GameBook for Critical Thinking

Games for Visual Thinking

VI 001 - Rebus Roundup

VI 002 - Total Recall

VI 003 - 4/9 Connect

VI 004 - Crazy Captions

VI 005 - Meanings in Mind

VI 006 - Awesome Anagrams

Games for Communication

CO 001 - World Words

CO 002 - Coffee House Chat

CO 003 - Alien Travel Guide

CO 004 - Talk It Out

CO 005 - Silent Sharing

CO 006 - Elevator Pitch

CO 007 - Fact or Opinion

Games for Interpretation

ID 001 - You Name It

ID 002 - 1001 Ways

ID 003 - What Would Happen?

ID 004 - Explain Yourself

ID 005 - You Know the Rules

ID 006 - Making Choices

ID 007 - Sketch Them Out

Games for Association

AD 001 - Strange Interview

AD 002 - Teamwork



AD 002 - Teamwork

Worst Case Scenario

In a crisis, teamwork is crucial to handling challenges effectively. Fabricate a scenario in which students need to work together and solve problems to succeed (ex: stranded on a deserted island, being lost at sea, etc,.). The rule is that every team member must contribute an idea for a possible solution.

For example, they could come up with a list of items that would help them survive, or think of a plan to find shelter or build it. Students can then vote and agree to a final solution.

Train of Tall Tales

Form into a circle and give everyone a unique picture of a person, place, object, or animal. One person begins a story that issues whatever happens to be on their photo as the focus. The next person continues the story by adding something related to their photo. This exercise gets funny and challenging!

Paper Tower

This fun collaborative team-building exercise develops aspects of Solution, Creativity, and Collaboration Fluency. Each group constructs a free-standing tower out of newspaper and tape. There isn’t a time limit for this exercise unless you want to establish one.

It encourages critical thinking and problem-solving. Which team can build the tallest, structurally sound free-standing tower? Throughout the process, students will start to realize there are questions they have that they didn’t ask. This is a perfect time to get them to explore how to answer these questions for themselves.

Class Minefield

This is an exercise based on building communication and trust between people. Arrange a challenging obstacle course and place students into teams. They get to take turns navigating the minefield you’ve built while being blindfolded, with only their teammates verbally guiding them. You can also require students to use only specific words or clues to make it harder, and witch the minefield around for each team.



AD 001 - Strange Interview

Pair up with a partner and test each other with these fun and challenging “job interview” questions. This one is all about lateral thinking and common-sense viewpoints. It’s also about active listening!

1. A man buys a new car and goes home to tell his wife. He goes the wrong way up a one-way street, nearly runs into 7 people, goes onto the sidewalk, and takes a shortcut through a park. A policeman sees all this and still doesn’t arrest him. Why not?

2. If you had a machine that could generate one million dollars a day, what would you be willing to pay for it?

3. Why is it against the law for a person living in New York to be buried in California?

4. One house is made of red bricks, one of blue bricks, one of yellow bricks, and one of purple bricks. What is the green house made of?

5. A little girl kicks a soccer ball. It goes 10 feet and comes back to her. How is this possible?

6. In South Africa, you can’t take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?

7. You drive past a bus stop and see 3 people waiting for the bus: an old lady who is about to die, an old friend who saved your life, and your perfect partner. Knowing you can only have one passenger in your car, what would you do?

8. How much dirt is there in a hole 3 feet deep, 6 feet long, and 4 feet wide?

9. If it took 8 men 10 hours to build a wall, how long would it take 4 men to build the same wall?

10. How far can you walk into the woods?

11. How many books can you put in an empty backpack?

12. Your friend says he can predict the exact score of every football game before it begins. He’s right every time. How is that possible?

Answer Key

1. The man was walking.
2. Why pay for the machine if you already have it?
3. Burying people who are still alive is a crime.
4. Glass panels.
5. She kicked it straight up into the air.
6. You can’t take a picture with a wooden leg; you have to use a camera.
7. Give the car keys to your friend, and let him take the old woman to the hospital. Then stay behind and wait for the bus with your perfect partner.
8. None – otherwise it wouldn’t be a hole.
9. The wall is already built; no need for anyone to build it again.
10. Halfway – after that, you’re walking out of the woods.
11. You only need one; then the backpack isn’t empty.
12. The score before any football game begins is 0:0.



ID 007 - Sketch Them Out

Everything around you – cars, buildings, even our electronic devices – all started with an idea. This is an exercise in creative visualization. In the space below, sketch out an idea for an invention or a concept you think would be cool. Some ideas are provided, but feel free to come up with your own.

Suggestions

• A portable source for charging a smartphone
• A traffic system that doesn’t rely on colors
• A machine that turns trash into energy
• A “green” vehicle
• An all-new method of personal transportation
• A new immersive gaming system
• An idea for a tablet or smartphone app
• A challenging and fun new idea for a sport
• A clever design for an interior space
• An idea for a social networking domain

My Inventive Idea:



ID 006 - Making Choices

Part of life is being able to strike a healthy balance between our needs and our wants. It’s also about focusing on what we consider to be truly important. Imagine you can have any 3 things that you want. In return, you must give away three things that you already have. What do you want and what will you give away, and why?

What I Choose to Have

I would want these things because:

What I Would Give Away

I would give up these things because:



ID 005 - You Know the Rules

The rules and laws we have in life are meant to guide us and protect us, and to keep order in our society. Imagine that you get to make 3 rules that everyone in the world must follow. What rules would you make and why?

Rule No. 1:

I chose this rule because:

Rule No. 2:

I chose this rule because:

Rule No. 3:

I chose this rule because:



ID 004 - Explain Yourself

How would you describe the following things and their sensations to someone who had never seen or experienced them before? Use all your senses in your descriptions?

A bunch of flowers

An automobile

A rainstorm

A laptop computer

A piece of chocolate

A rock concert

A hug from someone

A favorite place of yours