philosophy

Philosophy Toolkit

by

Find out how this resource can help you use philosophy in your classroom to spark engaging discussions and help your students to learn more about themselves and each other.

30 Things I Believe

by

My 5th graders spend the last semester examining their own beliefs, developing manifestos, and researching a Dream Team of people who exemplify what they stand for.  We use some of the “This I Believe” curriculum to help them identify their values.  Yesterday, my students and I listened to one of the short radio essays archived … Read more

Our Magnificent Manifestos

by

As my 5th grade students wind up the school year, I begin to worry that they will go to middle school next year and forget everything they learned in our GT classroom.  Some of them have been with me for 6 years, so I’m hopeful that a few things will “stick.”  Nevertheless, a visual reminder … Read more

Creativity Needs a New PR Person

by

So, my first graders dropped a piano on my head last week.  I should not have found it quite as surprising as I did, but they still caught me off guard.  I showed them the Creativity video from Apple, and I asked what I thought was kind of a rhetorical question, “Is creativity important?” One … Read more

Pickle – An Ethics Podcast for Kids

by

Thanks to Sonya Terborg (@terSonya) sharing a tweet from @FriedEnglish101 this weekend, I discovered Pickle this weekend.  Pickle is an ethics podcast for kids produced by WNYC.  The episodes look to be an average of about 20 minutes, and cover topics like, “Would an Elephant Visit a People Zoo?” and “The Friendship Formula.” Pickle is … Read more

War

by

One of the sessions I attended at TCEA 2018 was presented by a group from Richardson ISD.  #4CoresonFire focused on some cross-curricular activities using tools that I’ve used before.  However, I got some great integration ideas I hadn’t thought of – which makes the session a success in my book. One of the teachers described … Read more