FORMATION OF CRITICAL THINKING OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH THE VISUAL METHODS

One of the key challenges in the education system is fostering students' personal development by cultivating critical thinking skills. Analyzing the research of both domestic and international scholars to establish the theoretical and methodological foundations of the study has shown that the term "critical thinking" used across various scientific disciplines, carries multiple interpretations. The purpose of the article is to consider visual methods as means of developing critical thinking in younger schoolchildren. Visual techniques allows to organize the material in advance and present ideas. The research results were analyzed using the methods of compilation, comparison, systematization. The research was conducted from September to December 2023. The study involved students of grades 4 "B" and 4 "G" of Z. Kosmodemyanskaya Lyceum School No. 23. The research was conducted in three stages. During the identification stage, students' critical thinking skills were initially assessed using the "Critical Thinking of Younger Schoolchildren" diagnostic method. In the formation stage, visual techniques were applied to develop these skills. Finally, in the control stage, the diagnostic method was re-administered to evaluate the effectiveness of the tasks, and a comparative analysis of the results was presented. The experiment findings demonstrated that the practical class activities were effectively structured and implemented.