In You Can’t Say You Can’t Play (Paley, 1992), MacArthur Prize-winning educator Vivien Paley describes her introduction of a new rule — “You can’t say you can’t play” — in her kindergarten classroom. The book raises questions about friendship, exclusion and inclusion, and what is necessary for a rule to be a good one. Preview … You Can’t Say You Can’t Play
Understanding Beliefs and Cultural Blindness Understanding Beliefs and Cultural Blindness Materials Needed Steps Involved 1. Introduction (10 minutes) Journal: Do you (or we, collectively as a society) have any rituals, customs, or celebrations where we may not understand where it originated or what the purpose serves? 2. Reading the Text (20 minutes) Facilitator: Distribute copies … “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
In Harper Lee’s classic novel, the narrator, Scout (five years old at the story’s beginning), describes the events surrounding her father’s defense of an African American man charged with raping a young white woman, portraying the world of the Deep South of the 1930s. The novel inspires exploration of many philosophical questions. General philosophical questions … To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Lesson Plan: The Book Thief portrays everyday life in an extraordinarily terrible time, and depicts the small choices made by ordinary people that carry great ethical weight. Liesel Meminger is a child growing up in Nazi Germany, living in a town near Munich with foster parents Hans and Rosa Huberman. The narrator of The Book … The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak
The Day the Crayons Quit (Daywalt and Jeffers) offers a humorous foray into re-imagining the habitual roles we play in group activities. In this lesson, the class room teacher will mirror Duncan’s shift as the “artiste” to the “note-taker” and give the students the opportunity to shape how class activities could be run. By using … The Day the Crayons Quit
This lesson plan can work for a full class or small groups of 8-10 students. Read the “Land of Happy” poem by Shel Silverstein (text of the poem is available on the Resources tab). Depending on the students’ ages/literacy, you can read it aloud as a group popcorn style with one person reading a line … “Land of Happy,” Shel Silverstein
This lesson plan can be used on its own or as an accompaniment to the Arnold Lobel Frog and Toad story, “The Garden.” Divide students into groups of 3-4. Ask each group to come up with 2-3 examples of the following three cases: See Discussion Questions tab for discussion prompts.
This lesson plan can be read in conjunction with “Chapter 4. Reconciliation” (pp. 69-82) in the freely available teaching resource Coping: A Philosophical Guide (OpenBook Publishers, 2021) with discussion questions (pp. 124-5) and additional teaching materials (p. 119-20). Accepting an Apology versus Forgiving Questions for Discussion: Here are some responses that the students might give: … Reconciliation #2 – Forgiveness
Before beginning this lesson plan, we recommend reading “Things to Think About Before Introducing Social Justice Topics.” This lesson plan can be read in conjunction with “Chapter 4. Reconciliation” (pp. 69-82) in the freely available teaching resource Coping: A Philosophical Guide (Open Book Publishers, 2021) with discussion questions (pp. 124–5) and additional teaching materials (p. … Reconciliation #3 – Reparations
This lesson plan can be read in conjunction with “Chapter 4. Reconciliation” (pp. 69-82) in the freely available teaching resource Coping: A Philosophical Guide (Open Book Publishers, 2021) with discussion questions (pp. 124–5) and additional teaching materials (p. 119–20). 1. Disingenuous Apologies Start with the Harley Schwadron cartoon in which a TV presenter says that … Reconciliation #1 – Apologies
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