This fun philosophy lesson focuses on political philosophy: the branch of philosophy that explores matters relating to politics, liberty, justice, property, and rights. Political philosophy also explores law and how laws are enforced by authorities, the purpose of government, what rights and freedoms it should protect, what form it should take. Political philosophers also investigate the responsibilities and duties we all have in relation to the state, what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, and when (if ever) governments may be legitimately overthrown through revolution. This session introduces political philosophy to young learners and refers to important philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. This session is of interest to all teachers working with students aged 8-16 but has a special relevance to teachers of civics, politics, and those covering politics in their school’s PSHE/SMSC curricula. This session explores topics such as: Different forms of government The importance of laws The nature of freedom and ‘free societies’ Human Rights The nature of utopias and dystopias The big question asked in this session is “What would a perfect society (utopia) be like? To what extent is creating one possible?”. Using a variety of engaging activities students will discuss and debate a wide range of other philosophical questions such as: What do terms like ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty’ really mean? What qualities ought a good leader of a country to have? All in all, are we more or less free as a result of living in a modern civilised society? In our own society, which laws (if any) do you think are potentially unjust? Students will also analyse and evaluate an eclectic mix of philosophical claims such as: “Society cannot function without people sacrificing certain freedoms” “I would rather live in a tribe in the jungle than in a modern society” “I can think of ways to improve this society and make it a better system for people to live in” This session uses our unique format for philosophy teaching resources and features an integrated menu that allows teachers to select from a variety of starter, main, plenary, assessment and end-of-lesson reflection activities. The file is a PowerPoint Show: no planning or preparation is required, just run the file and the intuitive menu system will make delivering a powerful philosophy session very easy! This resource is suitable for students aged 8-16; due to the flexible nature of the sessions design it can be used for multiple hour-long sessions or as a short stimulating tutor-group activity.

Help students to protect themselves against misinformation and delusion with this powerful set of resources! In the age of misinformation teaching critical-thinking skills is an essential duty for teachers and schools. Aside from our standard ‘Fun Philosophy Lesson’ which will help you to trigger deep discussions and engaging debates about critical thinking with ease, this download also includes a special ‘Defence Against the Dark Arts’ lesson which is based on recent research that suggest ‘inoculating against misinformation’ is far more effective than trying to undo false beliefs retrospectively. The resource also includes our Logical Fallacy Training Pack which helps students practice their skills at detecting deceptive and manipulative arguments using the power of reason and logic! This philosophy teaching resource pack is of interest to all teachers working with students aged 8-16 and explores topics such as: The nature of critical thinking The value of scepticism Emotional biases in the pursuit of truth Logical Fallacies Reliable vs unreliable sources of information Detecting misinformation online The big question asked in this session is “How do we know if a particular claim is really true?”. Using a variety of engaging activities students will discuss and debate a wide range of other philosophical questions such as: Why is it important to be sceptical about what we read online? What might happen to a person who had absolutely no critical-thinking skills? What are the main sources of bias that influence your ability to wisely discern truth from falsehood? and To what extent is it possible to be 100% certain about anything? Students will also analyse and evaluate an eclectic mix of philosophical claims such as: “We can trust that what our parents and teachers tell us is definitely true.” “Our emotions and feelings can get in the way of our rational pursuit of the truth” and “We should be wary of people who hold extreme political views” As with all our resources, this session will help students to develop vital communication, social and interpersonal skills: healthy debates will help learners to practice ‘disagreeing in an agreeable fashion’. This resource is suitable for students aged 8-16; due to the flexible nature of the sessions design it can be used for multiple hour-long sessions or as a short stimulating tutor-group activity. The ‘Fun Philosophy Lesson’ resource uses our unique format for philosophy teaching resources and features an integrated menu that allows teachers to select from a variety of starter, main, plenary, assessment and end-of-lesson reflection activities.

