Grade Level: High School & Beyond

Philosophy of Emotion

|
Poster for movie Alike - cartoon image of yellow child and blue adult

Stimulus: Play the short film ‘Alike’ (found in the Video Tab above) as the stimulus for the lesson Sharing: Generate concepts/questions/ideas that come from the film. These can be anything at this stage. They might include: why did they change colours? It was about feeling sad. It was about how bad school is. Younger children … Philosophy of Emotion

Trolley Problem Ethics

|
trolley car

See the Lesson Attachment link above for a PDF of this lesson plan. Stimulus: Introduce Scenario 1:1 1:1: You are a train driver. As you are driving you look ahead and see 5 people trapped on the tracks. There is no way that you will be able to stop the train before running them over … Trolley Problem Ethics

Demands for Argument and Civility in Douglass’ 1852 Fourth of July Oration

|
Federick Douglass

Introduction: Calls for civility are common features of contemporary political discourse, and teaching high school students how to engage in civil discourse over contentious issues is of obvious importance. Calls for civility, however, do not always distribute burdens equally. This is particularly true in cases where someone is called on to defend the legitimacy of … Demands for Argument and Civility in Douglass’ 1852 Fourth of July Oration

Are We Living in a Simulation?

|

Are We Living in a Simulation, and What Would it Mean if the Answer is Yes? Begin the lesson with the two short videos in the Lesson Attachment linked above to get the students thinking and engaged in the lesson. Ask them to briefly reflect on the following questions (individual reflection): Do you agree or … Are We Living in a Simulation?

Courage without Vulnerability?

|
Woman leaping over cravass at sunset

Can there be courage in a world without vulnerability? This lesson explores the definitions of courage and the definition of a lesser discussed word: vulnerability. Through a series of questions the lesson is geared to get students thinking about a possible connection that exists between vulnerability and courage. It challenges the stigma often associated with … Courage without Vulnerability?

“Afternoon of a Faun”

|

Whole Sequence Breakdown: Welcome and warm-up (c. 5-10 minutes) Brief introduction to the “scene” of “Afternoon of a Faun” (5 minutes) Exploring Various Media (20 minutes) Whole-group share and discussion (20 minutes) Possible extensions (for extra time, or additional lessons) Welcome and Warm-up Welcome students and share any updates, or follow-up on points from the … “Afternoon of a Faun”

Water Walk by John Cage

|

Water Walk by John Cage Whole Sequence Breakdown: Welcome and warm-up (c. 5-10 minutes) Brief introduction to John cage and Water Walk  (5 minutes) Viewing to Water Walk (without giving away the “secret”) (5 minutes) Small group discussions (c. 10-15 minutes) Whole-group share and discussion (20 minutes) Possible extensions (for extra time, or additional lessons) … Water Walk by John Cage

“Respect” by Aretha Franklin

|
black and white photo of Arthea Franklin singing

Objectives: To explore the ways Aretha Franklin’s song “Respect” can inspire and facilitate philosophic discussions of respect, especially with regards to identity. This lesson is designed primarily as a way of using music to do moral philosophizing; however, it could easily overlap with philosophizing about music and/or aesthetics simultaneously. Whole Sequence Breakdown: Welcome and warm-up … “Respect” by Aretha Franklin

What is Your Hope?

|

This lesson can be used either in a classroom or online. Description: A Missouri middle school put the question “What is your hope?” on a chalkboard outside school before people arrived. They made a video of the ways students and teachers responded to the question. For this session, you can begin with the video (available … What is Your Hope?