Materials Needed: Legos (the more the better) Something on which to display/write out class thoughts (chalkboard, whiteboard, SMARTboard) Camera (optional) Preparation: Have Legos divided up according to how groups will be organized, e.g. in separate piles or in one large pile. Description: 1. (Optional) Warm up and get a sense of our intuitions about the … Identity & Essence Lego Activity
Friendship & Betrayal – Split or Steal Game Materials Needed: Equipment to display a YouTube video clip for the class (with sound). A pair of red and green leaflets for each participant or group. Prizes for each student For younger students: Treats like donuts or strawberries which can be split in half. For older students: … Friendship & Betrayal – Split or Steal Game
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
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?
Have each student draw two pictures. One drawing must be a drawing they would call art, and the other one they would not call art. Once the students have finished drawing, ask them to share their pieces and explain what makes one art and the other not. Ask the students listening to the sharing student: … What is art? An Art Activity
Lesson plan that explores the philosophy of art and music using 4’33” by John Cage. Students explore the question “What is music?”
This game involves students generating questions collaboratively. The exercise runs easily for about ten minutes and can go for a half hour or more with discussion. It is often a good exercise to use early in the year, as it helps students listen to each other and gets them thinking about what makes a question … Activity: Keep the Question Going
Materials Needed: Notecards Pens/Pencils The Game: This is a very simple game that is meant to encourage students to feel empathy—or at least, think about feeling empathy—for their fellow students. And if empathy has any role in moral development (as we think it does), then this exercise, although very simple, is a useful one. Step … How Did You Feel? Exercise
One of the important things that the study of philosophy teaches us is how to examine the world from a variety of different perspectives. When we read and study the writings of classic and contemporary philosophers, we are given new ways of looking at the world that broaden our own perspectives on reality. Consequently, it’s … Different Perspectives Game
Four Ethical Dilemmas Lying: A girl is taken to a carnival by her dad. It is her tenth birthday and he’s promised her that she can choose any 5 rides. But as they approach the gate, he discovers that he’s forgotten his wallet. This is the last day of the carnival and it’s too far … Ethical Dilemmas
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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