Any. saying or ground rule that can motivate you. A precept is anything that helps guide us when making decisions about really important things." He wrote all that on the chalkboard and then turned around and faced us. "So, what are some really important things?" he asked us.

A few kids raised their hands, and as he pointed at them, they gave their answers, which he wrote on the chalkboard in really, really sloppy handwriting:

        RULES. SCHOOLWORK. HOMEWORK. 

"What else ?" he said as he wrote, not even turning around. "Just call things out!" He wrote everything everyone called out.

        FAMILY. PARENTS. PETS. 

One girl called out:

        "The environment!" THE ENVIRONMENT. 

He wrote on the chalkboard, and added:

        OUR WORLD! 

"Sharks, because they eat dead things in the ocean!" said one of the boys, a kid named Reid; and Mr. Browne wrote down

        SHARKS. 

"Bees!" "Seatbelts!" "Recycling!" "Friends!"

"Okay," said Mr. Browne, writing all those things down. He turned around when he finished writing to face us again. "But no one's named the most important thing of all." We all looked at him, out of ideas.

"God?" said one kid, and I could tell that even though Mr. Browne wrote "God" down, that wasn't the answer he was looking for. Without saying anything else, he wrote down:

        WHO WE ARE! 

"Who we are," he said, underlining each word as he said it. "Who we are! Us! Right? What kind of people are we? What kind of person are you? Isn't that the most important thing of all? Isn't that the kind of question we should be asking ourselves all the time? "What kind of person am I?

"Did anyone happen to notice the plaque , an ornamental table fixed to the wall in commemorational of a person or event next to the door- of this school? Does anyone read what it says? Anyone?"

He looked around but no one knew the answer.

"It says: 'Know Thyself,' " he said, smiling and nodding.. "And learning who you are is what you're here to do."

"I thought we were here to learn English," Jack cracked, which made everyone laugh.

"Oh yeah , and that, too!" Mr. Browne answered, which I thought was very cool of him. He turned around and wrote in big huge block letters that spread across the chalkboard:

        MR. BROWNE'S SEPTEMBER PRECEPT: 

        WHEN GIVEN THE CHOICE BETWEEN BEING 

        RIGHT OR BEING.KIND, CHOOSE KIND. 

"Okay, so, everybody," he said, facing us again, "I want you to start a brand new section in your notebooks and call it Mr. Browne's Precepts." He kept talking as we did what he was telling us to do. "Put today's date at the top of the first page. And from now on, at the beginning of every month, I'm going to write a new Mr. Browne precept on the chalkboard and you're going to write it down in your notebook. Then we're going to discuss that precept and what it means. And at the end of the month, you're going to write an essay about it, about what it means to you. So by the end of the year, you'll all have your list of precepts to take away with you.

"Over the summer, I ask all my students to come up with their very own personal precept, write it on a postcard , and mail it to me from wherever you go on your summer vacation." -

"People do that?" said one girl whose name I didn't know. "Oh yeah!" he answered, "people do that. I've had students send me new precepts years after they've graduated from this school. It's pretty amazing ."

He paused and stroked his beard !

"But, anyway, next summer seems like a long way off, I know," he joked which made us laugh. "So, everybody relaxes a bit while I take attendance, and then when we're finished with that, I'll start telling you about all the fun stuff we're going to be doing this year—in English." He pointed to Jack when he said this, which was also funny , so we all laughed at that. As I wrote down Mr. Browne's September precept, I suddenly realized that I was going to like school. No matter what.

    - R.J. Palacio (expert from Wonder) 

Working with words.

A. Find the words from the text that match with the following meanings.

a. Shuffling  - Walking by dragging one's feet along or without lifting them fully from the ground 

b. Doodling   -  drawing pictures or patterns while thinking about something else 

c.  Plaque   -  a piece of flat metal with writing on it 

d. Percept   -  is a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought 

e. Sneak   -  move or go furtively or stealthily way

B. Consult your teacher and define the following thinking skills.

a. convergent thinking

is a type of thinking that focuses on coming up with the single, well-established answer to the problem. It emphasizes speed, accuracy, and logic and focuses on recognizing the familiar reapplying techniques and accumulating stored information.

