Jumpstart! Philosophy in the Classroom ─ Games and Activities for Ages 7-14

This collection of inspiring and simple-to-use activities will jumpstart students' understanding of philosophy, and is a treasure trove of ideas for building philosophical enquiry into the curriculum. It offers teachers a range of quick, easy and effective ways for developing children’s comprehension of and engagement with philosophy, and will help them ‘learn how to learn’.

With a wealth of activities, including puzzles, class discussion techniques and group tasks, Jumpstart! Philosophy in the Classroom covers the following topics:

• curiosity and imagination
• language for thinking
• critical thinking
• creating a community of enquiry.

Practical and immersive methods will encourage children to think, analyse, evaluate, discuss, judge and arrive at reasoned conclusions across all areas of the curriculum, stimulating philosophical conversation and changing the way that content is processed and understood in the classroom. This book will be a vital resource for all those who want to develop thinking skills and philosophical enquiry in their school.

Steve Bowkett is a former teacher and author of numerous books for teachers including the bestselling Jumpstart! Creativity. He visits schools to run creative writing workshops for children and also works as an educational consultant specialising in the areas of thinking skills and problem solving, creativity and literacy.