BACKGROUND The story of Prince Gautama, a prince who left his palace to become The Buddha (meaning Enlightened One) is central to the Buddhist tradition. In this session, we focus on the main story without going into the teachings of Buddhism. So you could use it as a stimulus for thought on these issues without even mentioning Buddhism, but ...

INTRODUCTION Buddhism has several distinctive features. One of these is the rejection of the world. The everyday world we move about in is, for the Buddhist, a distraction. If we are too attached to it, we will always be caught up in suffering. Although this rejection of the world can be found in other religions too, for Buddhism it is the ce...

STIMULUS There was once a poor farmer. He was always struggling to get enough food. One winter, he was left with just one chicken. If the chicken laid an egg the farmer would eat that day, and if it didn’t, he went hungry. Desperate, he went to a neighbour who was very religious and asked for advice. The neighbour told him: ‘Do...

By Oliver Leech The Philosophy This session introduces an old chestnut from the repertoire of ethical problems. Traditionally, the story draws attention to the distinction between a deontological response (there is a duty to keep promises no matter what the consequences) and a utilitarian approach (the right course of action is that which ...

This session is based on the book 'The Rainbow Fish' by Marcus Pfister. The rainbow fish is the most beautiful fish in the sea. No other fish has such sparkly and colourful scales. When another fish asks if they can have one of those sparkly scales, the rainbow fish says ‘no’. Now she doesn’t have any friends. What...

By Tim Beardmore-Gray Background to session This enquiry was written for a Yr5 class that had lead a previous enquiry into exploring the EQ: “What features would a robot have to have in order to be a real human?” They had expressed a desire to explore this further the following week. Engagement was a given and we could dive qui...

This session uses picture book: 'Red Ted and the Lost Things' by Michael Rosen & Joel Stewart Props: Philosophy Elephant Blank postcards. Starter: Introduce Philosophy Elephant.  Session: Introduce the story by asking the children, ‘have you ever been lost, even for a little while? What happened?...

* Please refer to attached image Looking Is it a man, woman, girl or boy? Is the painting bright or dark? Are there any objects that are moving in the painting? What is the person in the painting looking at? Why is the person looking intense or relaxed? Are there any surprises in the picture? ...

Designed by Melina Lafirenze This enquiry was written as an extension activity for the Republic Island enquiry (from The If Machine) but it was easily long enough for a full session and could possibly run over two sessions for younger groups. Stimulus On the island there is a lake full of fish. Though they are plentiful the fish are rea...