b. divergent thinking

is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing "non-linear' manner such that many ideas are generated in an emergent cognitive fashion. Many possible solutions are explored in a short amount of time, and a particular set of logical steps to arrive at one solution, which in some cases is a correct solution. Activities, meditation, brainstorming, subject mapping, bubble mapping artwork, freewriting, etc. can be some methods that are useful in this context.

c. critical thinking

is the intellectually disciplined process of activity and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from or generated by observation, experience, reflection, reasoning or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter division; clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.

d. creative thinking

Creativity is the ability to generate a thought or an idea that is completely new, appealing, and useful. Creative thinking is a skill that enables you to come up with original and unconventional ideas. Creative thinking expresses itself in a multitude of ways. A graphic artist creates a brilliant logo. Creativity is the ability to generate thought or an idea that is • completely new appealing and useful. Creative thinking is a skill that enables you to come up with original and unconventional ideas.

Comprehension

Answer the following questions.

a. Who was Jack? How did he make children laugh?

Ans. Jack was one of the students of the classroom, who was joking around with some kids who weren't in our homeroom. He was the kind of kid 'other kids like.

b. Why are "Sharks" important to Reid?

Ans. Sharks are important to Reid because they eat dead things in the ocean.

c. What does Mr. Browne think about the most important thing?

Ans. Mr. Browne thinks that the most important thing is 'God'. God means the creator of the whole creation of everything in the world or universe.

d. What is has not been noticed by the student?

Ans. The plaque next to the door of this school hasn't been noticed by the student.

e. How did Jack make fun of the English class?

Ans. Jack started telling about all the fun stuff they are going to be doing this year.

f. What were the students going to do at the end of the month?

Ans. They were going to have a new perception of graduation from this school.

g. What particular act of students surprised a girl student?

Ans. Personal percept to write on a postcard and mail it to the girl from wherever they go on their summer vacation.was the particular act of students that surprised the girl student. The absurd behavior of the boy's gesture toward the girls and his body language gives her trouble.

Critical thinking

a. Have you made your precept after you read this lesson? What is it? Share it with your friends.

Ans. The precept is a guiding principle or rule that is used to control, influence, or regulate conduct. After I read this lesson, I have made my precept. The precept on my part is: When given choice between right or being kind, I choose kindness. Example: That I am correct but I don't make a big deal about that since I know that some others might not be correct.

b. According to Josh Lanyon, "If there was one life skill everyone on the planet needed, it was the ability to think with critical objectivity." Justify this statement with your logic.

Ans. When you live with a potentially life-threatening condition, you might have the thought of dying. You accept it, you push on. But the thing that scares you is the picture of dying slowly and painfully, the loss of independence and identity. To make life easy and successful, everyone needs to think critically. Analyze everything and avoid negation. Think about the betterment of others and progress to get achieving in life. Do an effort to meet your goal. Critical thinking is the ability to think reasonably. The reason is the process. The entire point of critical thinking is to pursue absolute truth. The reason is the methodology, applying information gathered from or generating ideas by observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, etc. are the objectives of critical thinking. Absolute truth is always beyond our reach though we have to perceive and accept it. Objective truth is always within reach. So, in critical thinking, a person is reason tries to establish objective truth.

We shouldn't feel angry or annoyed when mean, crazy or stupid people violate our right path.

Writing

Write an email to your friend explaining an interesting class you had.

Ans.

From....

To....

Hey! I hope you are fine, I am also well. How is your study going on? I am having online classes these days and I am a bit free as well. So I am writing to you. All our school classes are being digitalized to the next level. Our classes are either conducted on zoom or Microsoft teems. Depending upon which platform is easier to conduct a class, we get schedules a day prior and we have to prepare ourselves accordingly.

We are supposed to create an environment that is calm and noise-free so that when we have to converse it is easier for the listener to communicate. We can search for various answers in search engines and prove our hypotheses also. We construct our thinking by analyzing various perceptions. This time bonds us to do everything by ourselves. Anyway, we have to survive in the pandemic period. I like the absurd, perception of this virtual class. Anyway, we have to accept everything, think critically because we have to face every trouble of life. If you have anything interesting about online classes write me soon.

Your Name....

Grammar

Question tag

A. Study the following examples.

a. You are tired, aren't you?

b. He left Kathmandu, didn't he?

c. Your father never touched alcoholic drinks, did he?

