Teachers often say they aren’t sure how to fit Philosophy for Children into a busy curriculum.
Remember though, that P4C can enhance the teaching of every subject. Here are some pupil and teacher quotes about the impact of using P4C in Literacy:
Doing P4C helps me organise my written ideas into a logical order. (age 11)
Talking about it first means you have time to listen and form your ideas. If we didn’t have P4C, we wouldn’t have examples to write down. It helps us feel confident to write. (age 9)
You take the stimulus that you've used in the Philosophy into the English work... Without exception, the work is deeper, it's more thought-through, and the ideas are stronger following the enquiry. (Year 2 teacher at Gallions Primary, London, from the well-known P4C training video)
If you’re not already doing this, why not consider incorporating P4C enquiries and techniques into your next Literacy focus.
(There’s an opportunity to explore this more deeply in our fun, interactive online course on 25th November – event details here.)
Reminders from six-year-olds about some of the benefits of P4C
Show your pupils that you are trying to understand their thinking
Pupils feel that P4C helps them with everything from relationships to confidence to staying calm
Get your pupils thinking about the rights and wrongs of activism
Pupil voice about whole-class talk in Reading lessons
Using an unexpected event as a P4C stimulus
Pupil voice from younger children shows how they enjoy thinking and talking together
Why giving out ‘talking objects’ is worth the hassle
How one school is using philosophy to address community tensions and mental health
How one Salford teacher has improved oracy in her classroom using The Volumiser!
Children need time to practise the skill of question-generating