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ISBN
0-916834-25-5
Target Grades
Elementary School
Publication Date
1988
Publisher
Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children
Number of Pages
168
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Summary
The cognitive skills emphasized in Elfie – distinction-making and connection-making – are those on which all-subsequent reasoning rests. They are accompanied by the criteria that are appropriate to them: sameness and difference. Other operations like the making of comparisons, the discovery of uniformities, the identification of classes, the formation of concepts, and the formulation of definition, all depend upon the logical infrastructure of these two sets of skills and criteria. Elfie should therefore be seen as the base of the Philosophy for Children program.
Excerpt
DISCUSSION PLAN: What happens when you ask yourself questions?
1. When you ask yourself a question, who answers?
2. Is the person who answers the same person who asks the question?
a). If not, does that mean you're more than one person?
b). If so, why would you have to ask yourself the question if you already knew the answer?
3. Would you rather ask yourself a question, or would you rather ask someone else? Why?
4. Do you ever ask yourself a question you can't answer?
5. Are there some questions you wouldn't ask yourself? 'Why?
Translations
- French translation (Quebec, Canada): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Gazzard (2000) Relier nos idées ensemble. Manuel d'accompagnement pour Elfie. [Need translator.] Cité Universitaire, Québec, Canada: L'Association québécoise de Philosophie pour enfants, Faculté de Philosophie, Université Laval. [Need ISBN.] Available for purchase here.
- Italian translation (Italy): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Gazzard (2015) Elfie. Manuale. Mettiamo insieme i pensieri. Translated and adapted by Maura Striano. Naples, Italy: Liguori Editore. ISBN 9788820729646. Available for purchase here.
- Persian/Farsi translation (Iran): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Gazzard (2005) راهنمای تدریس الفی: فکرهایمان را روی هم بگذاریم [Alfi Teaching Guide: Let's put our thoughts together]. Translated by Samira Pourhassan Zonouz, Marina Farhoodizadeh, and Farzaneh Shahrtash. Tehran, Iran: Shahrtash Educational Publishing. ISBN: 978-964-8282-98-6. Available for purchase here.
- Romanian translation (Romania): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Gazzard (1993) Să gîndim împreună [Let’s Think Together]. Translated by Doina Olga Ștefănescu. Bucharest, Romania: Centrul pentru Educație și Dezvoltarea Creativității [Center for Education and the Development of Creativity].
- Spanish translation (Spain): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Gazzard (2000): Poner nuestros pensamientos en orden. Manual del profesor para acompañar a Elfie. Translated and adapted by Pilar Pedraza Moreno and Félix García Moriyón. Madrid, Spain: Ediciones de la Torre. ISBN 9788479602945. Available for purchase here.
- Ukrainian translation (Ukraine): Lipman, Matthew and Ann Gazzard (2002) Поміркуймо разом. Посібник для викладачів Додаток до “Лілі” [Let's think together: A guide for teachers. Addition to "Lily"] (In Two Parts). Translated by Н.О. Колтко [N.О. Koltko], З.О. Ржевська [Z.O. Rzhevska], В.С. Хрипун [V.S. Hrypun], Г.В. Скляниченко [G.V. Sklyanychenko], І.А. Чернишенко [I.A. Chernyshenko], and Л.О. Ярова [L.O. Yarova]. Edited by Н.О. Колтко [N.О. Koltko], З.О. Ржевська [Z.O. Rzhevska], and В.К. Романцевич [V.K. Romantsevich]. Kirovograd, UA: Кіровоградський державний педагогічний університет імені Володимира Винниченка [Kirovograd Volodymyr Vynnychenko State Pedagogical University].
Keywords
appearance/reality, connections, distinctions, elementary education, reasoning, one/many, part/whole, permanence/change, philosophy for children, similar/different
Disciplines
Early Childhood Education | Education | Philosophy
Published Reviews and Research
- Hall, Darcy (2002) Is Elfie a Human or a Rabbit? Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 16(1): 49-50.
- Hamrick, William S. (1989) Teaching Elfie. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 8(2): 9-11.
- Hamrick, William S. (1991) Phenomenology and the Philosophy for Children Program. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 9(2): 9-12.
- Lardner, A.T. (1989) Some Notes on P4C in Ecuador: On Working with the Elfie Program. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 8(3): 15-17.
- McCall, Catherine (1989) Young Children Generate Philosophical Ideas. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 8(2): 22-41.
- Melville, Mary E. (1990) William James and the Nature of Thinking: A Framework for Elfie. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 9(1): 32-34.
- Murris, Karin (2000) The Role of the Facilitator in Philosophical Inquiry. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 15(2): 42-48.
- Redshaw, Sarah (1994) Body Knowledge. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 11(3/4): 11-16.
- Silver, Ruth E. (1989) A Second Grade Class Thinks About Making Choices. Analytic Teaching 10(1): 7-9.
- Tsuchiyama, Elaine (2004) Learning from Children: A Philosophical Journey. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 17(1/2): 50-53.
Recommended Citation
Lipman, Matthew (1988) Getting Our Thoughts Together: Instructional Manual to Accompany 'Elfie, Book Two.' Montclair, NJ: Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.
