My oldest child enjoys logic and thinking type puzzles, so I thought she’d enjoy working through Critical Thinking Detective Book 1 from The Critical Thinking Co.™. I was right, and I’m thankful we had the opportunity to review it.
What Is This Product?
Critical Thinking Detective Book 1 is a soft covered workbook consisting of 30 pages. There’s a set of directions at the beginning explaining how to use the book, and then 12 different detective themed puzzles for you to solve.
Each puzzle starts by giving a synopsis of a crime that’s been committed. There are some different witness statements included. At the top of each puzzle there’s a disclaimer that the story and statements are true, so you don’t have to try and figure out if someone is lying or not.
After the initial information, there are four suspects. Each has a picture and gives a statement. This statement usually is their explanation of why they can’t be the person who committed the crime.
On the next page, there’s plenty of space for writing down your notes for the puzzle. You need to decide which three suspects are innocent, and why they are. Then there’s room at the bottom to list the guilty person, along with your explanation of why.
Each puzzle is fairly short. It took my daughter five or ten minutes to complete each one. Here’s a picture of one that she completed:
How We Used This Product
I had my daughter use this independently. It’s listed for students in grades 4-12, so if you have a younger student they may need a bit more help.
My daughter did one puzzle a day. She read the statements, analyzed the information, and figured out who was guilty. Then she added her written why.
I did a puzzle or two with her just to see what they were like. It was fun to read the details and try to figure out who done it. There was typically a statement in there to throw you off. For instance, there was one about a cat who stole a piece of meat at a party from the backyard.
One of the witness statements described a very different cat than all the others, but also said this cat was in the front yard. If you didn’t read carefully, it would have been easy to be distracted by that information. You had to decide what was relevant and what wasn’t.
What My Daughter Thought of Critical Thinking Detective Book 1
I asked my daughter to give me a brief review of the book. Here’s a synopsis of what she said:
The book was more fun than my other school. Each one was pretty easy. I wish there would have been some more variety to the answers they provided. The top answer in the back for why each person was guilty was because the other three suspects could be proven innocent.
But it was a good way to get my brain moving in the morning.
What I Thought of This Product
I enjoyed the puzzles I completed with my daughter. I can see how they’d be more of a challenge for a younger student, and require more critical thinking power.
Book 2 in this series may have to be on the school list for next year though, because my daughter did think the detective aspect was fun.
The Critical Thinking Co.™ has so many great products available for students of all ages. Since my younger kids are really working hard on vocabulary building, I think Vocabulary Riddles Book 1 would be a fun addition to their school next year.
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