Community of Inquiry
Along with the links to English, Maths, Science, the Arts and History, each song has a related Community of Inquiry discussion plan. Using a Community of Inquiry discussion is the preferred method of teaching the general capability of Ethical Behaviour. It is an environment where children participate and communicate with one another in a non-threatening context, where there is likely to be many blurred answers rather than black and white answers.
Please ensure that students understand the lyrics and meanings in the songs before undertaking the community of inquiry. It is probably better to do one of these at the end of any learning you are doing about the piece. If you wish to have more information about running a community of inquiry in your classroom, you can visit the Philosophy for Australian Schools Facebook page. This Youtube clip to the right demonstrates some Community of Inquiry in action. |
|
Australian Curriculum Links
ACELY1709: Participate in and contribute to discussions, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments, sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions
ACELY1816: Use interaction skills, varying conventions of spoken interactions such as voice volume, tone, pitch and pace, according to group size, formality of interaction and needs and expertise of the audience
Discussion Plan for Thukeri - Selfishness and Generosity
The Good Samaritan discussion plan follows on well from this one.
When is a time that you have shared something with a friend or family member? What did they need and how did it make you feel to share what you had?
How do you think it made the person you shared with feel?
Make a list of ‘things that we share’ with your class and categorise items of sharing (to friends/family members) under the following columns: things you would never share, things you want to share, things that you need to share.
If you think now about sharing with a stranger (rather than a friend or family member), do the items on our list change columns? Why?
What is the difference between needing to share and wanting to share?
Are things you need to share always things that you don’t want to share?
If there was a starving kitten outside of your house, would you feed it? Would you need to share your food or want to share your food?
Would you be selfish if you didn’t feed the kitten?
What if it was a starving person outside of your house? Would you be selfish if you didn’t feed the person?
Would change your decision if this person was well dressed? Dressed in rags?
Would you be selfish if you didn't feed the person?
Imagine the starving person outside your house, but the person is not outside of your house, they are a 20 minute drive away.
Do we still have a responsibility to feed this person?
How far does our responsibility to share reach? - What if they were in another state? What if they were in another country?
When do we have a responsibility to share with others?
How do you think it made the person you shared with feel?
Make a list of ‘things that we share’ with your class and categorise items of sharing (to friends/family members) under the following columns: things you would never share, things you want to share, things that you need to share.
If you think now about sharing with a stranger (rather than a friend or family member), do the items on our list change columns? Why?
What is the difference between needing to share and wanting to share?
Are things you need to share always things that you don’t want to share?
If there was a starving kitten outside of your house, would you feed it? Would you need to share your food or want to share your food?
Would you be selfish if you didn’t feed the kitten?
What if it was a starving person outside of your house? Would you be selfish if you didn’t feed the person?
Would change your decision if this person was well dressed? Dressed in rags?
Would you be selfish if you didn't feed the person?
Imagine the starving person outside your house, but the person is not outside of your house, they are a 20 minute drive away.
Do we still have a responsibility to feed this person?
How far does our responsibility to share reach? - What if they were in another state? What if they were in another country?
When do we have a responsibility to share with others?
Discussion Plan for The Emperor and the Seed - Honesty and Integrity
Why do you think that all except one of the boys who wanted to become emperor lied about their seeds and came with the most beautiful plants and trees?
When is a time you have been tempted to lie about something?
Is it ever OK to lie?
What If your friend comes to school with a very ugly haircut, would you need to tell the truth about how bad they look?
What if someone asks you over to their house, but you don’t want to go? Is it better to tell them that you don’t want to go to their house, or tell a lie?
Do you think Ling had any other option other than going back to the Emperor, the only child without a seed?
Do you think he had an option not to go and just hide away?
Do you think he could have lied to the Emperor when he came over and looked at his empty pot?
Do you think Ling knew the other boys cheated?
Why do you think he didn't do what everyone else did and just bought another seed?
When is a time you have been tempted to lie about something?
Is it ever OK to lie?
What If your friend comes to school with a very ugly haircut, would you need to tell the truth about how bad they look?
What if someone asks you over to their house, but you don’t want to go? Is it better to tell them that you don’t want to go to their house, or tell a lie?
Do you think Ling had any other option other than going back to the Emperor, the only child without a seed?
Do you think he had an option not to go and just hide away?
Do you think he could have lied to the Emperor when he came over and looked at his empty pot?
Do you think Ling knew the other boys cheated?
Why do you think he didn't do what everyone else did and just bought another seed?
Discussion Plan for The Prancing Peacock - Humility and Modesty
Have you ever had a time where you have felt very proud of yourself?
What kinds of things are you proud about?
Can you be proud of things you haven't earned through hard work and determination? (E.G. Can I be proud of my blue eyes?)
