These lesson plans encourage learning with the following ideals in mind:
- Reading aloud from the classic material with kids is important. It helps them to not be afraid of the primary source and exposes them to new vocabulary and sentence structure. If kids are too young to strongly read themselves, the parent or teacher can read to them. In the case of The Allegory Of The Cave, younger children may be able to read the role of Gloucon who has fewer lines in the dialogue.
- Approach philosophical topics as a Socratic questioner. In short, focus on giving kids questions, not answers. Other things to keep in mind are:
- Questions often lead to more questions but that’s ok. Learning to ask good questions is the win!
- Keep the discussion focused and intellectually responsible.
- Explore different angles; try to identify your own biases and avoid them.
- Periodically summarize and review.
- Be inclusive of as many people in the discussion as possible. These lessons are great for groups of kids–including multiple perspectives can add a lot of value.
- Keep sessions around 20-25 minutes. Long sessions risk making the material overly tedious. Picking up where you left off in previous sessions should be easy with a quick review.
- Learning through teaching is highly encouraged. Each lesson presents an opportunity for kids to take what they have read in the lessons and present them to someone else.
- The intended ages are 8 to 12 but up to your discretion.