An Exploration of Developing Junior High School Students' Critical Thinking in English Reading Based on the 5E Instructional Model

Abstract

English reading instruction serves as an important vehicle for cultivating junior high school students' core competencies. As a core component of the thinking quality within these competencies, critical thinking is key to developing students' independent thinking and rational judgment. The 5E teaching method, with its core stages of "Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate," emphasizes student-centered, inquiry-oriented learning, which aligns closely with the need to cultivate critical thinking in junior high school English reading. This paper examines the current state of junior high school English reading instruction, explores the intrinsic connection between the 5E teaching method and the cultivation of critical thinking in English reading, proposes specific teaching implementation strategies, and verifies their effectiveness through teaching cases, providing practical references for cultivating critical thinking in junior high school English reading instruction.