Grade Level: Middle School

Justice and Utopia

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Black and white woodcut print of a map of Thomas More's "Utopia" featuring large ship sailing around the edges of the island. On the island, there are several 16th-century buildings. In the lower corners of the image, two men dressed in 16th-century clothes talk to one another.

Students engage with the ‘Ring of Gyges’ story from Plato’s Republic and John Rawls’ concept of the ‘veil of ignorance’ to examine how a just society might be organized.

Social Contract Theory: Creating a Cooperative Learning Environment

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Wooden people figures shaking hands

Materials needed: John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, chapters two and eight. An alternative is James Rachels’ The Elements of Moral Philosophy, chapter eleven, “The Idea of a Social Contract” (see full citations and links in the ‘Resources’ section) A questionnaire (see below) Poster board for displaying the finished constitution Optional: online discussion forum; wig … Social Contract Theory: Creating a Cooperative Learning Environment

What Do We Find Beautiful?

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Rose on sheet of music

Introduction Students should be given a week to do the following assignment (though it can be revised as needed to fit your time constraints): Pick as many “beautiful” songs as you are old. So, for example, if you are 16, you will pick 16 of the songs you feel are the most “beautiful”. Please make … What Do We Find Beautiful?

Logic Charades

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Photograph of a young woman speaking to a group out of frame. She is pointing to her chest while she makes a point. Two other young women are seated next to her and watch her speak.

High school logic lesson in which students identify the premises and conclusions of arguments. Then they creatively enact their own deductive arguments.

Convince your Teacher/Principal

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teacher in classroom in front of students

Introduction What is an argument? An argument consists of a set of reasons that are given with the intention of persuading someone else that a particular action or idea is right or wrong, good or bad, desirable or undesirable, etc. It is a method of trying to convince another person (or persons) that your position … Convince your Teacher/Principal

On Friendship

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child-like drawing of a girl and boy

Materials needed Index cards Whiteboard and several different colored dry erase markers   Description Pass out one index card to each student. Instruct the students to draw, without using representations of people (including stick figures, faces, and the like), a creative representation of a good friendship. Have the students then discuss their drawings in small … On Friendship

Stereotyping

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row of 5 paper dolls

Materials needed Plenty of paper Several sets of 5 different colored pencils or markers Timer Warm-Up Activity: Ask your students to think about how they define a stereotype. Work in small groups to come up with a basic definition. Have your students write this definition down. After small group discussion, write each group’s definition on … Stereotyping

Fair or Equal?

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Materials needed List of roles and responsibilities (see below) A bag of candy   Description Begin the exercise by holding up the bag of candy (make sure you have enough for at least one piece for every student) and ask, “What’s the fair way to distribute the candy in this bag? Who all should get … Fair or Equal?