Abstract
This article deals with the issues related to the formation and improvement of cognitive skills of students of schools in Kazakhstan in the framework of the updated content of education. The article presents the results of an applied research aimed at finding effective ways to use graphic organizers when working with texts in English as a foreign language lessons in secondary school. The features of teaching the disciplines of the natural science cycle in a foreign language are considered from the point of view of CLIL technology. The authors’ ideas on the use of graphic organizers as a productive tool for activating cognitive processes and improving students' cognitive skills are described. The variable forms of graphic organizers develop the skills of formulating high-order questions, teach you to express your opinion, structure information, and argue your point of view using the subject knowledge obtained from the text in a foreign language. In this way, students develop the skills that underlie the formation of critical thinking.