Philosophy for Children
Stone Soup is a day-long interactive drama session for Key Stage 2 groups based on a Traditional Tale.
The workshop engages children with ideas surrounding the P4C (Philosophy for Children) agenda and encourages children to question what kind of role they play in society and in their community. What kind of values are important and what responsibilities do we have as a member of a group?
Stone Soup provides an inventive stimulus for these issues for children as young as Year 4 through the security of working 'in role'.
Konflux Theatre in Education's workshop uses the traditional tale of Stone Soup and adds a modern twist. Using the safety net of allegory, the drama looks at complex issues of community, bullying, and injustice.
Stone Soup -
- Uses Actor / Teachers in role to challenge the children's ideas and provide stimulus through performance
- Encourages the group to interrogate story building (scene setting, character building, motivation etc.)
- Looks at how to present a story on stage (mime, improvisation, movement)
- Gives the children ownership of the story as they work together to solve problems in the story and dramatise their own ending
- Provides useful material for follow up work in the classroom
- Exposes children to the central concepts of philosophy in such a way that they learn how to reason cooperatively, build on each others ideas and construct meanings that help them to make sense of their world
Stone Soup is an ancient folk tale of sharing and community told across many traditions. The story tells of a mysterious old woman who visits a village which had been hit by great famine for many years. The villagers say they are too poor to help the old woman, but when she begins to create a magic soup, they learn that by sharing what little they have, they can feed the whole village.
Stone Soup is a full day workshop for up to 30 Key Stage 2 children.
To learn more about Philosophy for Children (P4C) please visit - www.sapere.net
What is P4C?
P4C is an extension of Thinking Skills, a way of creating situations within the classroom to encourage children as young as 4 years old to begin to question, to think things through for themselves, seek answers to things that may seem puzzling and discuss them with friends who might disagree in order to begin to form their own opinions.
There is already considerable evidence from America that suggests that developing these skills as part of the structured curriculum leads to much higher engagement and attainment levels. Stories, particularity presenting moral issues, are commonly used as a stimulus, however participatory drama is a new way of stimulating this work.
Why not watch our P4C video?
For more information please call Rebecca on 01937 832740 or email email@example.com