Many of the students in my social studies classes over the years have enjoyed a good classroom debate. I am sure that as the 2016 campaign for President of the United States heats up in the fall many classrooms will be having their own little debates. Many social studies classes will also watch portions of the debates between the candidates. Some lessons on critical thinking and logical fallacies can help students make solid arguments and also help them identify weaknesses in the arguments made by others. The following video resources can help you help your students develop those skills.

5 Tips to Improve Your Critical Thinking is a TED-Ed lesson. The introduction to the lesson is a bit long for my liking but once you get past that the tips are solid. The lesson presents critical thinking as a process of five steps. The last step is the one that students will probably struggle to implement, “explore other points of view.”

Wireless Philosophy offers a playlist of twelve videos on logical fallacies. The playlist is embedded below.

The fallacies covered in the PBS videos are Strawman, Ad Hominem, Black and White, Authority, and No True Scotsman. I have embedded the playlist below.