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
The Moral Spectrum Exercise In this exercise, students are introduced to “the moral spectrum”—seven different perspectives on the right thing to do, seven different questions to ask themselves to determine whether a particular course of action is right or wrong. These questions are drawn from the dominant moral theories in Western philosophy over the past … Moral Spectrum Exploration Exercise
A philosophy lesson plan that teaches middle school or primary school students the basics of giving reasons to support a claim.
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
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. Ask the students who want to do so to share their drawings. Some questions you can consider include: What makes one art and the other not? Does the intention of … What is Art?
What is Difference? Difference is an easy-to-learn, fast-to-play, negotiation game that is designed to promote philosophical discussion about inequity both inside and outside of the game. Set-up Divide the class into groups of exactly 3 students each. Each group consists of a green, purple, and yellow player. Each group is given player cards at random … Difference: A Philosophy Game
Excerpt from Plato’s Republic: Gyges was a shepherd in the service of the ruler of Lydia. One day there was a violent thunderstorm, and an earthquake broke open the ground and created a crater at the place where Gyges was tending his sheep. Seeing the big hole, Gyges was filled with amazement and went down … Ring of Gyges (in Plato’s Republic)
What is an allegory? Explain to the students that an allegory is a kind of story in which what happens is being compared to something else that is similar and unstated. Activity Read the Allegory of the Cave together. Ask: What do you think the Allegory of the Cave is being compared with? Then break … The Allegory of the Cave (in Plato’s Republic)
The Matrix In the film, the humans trapped in the Matrix are like the people in Plato’s cave. They see only what the machines want them to see, but they believe they see reality as it really is. They accept what their senses tell them as all that exists. Neo suspects that this is all … The Matrix & The Experience Machine
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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