In this study, by helping social studies pre-service teachers develop activities for thinking skills, it was aimed to explore the effects of such activities in the context of professional competencies. The research was designed as action research. The action research group included 31 pre-service teachers (16 women and 15 men). Semi-structured interviews were conducted in final meeting with 12 volunteering participants after the application was completed. The following findings were explored in detail as; in the context of professional development, skills, values, and professional competence dimensions; in the context of lesson planning and teaching processes, lesson planning, teaching processes, material use, and contributions to activity production; and, at the end of the implementation process, evaluations of the implementation process and personal development. As a result of the research it was determined that creative thinking, critical thinking, thinking from different perspectives, original thinking, reflective thinking, high-level thinking, problem solving, scientific thinking, analytical thinking, thoughtful thinking, empathetic thinking, objective thinking, aesthetic thinking, developing broad perspective, collaborative thinking, and questioning skills were developed in the skills dimension. In the dimension of value, values such as justice, empathy, patriotism, austerity, respect, trust, self-confidence, solidarity, diligence and responsibility were developed. When the general results are evaluated, it was revealed that the pre-services improved their professional competencies in terms of lesson planning, implementation, activity development, material use, and pedagogical aspects. In order to ensure that the professional needs and competencies of pre-service teachers are met and supported, institutional educational programs that train teachers should undergo curriculum updates with the addition of the necessary theoretical and practical information to implement activity-based teaching in it successfully.