ABIATOR: p4k-lesson

Welcome to another Abiator P4K (Philosophy 4 Kids) Resource. The Discussion Plans below are outlines only and may require additional planning before they are used in the classroom. Some understanding of how to run an effective Community of Inquiry with children is assumed.

This resource is free to download and use provided all tags and credits are retained.

Enjoy.

Use your Community of Inquiry to discuss these questions...

Is it wrong to keep animals in cages so we can look at them?
Can you think of any positive reasons for looking at animals in zoos?
Would it be wrong to put humans in cages so we could look at them?
What are the differences and similarities between humans and animals?
Do humans understand animals? Evidence?
Do aniamls understand humans? Evidence?
Are humans animals?
Could you be friends with an animal?
How do animals communicate?
If animals have a language, is it the same as ours?
Do you think people have more respect for humans than animals? Evidence?

Use your Think Tanks to complete a table like the one below.
The idea here is to acknowledge that, during discussions, we don't always agree with what someone says, so we challenge their opinion. In this task, we must think of good and bad points about zoos, then come up with appropriate challenges for each idea.

Good points about zoos	Challenge	Bad points about zoos	Challenge
It's a good place to see animals we wouldn't normally get to see	Is that a good enough reason? Shouldn't we go to see them in their natural habitat?	Animals shouldn't be kept in cages the way they are in zoos	Not all animals are in cages; many of them are in large open fields or enclosures

If you could be any kind of animal, which animal would you choose and why?

What would you rather be...
A snake or lizard? Give a reason.
A mouse or lion? Give a reason.
A snail or bat? Give a reason.

This site is authored by A.J. Berghuis ©, All Rights Reserved, 2005
The author acknowledges the copyrights of the owners of all externally-sourced material used on this site, used on this site under the fair use clause of the Copyright Law. Where known, the original author(s) have been credited. All original material on this site is free to use for non-profit educational purposes.