Learn the difference between arguing as an emotional release, and arguing as a way to communicate ideas and think rationally. Explore the different parts of an argument and by creating your own “puzzle”.

Explore the ways in which non-human creatures react to the world around them, and then reflect on how humans react (or should react) in similar situations. Find empathy for and understanding of other beings who share our world, and dig deeper into what makes a human being think and act the way they do.

Read and evaluate some of the “tall tales” that children have traditionally been told, and enjoy their silliness while learning to look for evidence and explanation. Use creative writing techniques to create new tales.

Explore the benefits of admitting when we don’t know something, and discuss the ways that curiosity and an open, inquiring mind can lead to adventures in thinking. Create a visual representation of this in the form of a cartoon critter.

Collaborate to create a definition of music by comparing it to everyday sounds. Go on a treasure hunt for all kinds of sounds in the classroom. Explore the process by which we change noise into something creative and artistic, and appreciate that different types of music may appeal or not appeal to listeners.

Take a critical, but optimistic look at ways that even young thinkers can contribute solutions to problems in their school, their community, and beyond. Craft works of art in a variety of media that express ideas for improvement, and share and explain them with peers.

Think critically about what it means to be “human” by investigating what makes us similar to or different from other animals. Roleplay as a cryptozoological creature (a Yeti) to research and ask questions about human physical, social, and behavioural characteristics. Use graphic organizers and a labelled diagram to “teach” an audience of other cryptozoological creatures (Yeti students) about the humans that live in their environment.

Get familiar with different media “languages” (e.g., images, sounds, graphics, and words). Think critically about the media we chose to tell a story, how media influence the stories we tell, and who our stories can reach. Tell one story in different ways, using a variety of media, and consider how this story might be told in the future.

Build an awareness of perception by considering how different creatures of different sizes (e.g., an ant, a mouse, a human child, an elephant) might perceive the same item. Develop a vocabulary to describe how these creatures might see a simple object (like a flower) and create a visual representation of that object from each creature’s perspective.

How do you tackle a big question, especially if it’s one with many different answers? Work together to analyze a challenging, but fascinating philosophical question, and come up with a variety of different answers.

Explore the role of courage in asking “big questions”. Research a great thinker who was willing to be brave, ask questions, and think carefully about possible answers, and whose ideas changed history.

Philosophy can be useful to so many people! Explore various jobs and activities that are made better by asking big questions. Get to know members of the community through the big ideas they use.

Explore questions that don’t lend themselves to “yes” or “no” answers. Examine how one question can generate many different points of view. Discuss the importance of building a “Thinking Community” in which many different answers are given consideration.

Learn to present ideas and opinions in a way that others will understand and appreciate. Examine the right and wrong way to make an argument by identifying common mistakes in reasoning, and develop strategies to correct them.

Develop and play an action-based game to learn and remember the etiquette and best practices of critical thinking and discussion.

Understand that reflecting on our thoughts and actions can have positive consequences. Think critically about a choice that has been made recently and consider objectively what the consequences were and what they might have been if a different decision had been made. Identify possible errors in reasoning.

Learn to find the smaller questions that lead into larger, more complex questions. Practice evaluating these questions effectively. Examine the way that asking different kinds of questions improves our overall understanding.

Get to know a great thinker, as well as the place and time in which they lived. Consider why they asked the questions that they did and think about the kinds of questions that would have been important to people at that time. Make connections to the questions that people are asking now.

Anyone can be a great thinker if he or she is willing to be brave, ask questions, and think carefully about possible answers. Create a “Great Thinker” super-hero persona around a personal strength that is shared with great thinkers in history.

Get familiar with the kinds of philosophy, as well as famous thinkers with a word scramble and a word search!