In the context of modern education, the development of critical thinking in primary school students has become particularly relevant. This is because during the primary school period, students begin to develop skills of perceiving, comparing, analyzing, evaluating information, asking questions, and justifying their own opinions. From this perspective, critical thinking is considered an important ability that ensures students’ cognitive independence, guides them toward conscious work with new information, and forms the basis for making informed decisions.

The technology of developing critical thinking emerged in the United States in the 1990s, and its authors were K. Meredith, C. Temple, and D. Steele. Later, this technology was adapted to educational practice. Its essence lies not in teaching students to passively receive information, but in teaching them to interpret and evaluate it, identify contradictions, substantiate their own viewpoints with evidence, and present ideas meaningfully.

In order to substantiate the research problem, the works of domestic and foreign scholars were analyzed. Among Kazakhstani researchers, L. M. Iskakova examined the intellectual development of future primary school teachers through critical thinking; B. B. Kelgembayeva focused on the integration of critical thinking technology into academic subjects; Zh.S. Bekbayeva described ways of developing critical thinking; and S. I. Zair-Bek substantiated modern pedagogical technologies for developing critical thinking in the educational process. In addition, Q. M. Taibolatov proposed the content of a variable course aimed at developing critical thinking skills.

In foreign studies, E. G. Diryugina and V. A. Yasvin proved that the formation of critical thinking skills in primary school students is influenced by the stimulating and structured nature of the educational environment.

Three main stages of critical thinking development can be distinguished, which were described in detail by the authors of the Critical Thinking Development Theory (CTDT). These stages are closely interconnected, and their consistent implementation — from the stage of arousing interest to the stages of comprehension and reflection — ensures the achievement of the expected outcomes in the development of critical thinking.

It should be noted that the stages of critical thinking formation are implemented through corresponding phases of the lesson, namely the stages of engaging interest, comprehension, and reflection.

Typically, these stages are carried out sequentially within a single lesson. The systematic implementation of each stage makes it possible to monitor the process of developing students’ critical thinking. Each stage represents a clearly structured process in which various technologies, methods, and tools aimed at developing critical thinking are applied.

In the process of implementing all stages of critical thinking development, teachers may use a variety of methods widely applied in practical teaching activities, including problem-based lectures, heuristic conversations, and others.

One of the effective methods for developing critical thinking is the heuristic conversation. During the application of this method, students discuss complex questions and search for answers to them. While examining specific problems, they analyze and apply new information. The results of research and creative work may be presented graphically. Tasks involving the presentation of acquired information in the form of diagrams may be assigned either during the lesson or as homework.

When selecting problem-based questions, the teacher should take into account students’ prior knowledge of the topic, their personal experience, as well as the level of development of their analytical and predictive abilities.

At the comprehension stage, such types of activities as watching video materials, individual or pair reading, including work with case-based tasks, may be used in organizing the educational process.

New information may be introduced by the teacher or acquired independently by students. However, the teacher should continuously monitor this process through the use of specific methods and techniques.

At this stage, students comprehend new information and achieve its individual assimilation. The main task of the teacher is to maintain students’ interest in the topic and stimulate their cognitive activity. In addition, it should be taken into consideration that the quality of educational material directly affects the level of comprehension. Therefore, teachers are required to prepare and present educational materials in a methodologically competent and effective manner.

The methods and learning activities discussed above are aimed at helping students assimilate new information and develop analytical skills during the comprehension stage. At this stage, the main elements of critical thinking are actively engaged, and students’ cognitive activity begins to become systematized.

Each statement is evaluated in terms of its significance and usefulness. In addition, students are able to compare and contrast key concepts and phenomena in the learning material using the Euler–Venn diagram. This diagram makes it possible to visually represent the processes under study and identify the relationships between them.

The notebook-keeping method is also applied, as it allows students to demonstrate connections between concepts and categories, as well as link new information with previously acquired knowledge. This method provides an opportunity to summarize and consolidate the results of all stages.

When applying this method, students complete a table in which they indicate their prior knowledge and the new knowledge acquired during the lesson.

In addition, the «Jigsaw» method may also be applied, as it is based on alternating group and individual forms of work. This method is effective for mastering large volumes of information during the lesson.

The proposed methods and techniques enable students to develop skills in working with information, analyzing it, and systematizing it. In turn, this contributes to the formation of their ability to identify cause-and-effect relationships.

The effective development of critical thinking is not limited to the use of isolated methods. Only the integrated application of various methods makes it possible to intensively develop students’ critical thinking. This is because each method has its own advantages and limitations, and each of them influences the development of specific elements of critical thinking in different ways.

In this regard, the effectiveness of critical thinking development primarily depends on the teacher’s methodologically sound organization of classroom activities. The teaching stages discussed in the article are universal in nature, and with appropriate content selection, they can be effectively applied in the process of teaching various subjects in primary school.

Thus, it has been proven that the practical aspects of developing critical thinking in primary school students are implemented through specific methods and tasks within the educational process, and their effectiveness is directly related to the proper organization of teaching and learning activities.

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