Plot Summary: Maggie admires and likes her biology teacher, but she is against dissection and refuses to dissect a worm, declaring to the class that killing is wrong. Some of her classmates support her and some don’t, and her best friend agrees with her but doesn’t stand up to the teacher herself. Maggie finds that … Standing Up to Mr. O., Claudia Mills
Chapter 12, “The Mirror of Erised” Harry discovers the “Mirror of Erised,” a mystical mirror that shows us the “deepest and most desperate desires of our hearts.” The mirror shows Harry images of himself surrounded by a loving family, and he becomes entranced by the images he sees, wanting to return to the mirror again … Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Why do we sometimes see the same thing differently? Step 1 Depending on the age or grade level of the participants, either the facilitator or the participant/s read chapter one of The Little Prince. Step 2 Facilitator introduces the prompt (Step 3) and poses the questions (listed below each image) for participants to consider, discuss, … The Little Prince, Chapter One
Book Summary Tuck Everlasting tells the story of the Tuck family, a family of 4 who, years ago, discovered a spring of water which, they realized after they all drank from it, makes you immortal. Winnie Foster, a 10-year-old girl who has stumbled upon the well, makes friends with Jesse Tuck (who appears to be … Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbit (1975)
Book Summary In The Hundred Dresses (1944), a new girl at school, Wanda, wears the same faded blue dress every day, Yet Wanda tells the other students that she has one hundred beautiful dresses at home, “all lined up.” The other girls don’t believe it, and when Peggy starts a daily game of teasing Wanda … The Hundred Dresses, Eleanor Estes
Book Summary: In My Friend the Monster (1980), Prince Hal’s parents are disappointed in him because he is “ordinary.” They won’t let him play with the other children around the castle because they claim those children are “beneath” Prince Hal. Prince Hal makes friends with a girl, who gives him a book about the monsters … My Friend the Monster, Clyde Bulla
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
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
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?
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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