• Where do words come from?
• How do people learn new words?
• Are some words “better” than others?
• Is there something that makes a word “good” or “bad”?
• If you could invent a new word, what would it be, what would it mean, how would you use it?
• Can we know if a word means the same thing to another person that it means to us?

Activity Objectives:

This lesson plan provides an opportunity for young philosophers to thinking about concept attainment, the meaning of words, and how language develops.

Students will discuss and think about what words are, how we use them, and how we interpret or assign meaning to them.

Materials/Preparation:

The Word Collector, by Peter H. Reynolds

Small slips of paper, sticky notes, or index cards (around 3 for each student) and writing implements.

In the Session:

Ask students to sit so everyone can see the book as you read (whether in rows or a circle). Alternatively, if students are sitting at desks, you could use a document camera to read the book. In any case, read aloud The Word Collector.

Then, explain to students that they will be word collectors, just like Jerome in the book. Pass out 3 slips of paper to each student and something to write with. Set a timer that is visible to students, for 5-8 minutes and encourage them to look around the room, (or move around in the space of the classroom, look out the windows, etc.). Ask students to do a word scavenger hunt, where they collect words that they see, hear, or think about and that pique their interest. When the timer is done (or when they finish), ask students to work in small groups (groups of two or four), and share what words they found, and what they like about each word. After talking in small groups, open the conversation to the whole group.

Students can generate questions they have about words in general and/or the book The Word Collector. You can scribe students’ questions then ask them to select one for contemplation and facilitate a class-discussion on it.

Contributed by Brian Tauzel, PLATO Fellow.

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You can find a charades activity based on Knuffle Bunny in our Toolkit.

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Activity Suggestion (this works particularly well with younger students – second/third grade):

Before class, work with the classroom teacher (if you are coming into the classroom to do philosophy) to organize pairs of students who will write letters to one another. In class, read the story, then have students go to their desks and write letters to their partners. At the end, gather the letters and take them with you, without giving them to the students.

When you return for the next session (or after a week if you see the students multiple times a week), ask the students what it was like waiting for the letter. This can lead to interesting discussion about patience and what makes time move faster or slower. Deliver the letters and give the students an opportunity to read them and share their excitement with other students.

Here are some questions you can discuss once everyone has read their letters:
• How is reading a letter from someone different from talking with them in person?
• Did anyone write something in their letter that they wouldn’t say out loud? Why?
• Did anyone learn something they didn’t know from the letter they received?

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