Philosophy course.

[luckymom]

Please share the resources/method you would use if you were designing a philosophy course for a 9th grader.  Thank you.

[elegantlion]

We used Cambridge's Theory of Knowledge text in 9th grade. It's basically epistemology. 

 

Another course we've used parts of (dropped because of timing) is The Great Courses Ethics of Aristotle. 

[chiguirre]

There's this course that might be a good framework:

 

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=4200

 

Don't let the sticker price shock you! The TC puts their courses on sale at 70% off fairly regularly. But, if you're lucky, your library will have it. You can also find it used on ebay or amazon pretty often.

 

If you'd like a lighter introduction, I'd start with Sophie's World:

 

http://smile.amazon.com/Sophies-World-Jostein-Gaarder-ebook/dp/B00699SDR8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405004682&sr=8-1&keywords=sophie%27s+world

 

and read some original works by the philosophers that most interest you. You'll be able to find online notes to most of the major works to guide your reading.

[luckymom]

Thank you for sharing these resources.

[Saddlemomma]

My DD (going into 6th grade) and I will be doing Philosophy Adventures this upcoming fall.  This is a Christian curriculum for grades 6-12 and addresses pre-Socratic Philosophers, their teachings, and how they contrasts with biblical teaching.  It is considered a comprehensive curriculum that "teaches students how to write skillfully, think critically, and speak articulately as they explore the history of philosophy and the impact of ideas."

 

Each lesson includes seven components: The Philosopher's Story; Write, Think and Speak articles and assignments to complement the concepts presented; geographical information in Exploring His World pertaining to the life of the philosopher; School of Thought details the school of philosophy in which the philosopher participated or founded; Contrast section which consists of actual source material from that philosopher (or by secondary source if none of philosopher's written work survived, and contrasting that philosopher's views with the biblical worldview.  An extensive journal will be built and kept by the student

 

Philosophers discussed are:

• Thales
• Pythagoras
• Xenophanes
• Heraclitus
• Permenides
• Empedocles
• Protagoras
• Democritus

High school credits for this one semester (16-week course) can be awarded for this curriculum as follows: (according to author)

• English Comp.                 (1-4 hours/week)  .25-.5 credit hrs.
• World Hist/Geography     (1-4 hours/week)  .25-.5 credit hrs.
• Speech/Communications (1-4 hours/week)  .25-.5 credit hrs.
• Logic/Critical Thinking     (.5-2 hours/week) .25-.5 credit hrs.

Note from author: Requirements vary from state to state, Each high school credit roughly represents 120-150 hours of coursework for the full school year Weekly hour range listed above depends upon how many weeks students are given to complete the program.)

 

I hadn't originally planned to do all the exercises involved with this course because we are already doing TOG Y3 next fall.  However, delving into the program more, I realized there is a LOT OF GOOD STUFF in there.  So, I've carved out 30 minutes/4 days a week to spread this program out for DD to do all year and not have to drop anything from the program.  I thought it looked like a good place to start with Philosophy when I found it online, but after getting it into my hands, I think it's going to be excellent.  I purchased the digital CD so I could put the lessons in Onenote.  There are samples you can view on their webpage: http://www.homeschooladventure.com/products/philosophy-adventure-pre-socratics/