Games That Test Deductive Reasoning

Deductive reasoning games are essential for strengthening a child's mind and observation skills. More specifically, deductive reasoning is the step between forming a hypothesis and making a concrete observation. According to Experiment Resources, deductive reasoning takes the basic information used to formulate a hypothesis and make a specific prediction.

Inductive Reasoning

• Teaching a student the relation of inductive reasoning is critical to understanding its deductive counterpart. Inductive reasoning begins with a particular example and builds off of this example to formulate a broad hypothesis, according to Experiment Resources. Deductive reasoning begins its process based off of the hypothesis created from an inductive statement. A hypothesis based on inductive reasoning may be, for example: "Yesterday, I left for school at 7 a.m., and was on time. As a result, every day that I leave home at 7 a.m. I will arrive at school on time."

Predictions

• Use inductive and deductive reasoning together to form a prediction. Create a prediction from the previously stated hypothesis, employing the example generated in step 1. Consider pertinent details surrounding the hypothesis -- the travel time, for example. A prediction based off of the previously stated hypothesis may be: "I start my vehicle to leave for school at 7 a.m. on a daily basis. The daily trek takes 30 minutes, and I arrive at school on time. If I leave for school at 7 a.m. tomorrow, I will be on time." Create additional predictions using additional hypotheses and examples.

Puzzles

• Puzzles are an active way to use deductive reasoning. More specifically, puzzles create physical tasks for students to tackle. Laying five coins side-by-side so the first, third and fifth coins are quarters and the second and fourth are pennies sets up a basic puzzle for a student to solve. Challenge the student to prove the hypothesis that he can make three quarters appear as a group, by interchanging the position of any side-by-side pair of coins only three times. The solution to the puzzle is as follows: Reverse the position of the first and second coins, reverse the position of the third and fourth coins, and reverse the position of the second and third coins.

Images

• Creating visual images for a student provides a healthy challenge to his observation and thinking skills. Begin by drawing a picture of two men with magnifying glasses in the desert, for example. Establish each man as searching for an odd item on the ground that may be covering a hidden treasure. Among standard items you might find in a desert -- a cactus and a skull, for example -- add dissimilar items that do not normally appear in the desert. An example of a dissimilar item may include a coffee mug. Challenge students, under a time limit, to observe the image and think of what item in the desert is odd and why that item may represent a clue. The children may deduce, for instance, that a coffee cup could have been placed there to hide the treasure. Repeat the game with additional examples.