BACKGROUND There are many versions of this story throughout history and across the world. It may go back as far as the Greeks in one for or another. The first version we have is from the 13th C poet scholar Ibn Said. The story was picked up and circulated by Europeans over the centuries. All the different versions involve a man (and usuall...

Stimulus Once upon a time there was a city that was full of all kinds of different people. People looked different, spoke different languages, ate different food, and had different religions. There were… Muslims from Africa, Christians from India, Muslims from India, Christians from Africa, French-speakers from Canada, English-speak...

  BACKGROUND The belief in heaven, where we are rewarded for what we do on Earth is widespread and powerful. These days, beliefs in the afterlife vary widely. Some believe literally in what the Bible, Koran, or other holy book says heaven will be like. Others have a more vague idea that their spirit will somehow live on. Whatever the ...

Taken from Peter Worley's book '40 Lessons to Get Children Thinking', Bloomsbury September 2015 Equipment needed and preparation: An enclosed non-transparent box, A ball (optional - see below) Starting age: 10 years Key concept / vocabulary: Hypothesis, test, show, demonstrate, true, false, knowledge Subject lin...

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...

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...