The main learning of Bahasa Indonesia subject in 5th Grade requires students to understand the reading texts and express responses. Unfortunately, the teacher has experienced difficulties in teaching these in class, because of the low motivation to study and students' critical thinking skills in comprehending the reading. As a result, the students‘ learning outcomes were low. Therefore, the teacher carried out corrective actions with the Classroom Action Research (CAR) design through the implementations of the Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL). The objectives of this study were: (1) to describe the process of applying CTL to improve learning motivations, critical thinking skills, and student learning outcomes, (2) to analyze the development of students‘ motivations, (3) to analyze the development of students' critical thinking skills, (4) to analyze the developments of the students‘ learning outcomes; and (5) to identify the obstacles during the CTL implementations. This research was conducted in 3 cycles in the 5th Grade Elementary of Sekolah Tri Ratna, with 19 students as the subjects. The data were collected through observations, field notes, and tests, qualitatively and descriptively analyzed. The results of the study showed that: (1) corrective actions carried out in accordance with the CTL steps with continuous improvement throughout the next cycles; (2) there were some developments of the students‘ learning motivations with an average score from 69 to 77; (3) there was an increase in the students' critical thinking skills with an average score from 57 to 75; (4) instability occurred in the development of the students‘ learning outcomes because it decreased from the average score of 83 to 60, then rose again to 72, (5) the constraints faced were the preparations of the teaching materials and reading texts, the limited amount of instructional time, and the discipline of the students in class. / Pembelajaran utama Bahasa Indonesia di kelas V menuntut siswa untuk memahami teks bacaan serta mengemukakan tanggapan. Tetapi guru mengalami kerisauan dalam mengajar di kelas karena rendahnya motivasi belajar dan kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa dalam menelaah bacaan. Akibatnya, hasil belajar siswapun rendah. Oleh karena itu, guru melakukan tindakan perbaikan dengan Penelitian Tindakan Kelas (PTK) melalui penerapan Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL). Tujuan penelitian ini adalah: (1) mendeskripsikan proses penerapan CTL untuk meningkatkan motivasi belajar, kemampuan berpikir kritis, dan hasil belajar siswa, (2) menganalisis perkembangan motivasi belajar siswa, (3) menganalisis perkembangan keterampilan berpikir kritis siswa, (4) menganalisis perkembangan hasil belajar siswa, dan (5) mengidentifikasi kendalakendala yang dihadapi selama implementasi CTL. Penelitian ini dilakukan dalam 3 siklus di kelas V Sekolah Tri Ratna, dengan subjek penelitian 19 siswa. Data dikumpulkan melalui observasi, catatan lapangan, dan tes, serta dianalisis secara kualitatif deskriptif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan: (1) tindakan perbaikan dilakukan sesuai dengan langkah CTL dengan perbaikan yang berkelanjutan pada siklus berikutnya; (2) adanya peningkatan motivasi belajar siswa dari nilai ratarata 69 menjadi 77; (3) adanya peningkatan keterampilan berpikir kritis siswa dari nilai rata-rata 57 menjadi 75; (4) terjadi ketidakstabilan pada perkembangan hasil belajar siswa karena menurun dari nilai rata-rata 80 menjadi 60 lalu naik menjadi 72, (5) kendala-kendala yang dihadapi antara lain persiapan bahan ajar dan teks bacaan, keterbatasan waktu pembelajaran, dan kedisiplinan siswa dalam kelas.