R.Smith Feb 2010

Philosophy is simply a method of thinking, reasoning and making sense of arguments and counter-arguments. We are all philosophers at heart. We will philosophise at various times in our lives and perhaps more so as we are growing up. We ask questions about the things that happen to us - what? how? and why? At Casllwchwr Primary School we want to teach our children the philosophical skills and tools to unlock their curiosity. By exploring interesting, enjoyable, and imaginative stimuli, such as stories and poems, our pupils will learn the skills necessary to develop their thinking towards the big issues that relate directly to their past, present and future...

Pupils enjoy a P4C session once a week as part of our Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA) provision. Through these sessions we aim to:  Challenge our children with thought provoking questions.  Create a climate for learning where our children feel comfortable to ask difficult questions knowing that nobody will judge them.  Encourage our children to build healthy relationships with each other.  Increase motivation to learn.  Help our children to understand that there are no right or wrong answers and that there are some questions to which there is no answer.  Develop communication skills.  Build our children's self-esteem.  Encourage self-review and reflection on beliefs and ideas.Aims…

 Asking questions  Active listening  Giving reasons  Making Connections  Promotion of thinking skills

How does P4C fit into the Key Skills Framework? W Creative and Critical Thinking skills Cognitive skills (remember) Comprehension (understand) Application (problem solve) Analyse ( break down information by cause or motive) Synthesise (create new knowledge by combining other knowledge) Evaluate (present and defend opinions making judgements) Recall Hypothesis Classify Generalise Interpretation Infer

Banksy The Bomb Girl

‘Look and see questions’ Closed Is it a girl? What is she holding? ‘Imagination’ questions Open Is this a scary picture? ‘Ask an expert questions’ Factual Who did the picture? What is a bomb? Questions for thinking Philosophical What does it mean to be scared? There is one right answer There may be many possibilities

PicturesPicture books MusicObjects Internet sitesStories PoemsGames Walks/outdoorsNewspapers MagazinesFilms Drama/role playComments ToysConversations Current affairs/events

Reception I wonder if leaves get dizzy when the wind blows them around? If I had a magic carpet you could fly all over and it would save Mummy using her car You’d have to be careful if you had a magic wand because you might lose control with it.

Year One I wouldn’t like chocolate rain because my Mum would get cross. We’re only allowed chocolate on treat days and it would make my teeth rotten if we had it every day. I wonder if trees talk to each other when nobody is there? Would they talk in English or Welsh? …or tree?

Year Two I chose this card because it reminds me of my Mum’s teddy bear which is very old. I’m not sure I’d like it to rain Chocolate rain because even though it would be nice to start with, if it was cold it would go hard and would hurt you when it fell on you. If you could touch the stars and the moon, I wonder if you would burn your fingers.

Year Three I think the Crocodile’s mum and dad must have been selfish and then he caught it off them. The mouse was brave even though he was small and I think this shows that you don’t need to be big and strong to be brave

Year Four Does Andy love Woody? Why does he treat him like that? …so does Woody love Andy? I don’t think Andy loves Woody because you don’t treat somebody you love in that way.

Year Five I think of lying as being a double yellow line. If you get away with it well done, if you don’t you know there’ll be consequences Is wondering worse than knowing? Wondering is worse because you think weird things will happen. It’s like using your imagination…

Year Six I chose this card because I think he looks a bit different. Some people might think scary but I think he looks interesting and it shows that you shouldn’t always judge a book by it’s cover. Endless money makes you want more and this can make you greedy Every change that happens changes the way you think even though you might not know it at the time.