This ‘Fun Philosophy Lesson’ is focused on philosophical and ethical issues that relate to Artificial Intelligence (AI), artificial consciousness, automation, robotics and cybernetics. This interactive multi-use learning session is useful as a part of your schools PSHE/SMSC provision and is of particular interest to teachers of ICT/Computer Science and Design & Technology; it focuses on a wide range of topics such as: The implications of artificial intelligence for society, economy and day-to-day life Whether or not artificial consciousness is theoretically possible Self-driving cars and automated moral decision making The possibility of ‘Robot Rights’ and having moral duties towards artificial intelligence and robots The use of AI-operated drones in a military context The future of employment in a world of AI and automation We’ve aimed to cover as many bases as possible when it comes to finding engaging philosophical and ethical issues for young learners to debate and discuss! The big question asked in this session is “Will we ever create a computer that has an experience?”. Using a variety of engaging activities students will discuss and debate a wide range of other philosophical and ethical questions such as: How might Artificial Intelligence (AI) start to impact our lives in the coming decades? Which professions do you think are the least likely to be replaced by AI systems and/or automation? What rules could be programmed into a self-driving car to ensure that it never does anything evil? What are the potential risks and dangers of trying to improve human beings by using cybernetic implants? To what extent is it possible to do something unethical to a robot? and Would you ever vote for a political party that was constituted only of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems? This session uses our unique format for philosophy teaching resources and features an integrated menu that allows teachers to select from a variety of starter, main, plenary, assessment and end-of-lesson reflection activities. With a massive selection of activities designed to trigger philosophical discussions, debates and reflections: you can re-use the resource numerous times with the same group. For teachers wishing to run ‘P4C’ (Philosophy for Children) sessions these resources are ideal! The file is a PowerPoint Show: no planning or preparation is required, just run the file and the intuitive menu system will make delivering a powerful philosophy session very easy! This resource is suitable for students aged 8-16; due to the flexible nature of the sessions design it can be used for multiple hour-long sessions or as a short stimulating tutor-group activity.

This download is for Religious Studies teachers covering Judaism at GCSE Level. It can also be used at KS3 level, though its design is based on GCSE specifications (2016/7 onwards). It features: -50 Debates -Animated slides -A randomiser function -Central moral/ethical teachings for students to link to debate prompts -All debates linked to moral issues from the exam board specifications (specifically, OCR/AQA specs, 2016/7 onwards) It is ideal for: -Teaching and revising moral concepts specific to the religion covered. -Teaching students to apply general moral principles from the religious tradition to different moral issues. -Practising exam technique: most of the debate prompts are potential 12/15 mark questions. -End of lesson activities -Revision sessions -Cover lessons The debate format asks students to move from one side of the room or the other based on whether they think a member of the religious tradition should agree or disagree with the statement, it is also good practice to get students to move to express their opinion in response to the statement. It is also good practice to ask students for ideas other than the ones on the slide they might connect, and update the slides accordingly.

You’ve probably already heard of ‘Think, Pair, Share’ as an effective way to manage classroom discussions whilst promoting individual reflection: such an approach is widely cited as an effective way to engage students in metacognition and metacognitive reflection. This 100+ slide PowerPoint contains over 300 metacognitive reflection questions making it the definitive ‘Think, Pair, Share’ metacognition discussion resource. You can save loads of time by downloading this today, it includes a whole-school license so that you can share it with the other teachers in your school! It’s great for use: During form/tutor time As a starter activity At the end of lessons to make good use of spare time The questions are not subject-specific (although some do refer to literacy and numeracy) and the PowerPoint includes a ‘Randomiser’ slide: this allows you to instantly conjure new metacognitive reflection questions for class discussions and allows you to use this resource many times with the same group! We’ve spent lots of time to make this the definitive Think-Pair-Share metacognition resource: make sure you check out the engaging and colourful design using the preview images above! Thank you for looking at our resources! Make sure to download some of our free samples: just visit globalmetacognition.com We offer a range of whole-school metacognition resources that aim to enhance metacognitive skills and strategies in students aged 11-16. You can download individual resources or buy our ‘Whole School Metacognition Toolkits’ that make establishing a whole-school metacognition initiative easy. Our resources specialise in: Boosting Learning-Power Teaching Metacognitive Skills & Strategies Increasing Metacognitive Power (Intelligence, Memory etc.) These resources are made and distributed in partnership with The Global Metacognition Institute. Find more metacognition resources at globalmetacognition.com Join our Facebook Metacognition Working Group for Teachers & Leaders! https://www.facebook.com/groups/EducationalMetacognition/ Copyright Adam Godwin (2019)

This resource contains over one hundred ‘Four Corner’ discussion and debate prompts about metacognitive strategies, metacognition, and boosting learning power! In each slide students are asked a metacognitive reflection question and need to move to one of the classroom’s four corners to show their thoughts on the matter: teachers can then facilitate discussions within and between groups. It’s a fun ‘Pick up and Play’ learning activity that you can use in form-times, tutor groups, as a starter activity or just a handy end of lesson metacognition tool for when you have a few minutes to spare! Download today! It includes both an editable PowerPoint file and an auto-play PowerPoint Show - as with all our products, it includes a whole-school license so feel free to share this with other teachers in your school!