B. Rewrite the following sentences adding an appropriate question tag.

a. Gill does not know Ann, does he?

b. I'm very patient, aren't I ?

c. They'd never met me before, had they?

d. Listen carefully, will you?

e. Let's have a break, shall we ?

f. Let us invite them, will you?

g. Hari used to live in France as a boy, didn't he?

h. You'd better not take a hard drink, had you?

i. Sheep eat grass, don't they?

j. Mr. Pande can speak nine languages, can't he?

k. She's finished her classes, hasn't she?

l. She barely managed to reach the goal, did she?

m. Don't let him swim in that pond, will you?

n. There are lots of people here, aren't there?

C. Read the following situations. What do you say in these situations? Use question tags.

a. The sky is full of clouds. You can see lightning and hear thunder. It's going to rain soon, isn't it?

b. You want to pay the taxi fare but you are short by 100 rupees, Shyam, don't you ?

c. You have met a stranger at a party and you want to have a chat with him/ her. Would you like to have a chat with me, wouldn't you?

d. You came out of the film hall with your friend. You enjoyed the film. The film was interesting, wasn't it?

e. You and your friend listened to a comedian on the stage and felt spellbound by his/her performance. He gave an excellent performance, didn't he?

f You think your friend's father has arrived from the US but you are not sure. Your father has arrived from the US, hasn't he?

g. You think Susan will join the new job tomorrow but you are not sure Susan will join the new job tomorrow, won't he?

h. Your friend's hair looks too short. You have got your friend's hair cut, don't you?

i. You want to go for a picnic with your friends in class. Let's go for a picnic, shall we?

j. You want permission from your father to go for a walk. Let me go for a walk, will you?

Listening

A. Look at the pictures and answer these questions.

a. Do you know these personalities? Who are they?

b. What are they famous for?

B. Listen to the audio and fill in the blanks with the appropriate words/phrases.

a. Young people are the for all the worries.

b. According to the speaker, nothing is easy and

c. The speaker spent in the plane last year.

d. Jack loves a unique idea, not an

e. Jack suggests the young people accept every situation as training for success.

f. The exam starts after college life.

Speaking

Expressing disappointment

A. Act out the following dialogue.

A: I'm not happy.

B: What's wrong?

A: Oh, I didn't get that job.

B: What a bummer!

A: Yeah, I wish I had prepared better for the interview.

B: Maybe you were just nervous.

A: If I had only thought about how my experience applied to the position, I would have submitted the testimonials related.

B: Well, I'm sure you'll do better next time.

A: I hope so. I'm sick of this job.

B: Every job has its ups and downs.

A: Let's have a coffee.

B: That's something that never disappoints me.

B. Underline the expressions in the above dialogue that express disappointment. Can you add some more expressions?

A: I'm not happy.

B: What's wrong?

A: Oh. I didn't get that job.

B: What a bummer!

A: Yeah, I wish I had prepared better for the interview.

B: Maybe you were just nervous.

A: If I had only thought about how my experience applied to the position, I would have submitted the testimonials related.

B: Well, I'm sure you'll do better next time.

A: I hope so. I'm sick of this job.

B: Every job has its ups and downs.

A: Let's have a coffee.

B: That's something that never disappoints me.

C. How would you express disappointment in the following situations?

a. You missed the birthday party of your close friend because you were unwell.

• I love to attend your party but I was unwell.
• I regret being unable to join the party, my dear friend.

b. You had to go to school on time, but as it happened, you found the tire of your bicycle flat.

• What a bummer!
• I'm sorry. My bicycle deceived me at a crucial time.

c. You have arranged to go for a picnic with your friends. But it is pouring with rain.

• Every job has its ups and downs.
• What bad luck on our part!

d. You went to the cinema with your friend to watch a newly-released film, but as it happened, there was a 'Houseful' sign outside.

• What's up! that's nothing for me.

e. You could not secure an A grade in class 11 in English.

• If I had worked hard before the exam, I would have secured Grade A in class 11 English.

Project work

Invite some students of Grade XI and ask them these three questions. Write a paragraph based on their answers and share it with your friends.

a. What are you CURIOUS about?

• I am curious about human health & disease and data science.

b. What are you CONCERNED about?

• I am concerned about treating people free of cost.

c. What do you want to CREATE in the world?

• Free treatment & cure to everyone.
• Peace & harmony, throughout the world.
• All people may live happily and enjoy freedom in life no one would give trouble & harassment to them.