Let’s Get Critical! Are You Smarter Than an Eighth Grader?

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MSMP Family Game Week begins with seven verbal brain games designed for middle schoolers, parents, teachers, and anyone else who wants to play along. Inspired by our field trip to Creature Features in Athens, Tennessee, these puzzles feature Drift the Arctic fox, Coco the capybara, Willow the wallaby, Maisie the Highland cow, a possibly innocent kangaroo, and Lieutenant Steve—who has somehow gained access to the prize vault. Along the way, we explore what is happening inside the developing middle-school brain and practice critical-thinking strategies such as examining evidence, questioning assumptions, eliminating possibilities, building mental models, and changing approaches when the first…