This download includes four PLC templates: teachers need simply need to add the list of topics for their respective subjects and they are ready to go. On the reverse side of each learning checklist is a series of metacognitive reflection tasks and target-setting activities: this enhances the usefulness of the learning checklist and helps students to use of their self-monitoring and evaluation work to steer, direct and regulate learning. Personal Learning Checklists (PLCs) feature lists of all required learning for a unit or course: students run through the list, indicating for each topic how confident they feel in relation to it and how secure their learning is. Personal learning checklists are a fantastic example of self-regulated learning and metacognition since students can use them to monitor and evaluate their learning and then plan and regulate it accordingly. Personal Learning Checklists should be used by all teachers in all subjects: they are especially useful in subjects where students are preparing for formal summative assessments [exams] and, ideally, the list of topics on the checklist should be faithful to the exam specification they are using. Please note: the preview images depict completed templates for illustrative purposes, teachers will need to add topics for their respective subjects/units before using the PLCs.

This flexible interactive philosophy lesson focuses on epistemology: the field of philosophy concerned with the nature of knowledge, different potential sources of knowledge, the difference between knowledge and opinion, and the different ways in which beliefs can be evaluated. The download includes a free bonus resource: a comprehensive teaching pack focused on logical fallacies and critical thinking. This session is ideal for teachers who want to explore philosophy with students and, aside from referring to more conventional epistemological issues, it also explores to the importance of critical-thinking and how students can detect misinformation online and discern between reliable and unreliable sources of information; we’ve carefully selected the most significant epistemological issues and questions so that young learners can engage in fun philosophical discussions and debates. This session explores topics such as: The nature of knowledge The difference between knowledge and belief Different ways of evaluating knowledge claims Intellectual virtues Obstacles that arise in the pursuit of truth This philosophy teaching resource also outlines and explains different epistemological views (such as empiricism, rationalism, fideism and scepticism). The big question asked in this session is “Is it possible to know anything with absolute certainty?”. Using a variety of engaging activities students will discuss and debate a wide range of other philosophical questions such as: To what extent can we rely on the senses as a source of knowledge? How do we evaluate the validity of different beliefs? and What drives the spread misinformation and how can we detect it? Students will also analyse and evaluate an eclectic mix of philosophical claims such as: “It is impossible to know anything with 100% certainty" “We should always be sceptical about what others claim to be true” and “One should never believe in something until one has experienced it personally” This session uses our unique format for philosophy teaching resources and features an integrated menu that allows teachers to select from a variety of starter, main, plenary, assessment and end-of-lesson reflection activities. Aside from a wide range of debate and discussion activities, teachers can also choose from a variety of more substantial activities such as essay writing, poetry writing, and speech writing tasks. This resource is suitable for teachers of all school subjects who are looking to introduce philosophy, philosophical thinking and critical thinking.

This metacognition teaching resource serves two primary functions: To teach students how to use the metacognitive cycle (planning, monitoring, evaluating and regulating) in relation to essay-writing: developing essay-writing skills To use essay-writing tasks as a way to encourage metacognitive reflection and help students gain metacognitive knowledge: developing metacognitive and self-regulated learning skills The download includes an interactive PowerPoint presentation that can be used for multiple (x12) one-hour learning sessions as well as an accompanying information sheet about using metacognitive strategies for essay writing. The learning sessions guide students through the essay writing process and dedicate time to planning, monitoring, evaluating and regulating the essay writing process. Twelve metacognitive/ self-regulated learning reflection topic options are provided with hints as to what students might want to include in their essays. The topics are: Building On My Strengths & Weaknesses in This Subject Effective Revision & Exam Preparation Strategies How To Learn More During Lessons How My Behaviour Impacts My Learning & My Rate of Progress How Do My Emotions, Moods & Attitudes Impact My Learning? Metacognition, Self-Regulation & Independent Learning in This Subject What Could I Do Differently In Order to Maximise Learning? How To Boost My Learning Power The Ideal State of Mind for Learning & How I Can Cultivate It My Obstacles to Learning & How I Plan To Overcome Them Factors That Influence My Ability to Learn and Remember Learning What Approach to Learning Works Best For Me Essay topics 1-6 are subject-specific and can be used by teachers of any subject to foster metacognition and lead students towards metacognitive knowledge their particular school subject whilst essay topics 6-12 are general metacognitive reflection rubrics. Aside from metacognition and self-regulated learning, we hope to work with educators towards building greater levels of learner autonomy in students: to this end the essay-writing session instructions also guide students towards developing their own assessment criteria that they (at the end of each session) will use to evaluate their own work. This approach ties in neatly with the ‘planning’ stage of the metacognitive cycle and helps students to consider the task requirements before engaging with it. Teacher instructions are included (integrated into the PowerPoint file), the general lesson plan when using this tool is as follows: Introduction/Lesson Objectives Assessment Criteria Creation Essay Planning Stage Essay Writing Task (With Monitoring Break) Evaluation Stage Regulation & Target Setting Stage The resource will help students to cultivate essay-writing skills whilst fostering metacognitive reflection: steering students towards metacognitive knowledge about their own learning processes and how to improve them.

