Philosophy This session can either lead to the session here on causation and the post-hoc fallacy (this is a fallacy where someone has a mistaken view of what makes something happen), or you could follow the first stimulus with the Truth and Falsity session, depending on what the class say. Stimulus 1 "I can make clocks move round ...

The Philosophy This is a slightly different session in that we are asking the children to consider an argument directly, and it is a continuation of the first Magician's Tricks stories. It is important that the first story is run so that the children are prepared for this argument. To find out more about Avicenna you can hear podcast o...

The Philosophy You can hear an 'In Our Time' and 'Philosophy Bites' about Avicenna here: http://philosophybites.com/2007/09/peter-adamson-o.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00855lt In a colourful career Avicenna proved the existence of god, amalgamated all known medical knowledge into one big book and establish...

Stimulus Get hold of some sheet music (e.g. an Etude by Fernando Sor or a famous song) Show the class the sheet music. [Optional] Play or sing them the piece of music [if you can play an instrument or sing]. [Optional] Play them the song from an MP3 player. [Optional] If the class know the song, have them sing it. Task Question W...

DO: Put a pile of something, e.g. books in the middle of the circle and explain that the children should imagine it’s huge!  It’s a mountain. DO: Will need to use actors from around the circle for next bit, potentially all children in the group, so helps to go around the circle and take children one by one… SAY: The...

BACKGROUND The basis for this story is one of the ten commandments: do not covet your neighbours goods. So we are told not to look jealously at what our peers have. The exact original meaning, and the best translations from the ancient sources, are a bit murky. For example, it is said by some analysts that those goods might include slaves, or...

There was once a man who desired to know. He was very bookish and spent most of his time buried in a book. One day, he turned to his wife and said, ‘I have studied much and I know a great deal, but there is one thing that eludes me: truth. I have decided to leave and search for truth. ‘Good luck!’ said his wife. Task Ques...

Thought Adventure 42 The perfect friend – thinking about friendship, (perfection and A.I.) This session was put together for teachers asking for sessions for ‘anti-bullying week’ and for PSHE requirements ‘getting on and falling out’. The strategy I took for developing this session was to problematize th...

Focus With eyes shut try to imagine the perfect school. Ask the following questions: How would the pupils behave? How would the teachers take the lessons? How would the pupils feel at the end of the school day? How would the teachers feel at the end of the school day? Stimulus This piece of paper is a letter from the Prime...