Files
Download Full Text (29.7 MB)
ISBN
0-916834-25-5
Target Grades
Elementary School
Publication Date
1988
Publisher
Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children
Number of Pages
304
Copyright Agreement
By downloading this work, you agree to the following:
-- To only use the materials for educational and/or research purposes and not to use, share, or reproduce them for any commercial use (other than to be paid for teaching);
--Not to translate, sell, or adapt the material in print or other media without permission (to request such permission, contact iapc@montclair.edu);
--To indemnify and hold harmless the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC) and Montclair State University from any legal liability caused by your use of these materials, and to compensate the IAPC and/or the University from any harm or loss resulting from your use of these materials.
--Please consider a small donation to the IAPC.
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
EXERCISE: "If"
This is a "What Would Happen If ... " exercise. What do you think would happen in each of these cases:
- If fish could fly, then ...
- If every day was a holiday, then ...
- If cabbage heads could think, then ...
- If the ocean was made of pancake syrup, then ...
- f Wednesday came the day after Monday, then ...
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 One.' Montclair, NJ: Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.
