PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN
FJS Curriculum Evening
Are these apples dead or alive?
OUTLINE OF THE EVENING
• What is P4C?
• Why do P4C?
• What does P4C look like?
• Ground Rules
• How often do we do it?
• Demonstration
Is a broken down car parked?
What is Philosophy?
• The origin of the word philosophy come the
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greek words philos and sophy, whose literal
translation is ‘the love of wisdom’.
It is trying to work out our own best answers to
questions that human beings will always be
wondering about.
For the purposes of FJS we have defined
philosophy for children as a community of
enquiry to help us make good judgements about
what to think and what to do.
What If…….
• The sun never set on Fordingbridge again?
What If….
• There were 28 hours in a day?
Why do Philosophy?
• To cultivate curiosity and give time to value and explore children’s
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questions
To develop children’s thinking skills as useful life skills (important in
the information revolution)
To develop co-operative discussion and to teach children how to
respectfully agree, disagree and challenge others’ ideas and opinions
To encourage children to challenge and question rather than accept
To help children come to well thought out judgements
To enhance the quality of children’s speaking and listening skills
To develop children’s self-confidence and self-esteem by valuing and
building on their ideas. Philosophy has no right or wrong answer.
To create the opportunity to engage in deep learning
To stimulate higher levels of creativity
Employers want creative thinkers who can think on their feet and
adapt to a rapidly changing world.
What is ½ of love?
• In P4C the role of the teacher is not as a
dispenser of information, but rather as a
facilitator of learning.
The typical structure of a P4C
session is as follows:
• Warm-up activity (for examples see below)
• Presentation of a stimulus – this could be a story (or part
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of), a poem, a picture or photograph, a song or an
artefact. The teacher presents the stimulus so all
children can see, hear and engage with it
Paired discussion or individual reflection to decide on a
question they would like to ask about the stimulus
The teacher scribes each question on a flipchart or
whiteboard and puts the children’s name by it
The children vote on the most interesting question,
preferably anonymously
The teacher facilitates a philosophical discussion to
explore that question
How do you know whether you are
dreaming or awake?
Ground Rules for P4C
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Give everyone a turn at speaking
Don’t interrupt when someone else is talking
Give support and help them add things
Don’t say anything mean, stupid or unpleasant
If people don’t want to say anything they don’t
have to.
Don’t laugh unkindly at something someone
has said
Think before you ask a question
Children are encouraged to use
certain speaking frames to promote
thinking/ respect for others’ views:
• I think……………..because……..
• I agree with……….because…….
• I disagree with………..because……..
• I would like to ask……(name of
child)…………
• I would like to add to what….(name of
child)said……..
How often do we do P4C?
• Twice a half-term as pure P4C
• Once a half-term as a cross-curricular
input
Demonstration time