“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.” – Lewis Carroll Materials needed: Computer (and projector if possible) to show video clip, paper and writing utensil, white board and dry erase marker or chalkboard and chalk Activity: Part 1: Play Video Clip Part 2: Ask students to write a list of 5 things … Imagining New Realities
Mountain goats are not native to Olympic National Park. They were introduced into Olympic Peninsula in the 1930s to encourage an increase of tourism via hunting. Shortly after, Olympic National Park was established. Under Park jurisdiction, hunting of any kind is forbidden, so the mountain goats placed there were protected. Olympic National Park is now … Conflicting Values in Environmental Ethics – The Mountain Goat Dilemma
Step One: Distinguishing Wants and Needs Give the students a worksheet with the following questions: 1. What are some things you want? 2. What are some things you need? 3. What is the difference between what you want and what you need? 4. Do all people have the same wants? 5. Do all people have … Wants versus Needs Exercise
This is an exercise that works well in the weeks just before the winter holiday break. Start with an anecdote about receiving a gift that is disappointing and not feeling particularly grateful. You can use an example from real life, but it also works to make something up or think of an example from a … Thinking About Gratitude
Ethics Warm-up #1: Think of someone you know who you think is a really good person. What makes that person a good person? Warm-up #2: Think of something that’s pretty good. Now think of something that’s better than pretty good, that’s good. Now think of something that’s better than that, that’s really good. Think of … A Range of Warm-Up Activities for Philosophy Sessions
In his article, “What is it like to be a bat?” Thomas Nagel argues that there are facts about conscious experience that are subjective and can only be known from that subjective perspective. Even if we know all the objective facts about bats, we may not actually know what it would really be like to … Nagel’s What is it like to be a bat?
Students are arranged into groups of 2-4. First they formulate their answers to written questions, then they work together as a group to respond to a challenge at the end of the activity. Discussion Questions For the first few questions, think about all of the different kinds of things that you do at home, at … Magic Box Activity
Instructions: Facilitator performs the below: Draw/Project this diagram into a shared visible space. Prompt students to write down: 3 qualities that make a good ________.(e.g. friend) Randomly solicit students to contribute 3 different qualities. Write these where x, y, and z are shown. (Make sure they are conceptually different). Field clarifying questions about x, y, … Choose Two
In this middle school philosophy lesson plan, students express the degree of confidence they have in the truth of various statements.
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
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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