critical thinking and Standards of Learning

CRITICAL THINKING AND STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLS) is a combination of reader and workbook, which is designed for students in middle school or above. Each chapter includes: • SOLs (Standards of Learning) that are integral to the chapter reading selections, which are the basis for critical thinking work and student final writing that seek to help the student achieve the chapter SOLs. • Learning objectives explain what students do to achieve the SOL of the chapter: what they read, think about and write about. • Graphic thinking organizers, which help students to organize their thinking and actually see the “layout” of their writing. • Reading selections are materials to which students apply the chapter learning objectives and eventually achieve the SOLs. • Exercises help students understand the reading selections and prepare them to write about the content of the chapter. • Writing is the final chapter learning experience in which each student’s meaning about and understanding of the selections, combined with working with thinking organizers, leads to organized, succinct, and pertinent writing. The writing section also includes Tips to help each student write completely and clearly. The SOLs, the reading selections, and the learning objectives work in concert to give each student a full learning experience.