WHAT MAKES A . . . Duck a duck? Cat a cat? Man a man? Woman a woman? Parent a parent? Car a car? Bird a bird? Smile a smile? Feeling a feeling? Thought a thought? WHAT DOES A THING NEED TO. . . What does a kite need to fly? What does a tree … Stellaluna
IS SOMETHING STILL ITSELF IF IT CHANGES? Is a chair still a chair if its legs are broken? Is a song still a song if everyone forgets the words? Is a spoon still a spoon if it falls behind the stove and is never seen again? Is a book still a book if some pages … Runaway Bunny
Did what we did affect the book? How do we know what’s going to happen? How do we know when one event causes another event? Was the book magic? Contributed by Gobe Hirata
Why is Edna unsatisfied that she can only see three colors (white, black and blue)? Are there unknown things that you wish to see and learn about, just like Edna? What are they? What are the most important things to know? If Edna had only ever seen three colors, then how could she know that … Penguin Story
Whate is sadness? What can make you feel sad? A song. A word. A sunset. A picture. An animal. The moon. Food. A trip somewhere. A story. When can you cry? When you’re happy. When you’re angry. When you love someone a lot. When you lose a game. When you break a toy. When you … Owl at Home – “Tear-Water Tea”
What is it to be alive? How can we tell if something is alive or not? It moves. It has a face. It eats. It sleeps. It talks. It grows. It dies. It feels. It thinks. It communicates. Are the following alive? Why or why not? Rocks. Water. Cars. Bees. Toasters. Books. Light. Rain. Feelings. … Owl At Home – “Owl and the Moon”
When you are reading a really good book, do you sometimes feel like your mind is transported to the land of the story? If your body remains in the same time and place, where are you really? Is a mind the same thing as a brain, or are they different? What kinds of things are … On the Verandah
Where do thoughts come from? Do we always do what we intend? What is the relationship between what we intend and our actions? Do we have control over our thoughts? Over our actions? What is the mind? What kinds of things have minds? Can a pen have a mind? A table? A plant? An ant? … Obstinate Pen
Why does Morris believe that the cow is a moose? Does Morris have good reasons for believing this? Does the cow have good reasons for insisting she is not a moose? What are these reasons? When the animals see their reflections in the stream, what makes them conclude that they are not the same after … Morris the Moose
What does a fortune teller claim to know? How could she know that? Do you think we could know what the future holds? If so, how? If not, why not? Would it be easier to predict the immediate future, or the distant future? Why? Is human behavior more difficult to predict than other behavior (maybe … Magic
PLATO is part of a global UNESCO network that encourages children to participate in philosophical inquiry. As a partner in the UNESCO Chair on the Practice of Philosophy with Children, based at the Université de Nantes in France, PLATO is connected to other educational leaders around the world.
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