The Day the Crayons Quit (Daywalt) 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 contemplative art … The Day the Crayons Quit – <i>and took over</i>
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
Ask the students to rank, from 1 to 8, the following activities according to how important they think each is for their happiness (1 is the most important on the list and 8 is the least important on the list). It can be helpful to prepare this list before the session and make a copy … What is Happiness?
Introduction to Lesson: Today we are going to talk about paradoxes, and we are going to discuss some examples together. First, what is a paradox? Has anyone heard of paradoxes before? [Invite student responses]. A paradox is a special type of puzzle or riddle. It’s when two things seem to be true at the … Introduction to Paradoxes: Superhero, Sorites, and Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox
Activity Description: Break the students into groups of three. Put the following list on the board and ask each group to come up with at least one thing that fits each category. Something that isn’t real but seems to be real Something that is real but seems not to be real Something you can’t tell … Reality Scavenger Hunt
Materials Needed (samples are available in the lesson plan attachment above): Pre-prepared cards with simple pictures on them Pre-prepared sentences to give to students Blank paper cut into card-shape sizes or blank index cards Warm-Up Activity: Write a sentence on the board that can have two different meanings. For example: “They don’t know how good … Activity: Language Game
If you have time, this lesson will work best over a few sessions so the students have time to work on their artwork for as long as they wish. Materials: Optional: One pre-prepared outline of a house for each student. You can use pre-prepared house outlines or have students draw their own houses from scratch. … Activity: Create Your House
Lesson Summary: Students will work with partners to draw an irregular shape described they their partners through writing. Students will raise questions about the process and outcome of this activity for philosophical discussion. Activity: Materials: Steps:
Part 1: Have each person think of a dream they’ve had recently. After giving them a moment to think, go around in a circle and have each person share a bit about their dream. (Elementary school students may get exceptionally excited about sharing their dreams and may want to share an enormous amount of detail … Dream Activity
Have each person write down on a piece of paper: Once everyone has their statements, then have them pair up to talk about their claims, and why they put them in the category they did. This should get them started on a conversation about the difference between belief and knowledge. Then have the group come … Belief and Knowledge
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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