Building Thinking Skills® Level 1

I was very frustrated upon receiving this book to find that it is nothing but exercises, page after page. (I want to upload a pic, but we can't on this item. It's sad that if the publisher doesn't show what is in the book, buyers aren't allowed to show any of the pages either.) Each page is a new exercise with instructions and example at the top, usually followed by 4-6 actual problems. At first, it reminded me of IQ exams.The book seems to be mainly simple pattern matching exercises using geometric figures. Not at all what I expected from "critical thinking". There is almost instruction or lesson in this book - just a page here or there. When I took classes in critical thinking and logical reasoning (high school and college), we focused on argument types, reasoning, fallacies, etc. I was counting on topics like that, but oriented towards a younger audience. Instead it is all pattern matching exercises!"Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically. They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked. They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and sociocentric tendencies. They use the intellectual tools that critical thinking offers - concepts and principles that enable them to analyze, assess, and improve thinking." - Linda Elder, September, 2007Given this definition, I believe the book falls short. I suppose that the authors would argue that you have to build certain basic skills in children before you can develop what is described above. I would disagree. They use the term "higher order thinking skills".The book claims to build reading and writing skills, but I don't see how that will happen since the book never asks them to write more than a couple of words at a time, and only rarely does it give instructions that are even a paragraph long.Here are the chapter titles:1. describing shapes2. figural similarities and differences3. figural sequences4. figural classifications5. figural analogies6. describing things7. verbal similarities and differences8. verbal sequences9. verbal classifications10.verbal analogiesHere's an example of verbal analogies, problem J-82:door : wood :: window ______and of course, the child would be expected to write in "glass". Yes, these are good exercises, but the discussions of analogy are so brief I wonder if children will fully understand. And this is one of the better sections.

I have made great use of these books (all levels) for the past several years with my homeschooled children. We use them every morning as a brain warm-up before starting work on our core subjects. We typically do one page per weekday and the books generally span over about 1.5 school years at that pace. We don't do a lot of workbook type work in our homeschool, but we all appreciate these books. I think that they do a great job of getting my children to look at things very analytically and they enjoy completing them.

We purchased this for my soon-to-be second grader over the summer along with a few other brands. She chooses this workbook EVERY time we suggest she do some work. This does what it says it does- builds thinking skills (critical) in a methodical, logical way. Each section slowly builds so your child is a master by the end. If I do the work with her- it is relatively easy. Leaving her to herself has helped build confidence. She is grasping these concepts and is full of passion for learning. Our schools do not send homework (gratefully) but I think this is a great resource for me to enforce some routines at home after school- bonus she WANTS to do this. (Note: my child is incredibly imaginative and playful, it is not in her nature to sit and work for long periods of time- she can sit for an hour easily doing this)

I find it very difficult to hold my kid's attention, and I don't want to hold her attention beyond 20 mins or so. This essentially serves the purpose because it is quick to focus on just one or 2 exercise a day. My kids enjoy this so much, that it is a reward to do 1 -2 pages per day!!

I had a hard time when ordering these books because I wasn't sure what I was going to get. The problem is that the pictures are often different than the actual cover you get. I ordered the blue cover as pictured and got the red one. It does not have the answers in the back of the books so you would need to order that separately. I have been comparing the books online to some sample pages at the company website and they look like they contain the same material. All in all I am pleased as I got what I wanted. I just wanted to help others know that it does not have the answers and the cover might be different.

This was one of my absolute favorite book series when I was a kid - the only time I chose to stay up late doing school cause it was fun.I got this book for my daughter, and she is learning a great deal. All the info is basics for dynamic problem solving solutions and global mindset training; and it does that in a fun and straightforward way.

develop logical thinking! solid exercises, no fluff. my kids loved their books (I ordered 3) I have two 70 percentile 2nd graders and a 99 percentile kinder. all 3 worked through their books and liked it. it was challenging but intriguing, increased in difficulty throughout sets. kids asked for the next book too. i'm thinking about letting the kids take it to school to do when they finish work early.

I got my kid's test scores back from a standardized test and discovered he needed some work with analogies. I discovered this book would develop the type of problem solving and thinking that he doesn't get enough of at school. After sitting down with him for a bit, I discovered he loves doing worksheets. He's in first grade and this book makes him work a little, but I think it's a good starting point if your kid is above average on standardized tests.