Thinking Traps Worksheet for Kids

Critical thinking lesson 17: Thinking traps: “everyone does it” and more · Set 101 · 40 questions

Thinking tip (Spot the trap): Everyone does it: “The video has a million likes, so it must be right.” One means all: “One cat scratched me, so all cats are mean.” Lucky charm: “I used this pen and got full marks, so it is a magic pen.” Attacking the person: “Her plan is silly because she is the youngest.” Fair reasons come from tests, measurements and checked facts.

1. 1.👍 A post has thousands of likes. Does that prove it is true? (a) yes, always (b) yes, if it is long (c) only on weekends (d) no, likes aren’t proof
2. 2.🪤 Which thinking trap is this? “All my friends have this game, so it must be good.” (a) everyone does it (b) lucky charm (c) attacking the person (d) one means all
3. 3.🪤 What is a thinking trap? (a) a puzzle game (b) a hard question (c) a kind of fact (d) a mistake in reasoning
4. 4.True or false: “checked facts support it” is a fair reason. (a) True (b) False
5. 5.🪤 Thinking trap or fair reason: “everyone is doing it”? (a) a fair reason (b) a thinking trap
6. 6.Which of these is a fair reason? (a) checked facts support it (b) it happened once (c) it has lots of likes (d) one was bad, so all are
7. 7.🪤 Which thinking trap is this? “I sat in this seat and our team scored, so I must stay here.” (a) everyone does it (b) attacking the person (c) one means all (d) lucky charm
8. 8.🪤 Which thinking trap is this? “Everybody in class believes it, so it must be true.” (a) attacking the person (b) lucky charm (c) one means all (d) everyone does it
9. 9.True or false: “Don’t listen to his science idea — he can’t even play football.” is the “attacking the person” trap. (a) False (b) True
10. 10.Which of these is a fair reason? (a) mocking who said it (b) it happened once (c) the rule book says so (d) it has lots of likes
11. 11.🙅 Instead of attacking the person, a fair thinker… (a) calls them names (b) checks the idea itself (c) laughs at them (d) walks away
12. 12.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) the numbers prove it (b) many trials agree (c) my lucky pen did it (d) the rule book says so
13. 13.True or false: “It rained after I washed my bike, so washing it brings rain.” is the “lucky charm” trap. (a) True (b) False
14. 14.True or false: “it happened once” is a thinking trap. (a) True (b) False
15. 15.True or false: “everyone is doing it” is a thinking trap. (a) False (b) True
16. 16.Which of these is a fair reason? (a) my lucky pen did it (b) it has lots of likes (c) mocking who said it (d) many trials agree
17. 17.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) the rule book says so (b) the numbers prove it (c) tests show it works (d) everyone is doing it
18. 18.Which of these is a thinking trap? (a) checked facts support it (b) mocking who said it (c) the numbers prove it (d) it was measured twice
19. 19.True or false: “one was bad, so all are” is a thinking trap. (a) False (b) True
20. 20.True or false: “One banana was bad, so this fruit seller always cheats.” is the “lucky charm” trap. (a) True (b) False
21. 21.True or false: “All my friends have this game, so it must be good.” is the “everyone does it” trap. (a) True (b) False
22. 22.True or false: “Half the school is buying these shoes, so I need them too.” is the “everyone does it” trap. (a) False (b) True
23. 23.🚦 Your friends are all crossing on a red light. What do you do? (a) wait for green (b) follow them (c) run fast (d) close your eyes
24. 24.True or false: “Her plan is silly because she is the youngest.” is the “lucky charm” trap. (a) True (b) False
25. 25.🐈 One cat scratched you. What is the fair thought? (a) never touch animals (b) that cat was upset (c) cats hate me (d) all cats are mean
26. 26.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) the rule book says so (b) it happened once (c) the numbers prove it (d) it was measured twice
27. 27.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) the numbers prove it (b) mocking who said it (c) many trials agree (d) checked facts support it
28. 28.True or false: “it happened once” is a fair reason. (a) False (b) True
29. 29.Which of these is a thinking trap? (a) the rule book says so (b) it happened once (c) many trials agree (d) checked facts support it
30. 30.🪤 Which thinking trap is this? “It rained after I washed my bike, so washing it brings rain.” (a) one means all (b) attacking the person (c) everyone does it (d) lucky charm
31. 31.🪤 Thinking trap or fair reason: “it was measured twice”? (a) a thinking trap (b) a fair reason
32. 32.True or false: “I sat in this seat and our team scored, so I must stay here.” is the “attacking the person” trap. (a) True (b) False
33. 33.Which of these is a thinking trap? (a) the numbers prove it (b) the rule book says so (c) everyone is doing it (d) it was measured twice
34. 34.🪤 Which thinking trap is this? “The first episode was dull, so the whole series is dull.” (a) everyone does it (b) lucky charm (c) attacking the person (d) one means all
35. 35.True or false: “Everyone is skipping homework, so it’s fine.” is the “lucky charm” trap. (a) False (b) True
36. 36.True or false: “Why trust her answer? She wears old shoes.” is the “everyone does it” trap. (a) False (b) True
37. 37.Which of these is a thinking trap? (a) the numbers prove it (b) tests show it works (c) the rule book says so (d) one was bad, so all are
38. 38.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) tests show it works (b) my lucky pen did it (c) everyone is doing it (d) mocking who said it
39. 39.🪤 Which thinking trap is this? “Everyone is skipping homework, so it’s fine.” (a) one means all (b) lucky charm (c) everyone does it (d) attacking the person
40. 40.🪤 Which thinking trap is this? “Don’t listen to his science idea — he can’t even play football.” (a) lucky charm (b) everyone does it (c) one means all (d) attacking the person

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