In this ESL lesson plan for adults and teens, students watch a TED animated video about tips for thinking critically. It includes discussion questions and conversation activities about critical thinking and decision making. Students learn some important vocabulary terms and phrases from the video. The post-viewing section includes activities on a metaphor from the video, vocabulary context usage, and rewriting sentences. The grammar activity features the usage of the conjunction whether in indirect speech. There are additional speaking tasks included, as well as a quiz and review section with a bonus activity.

Every day, a sea of decisions stretches before us, and it’s impossible to make a perfect choice every time. But there are many ways to improve our chances — and one particularly effective technique is critical thinking. Samantha Agoos describes a 5-step process that may help you with any number of problems.