What do you feel when you see a friend who is proud? Maybe your friend completed a great challenge and succeeded. How would this make you feel?
(At this point, your students might realise that it depends on how the friend reacted to their success - if not, move along to the next part and they'll get it... you might choose to give them the next paragraph even if they work this out)
Imagine a new child came into our class and she was just the best at maths. She could solve any problem.
One day, she comes up to the board to answer a maths question which she can't answer.
Think about how she might have acted infront of her classmates...
>>>If she had always boasted and showed off about her skills in maths, what would the rest of the class do/say/think when she is having trouble with this problem?
>>>If she had always shown modesty and kept to herself about her skills in maths, what would the rest of the class do/say/think when she is having trouble with this problem?
If she had always boasted and showed off about her maths skills, do you think it is bad that she is so good at maths?
(So it's still a good thing for people to succeed - it's just important that we think about how we react to our successes)
Think about a skill that you are really good at.
How important is it that other people know what you're good at?
Does it matter that everybody thinks you're the best at something?
What is the best way to react when we do succeed?
(Once you have done the discussion plan, you can do some role plays about how to react to success with humility and modesty).
What kinds of things are you proud about?
Can you be proud of things you haven't earned through hard work and determination? (E.G. Can I be proud of my blue eyes?)
What do you feel when you see a friend who is proud? Maybe your friend completed a great challenge and succeeded. How would this make you feel?
(At this point, your students might realise that it depends on how the friend reacted to their success - if not, move along to the next part and they'll get it... you might choose to give them the next paragraph even if they work this out)
Imagine a new child came into our class and she was just the best at maths. She could solve any problem.
One day, she comes up to the board to answer a maths question which she can't answer.
Think about how she might have acted infront of her classmates...
>>>If she had always boasted and showed off about her skills in maths, what would the rest of the class do/say/think when she is having trouble with this problem?
>>>If she had always shown modesty and kept to herself about her skills in maths, what would the rest of the class do/say/think when she is having trouble with this problem?
If she had always boasted and showed off about her maths skills, do you think it is bad that she is so good at maths?
(So it's still a good thing for people to succeed - it's just important that we think about how we react to our successes)
Think about a skill that you are really good at.
How important is it that other people know what you're good at?
Does it matter that everybody thinks you're the best at something?
What is the best way to react when we do succeed?
(Once you have done the discussion plan, you can do some role plays about how to react to success with humility and modesty).
Discussion Plan for The Good Samaritan - Helping Others and Protective Behaviours
This is a good one to follow the discussion plan for Thukeri
When is a time when you have needed help from someone else?
When is a time when you have helped someone else?
Ask students “can we put these experiences into categories?”
Categorise times when people need help based on student’s experiences, for example, maybe they are hurt, need information, food or money?
Do you always help someone who needs help? Is there ever a time when we MUST help someone who needs it?
Is there ever a time where we do not have to help someone in need?
Is there ever a time when we shouldn't help someone in need?
What makes people not want to help someone in need?
Think about the man lying in the middle of the road and the Samaritan coming over to save him.
Do you think if the roles were reversed, and the Samaritan was lying on the ground, would the man have saved him?
If he would have walked around, just like the priest, do you think he deserved to be saved?
The Samaritan was the least likely out of the three people who passed to help the man on the road.
How does it feel when someone unexpected helps you?
Talk to your students about situations where they might come across someone in need when it is unsafe for the child to give assistance. What can they do if they feel like they must help someone but it feels unsafe to do so?
You can also talk about the bystander effect with your students. It is easier to help someone when you are the only person around, however, if there are many people, it is harder to help someone in need, because it can seem like you have less responsibility (as every person seems to share some responsibility to help that person).
When is a time when you have helped someone else?
Ask students “can we put these experiences into categories?”
Categorise times when people need help based on student’s experiences, for example, maybe they are hurt, need information, food or money?
Do you always help someone who needs help? Is there ever a time when we MUST help someone who needs it?
Is there ever a time where we do not have to help someone in need?
Is there ever a time when we shouldn't help someone in need?
What makes people not want to help someone in need?
Think about the man lying in the middle of the road and the Samaritan coming over to save him.
Do you think if the roles were reversed, and the Samaritan was lying on the ground, would the man have saved him?
If he would have walked around, just like the priest, do you think he deserved to be saved?
The Samaritan was the least likely out of the three people who passed to help the man on the road.
How does it feel when someone unexpected helps you?
Talk to your students about situations where they might come across someone in need when it is unsafe for the child to give assistance. What can they do if they feel like they must help someone but it feels unsafe to do so?
You can also talk about the bystander effect with your students. It is easier to help someone when you are the only person around, however, if there are many people, it is harder to help someone in need, because it can seem like you have less responsibility (as every person seems to share some responsibility to help that person).