The research raises the need to evaluate the level of critical thinking and the use of didactics in the teaching-learning processes with primary school students in an educational institution in Barrancabermeja in Colombia during the year 2020. The study corresponds to the qualitative approach and phenomenological hermeneutic design, which sought to explore, describe and understand the phenomenon based on the experiences of the participants to discover common elements of these experiences. For the development of the research we worked with individuals who agreed to participate in the context of the pandemic and that the researchers had access to, a semi-structured interview and a checklist were used with a sample of 10 students and 3 teachers from the educational institution; the items were directed to the achievement of the domains referred to in the categories investigated. It is concluded that the level of thinking of primary school students is still developing, as it is still difficult for them to clearly argue their ideas from reason; likewise, teachers are aware that they must carry out more in-depth analyses of the texts or content studied, so that students can find hidden or implicit meanings that generate concerns and develop real and contextualized thinking skills.