A nursery question board

Introduction

I have started off in the nursery with the following activity although this could also be used with any pupils who have not yet begun philosophical training.

I have been using this as a parent and child thinking-together exercise but it can be adapted to your setting, with or without parents, as a short daily thinking exercise or as a longer enquiry-based activity.

See also: Would you prefer...?

Resources

• A display board to display the choice cards
• Two labels, also displayed on the board that say: 'Good because...' and 'Bad because...'
• A set of good or bad choice cards
• A set of pupil name cards

Method
At the start of each session I put up a choice card (for example 'Chocolate rain?') and the two labels on the display board. (See the attachment 'Board'.)

I then ask each parent or carer to form a question for their children using the choice and starting with: 'Would it be good or bad if...'. So, they might say: 'Would it be good or bad if there was chocolate rain'.

Children place their names on the appropriate good or bad idea label (See the attachment called 'Labels'). I stand by the board and model asking for reasons and reasoning. I also encourage parents to share their ideas so that the children can see that everyone's opinions are welcomed. This modelling pays off as parents quickly begin to see that the purpose of the exercise is to find out why children give their answers. They can now be heard asking questions such as:

• But what would be good about that choice?
• What might happen if that was the case?
• What wouldn't happen?
• How would you feel about that?
• What would you have to do if you chose that?
• Do you think everybody would like that?

We revisit the day's question at snack time often extending the thinking into mini dialogues using the skills we are developing in our weekly philosophy sessions.

Practicalities
I have found that placing the display board close to where the children self register at the start of the session means that all parents or carers get the chance to share the question with their child.

I also use this board to display the skills-based building blocks we are working on, letters to explain the activity and examples of questions to ask the children to develop their reasoning.

Name cards can be stuck to the board with Velcro or Blu Tak. Adding an illustration to the choice cards helps make the choices look more child friendly.

Possible items for the 'good or bad' choice cards
(Download the formatted versions by clicking on the 'Choice Cards' attachment below.)

• Sweets for breakfast, lunch and tea
• Snowmen in summer
• Six hands
• No nursery
• Boys wearing pink
• Girls playing football
• Tiny elephants
• Sleep all day
• Stay awake all night
• Lollipop trees
• Flying cars
• Chocolate rain
• No money
• Talking chickens
• Giant babies
• Green skin
• Hot ice cream
• Smelly kittens
• No girls
• Magic wands for everyone
• Children in charge?
• Birthdays every day
• Dinosaur eggs
• Everyone looks the same
• Always be happy

© Sara Stanley