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
Part 1: Present the following challenge to students: Think of something (e.g., objects, places, people) that you think is truly beautiful, but that at the same time you think others might not notice and/or consider as beautiful. What do you think it is that makes it beautiful? Take a couple minutes of quiet time for … What is Beauty?
Many 4th, 5th, and 6th graders have read the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio and will be familiar with Mr. Browne’s monthly precepts. These are inspirational sayings the teacher, Mr. Browne, puts on his board monthly for his students. For example, the precept for September is “When given a choice between being right or being … Mr. Browne’s Precepts
Have you ever dedicated the time to sit through a piece of music and simply listen to it? No distractions, no multitasking, just you and the music. Whether we’re aware of it or not, music is constantly around us, but quite often we don’t take the time to sit and listen. All music tells a … How Does Music Make a Character?
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 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
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
This lesson plan can be used either in a classroom or online. Plot Summary: This six-minute film is about a baboon who lives alone on the Moon. Wordless and moving, the video portrays the baboon as full of longing for the Earth, struggling with feelings of sadness and loneliness. Looking wistfully out at Earth, he … Baboon on the Moon
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 … Philosophy Warm-Up Activities
On the Beautiful and the Sublime…Aesthetics as Subjective Experience One of the longstanding questions that’s been debated in the field of aesthetics involves the nature of Beauty; one question in this area asks us where Beauty lies, in the object or in our eyes. Taking this further, if Beauty is in us rather than in … On the Beautiful and the Sublime
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