This multi-use interactive philosophy lesson explores ‘Philosophy of Mind’: the field of philosophy that studies the nature of the mind and how it is linked to the body. The session will also trigger fascinating discussions about ‘the problem of other minds’, how we know whether or not something has a mind, solipsism, how to study the mind, and the possibilities of generating artificial consciousness. This session is ideal for teachers who want to explore philosophy with students aged 8-16; we’ve carefully selected the most significant issues and questions relating to philosophy of mind so that young learners can engage in fun philosophical discussions and debates. This session explores topics such as: The nature of the mind Qualities and properties associated with the mind The manner in which the mind can be said to exist The relationship between the brain and the mind It outlines and explores the fundamental debate at the core of philosophy of mind surrounding mind-body dualism, physicalism, idealism as well as classic philosophical problems such as the problem of other minds and ‘The Hard Problem of Consciousness’. The big question asked in this session is “Do we ever experience anything other than our own mind?”. Using a variety of engaging activities students will discuss and debate a wide range of other philosophical questions such as What is the mind made of? Do plants have minds? What is the size, shape, and location of the mind? How could you prove to someone else that you have a mind? and What is ‘the external world’ like beyond our mental representations of it? Students will also analyse and evaluate an eclectic mix of philosophical claims such as: “There is no ‘mental stuff’ in reality: only physical stuff exists” “The mind does not have a size” “One day humans will create a computer that has a mind or a conscious experience of existence” and “The colour red doesn’t actually exist in the world: it’s a mental quality that only exists in the mind” This resource is suitable for students aged 8-16; due to the flexible nature of the sessions design it can be used for multiple hour-long sessions or as a short stimulating tutor-group activity. This session uses our unique format for philosophy teaching resources and features an integrated menu that allows teachers to select from a variety of starter, main, plenary, assessment and end-of-lesson reflection activities. The file is a PowerPoint Show: no planning or preparation is required, just run the file and the intuitive menu system will make delivering a powerful philosophy session very easy!

Philosophers and sages have reflected on the nature and significance of death and mortality since ancient times whilst reflecting on the possibility of an afterlife in the face of the mystery of death. According to many philosophers and psychologists: a healthy appreciation of one’s own finitude is essential for living a full life and for striving to live without regrets. Speaking about death and dying is a taboo in our society and yet by failing to speak openly about it we can often exacerbate the fear of death in young minds and feed their anxieties around death. This interactive philosophy lesson allows for open and reasonable discussions about death, mortality, and the possibility (or impossibility) of an afterlife. It is created without a religious or cultural bias or an agenda to persuade or convert students to a particular viewpoint in relation to the afterlife. This session is ideal for teachers who want to explore these deep matters of life and death with students aged 8-16; we’ve carefully selected the most significant issues and questions relating to death and the afterlife so that young learners can engage in fun philosophical discussions and debates. This session explores topics such as: The nature of the death The benefits of contemplating one’s own mortality Different views about the afterlife Whether or believing in ghosts is justified The value of funerals and honouring the dead Existential psychology Please be careful to time your use of this resource carefully and to deliver it with due sensitivity as some young people might struggle to wrestle with these issues. Please note: this resource discusses a variety of afterlife beliefs (i.e. the possibility of reincarnation, Heaven, Hell and nothingness) and, therefore, will probably involve the analysis and evaluation of religious beliefs. The big question asked in this session is “What are the benefits of thinking deeply about our own mortality?”. Using a variety of engaging activities students will discuss and debate a wide range of other philosophical questions such as: Why do you think people are reluctant to talk about death and dying and that such topics are a taboo in our society? To what extent can thinking about death help us to appreciate and value those around us more? Many people have reported seeing ghosts: to what extent does this prove that ghosts exist? What do you think people experience after they die? How should we live our lives in such a way that we are always ready to die? and To what extent do Near Death Experiences (NDEs) prove that life after death is definitely true?