I’m teaching a co-op class that explores philosophy through children’s literature right now, and I’m really enjoying it. The kids trend at the younger end of the class range, and I have mostly 6- and 7-year-olds. I used the Center for Philosophy for Children resources from the University of Washington to get ideas for the class. (This is a fantastic resource, by the way, so if you haven’t seen it before, definitely bookmark it). Initially, I thought that we would just read a book and then do a discussion, but partially because of how young my students ended up being, partially because they are a particularly hands-on and energetic group (my own kid among them), and partially because I realized the ideas would cement better if we did something with them, I started adding in more activities. I’m really excited for the next one, and I decided to share it here so that you could try it out, too. [tabby title=”Overview”] This activity aims to answer the question “what does it mean to be free?” It uses Toni Morrison’s book The Big Box, to explore questions of epistemology (the theory of knowledge) and social and political philosophy. Children who break the rules are told they “can’t handle their freedom” and end up living together in a big box with a lot of nice things, but the children insist that someone else’s version of freedom doesn’t make them free. This activity adds to the lesson by exploring how perspective and access impact our perception of freedom.   [tabby title=”Materials”]

• A copy of the book The Big Box by Toni Morrison (I got mine from the library).
• Discussion questions (suggestions available in the link below)
• Activity template (available here)

[tabby title=”Instructions”]

1. At the beginning of the lesson, ask your student(s) what freedom means. You might write down some of the answers to look back on later.
2. Read the book.
3. Ask what the book taught us about freedom. Use the discussion questions to go deeper depending on the kids’ ages and interest.
4. Get out the activity (I suggest having them cut and labeled before class begins unless you are working with older children. The front side has lines and is labeled. After printing, trace the lines around the middle box on the back an

   

   d label the top, left, right, and bottom box as 5, 6, 7, and 8).
5. Instruct students to fill in boxes 1-4. If the kids are older, you can just give them the instruction sheet. Younger kids may benefit from each prompt being read aloud and having time to complete one idea before moving to the next.

1. Flip the paper over and have students fill in boxes 5-8.
2. Fold along the lines so that boxes 1-4 are on the interior. Talk about what it would feel like to be put in the middle of this “box.” (I use little figures to physically place inside the box to help complete the metaphor). These are all things that make us feel good, safe, and free. We probably wouldn’t think of this as a box at all.
3. Fold along the lines in the other direction so that boxes 5-8 are on the interior. Talk about what it would feel like to be put in the middle of this “box.” These are all things that make us feel fearful, restricted, and bad about ourselves. We would probably notice this box and feel trapped.
4. Discuss.
   • We are all in a “box” of some kind because we can’t do everything in the world. There are rules, there are things we have to do, and there are limitations based on our time and our abilities. We may not be able to do everything we want to do, but we can make choices about how we spend our time and our energy some of the time.
   • When we are surrounded by things that make us feel bad, it can be hard to remember that there are things that make us feel good out there, too.
   • If we are always in a box that makes us feel bad, what will our lives be like?

[tabby title=”Adaptations”] I’m doing this activity with first and second graders, so I am only going to gently touch upon ideas of social equity and access as factors in the “box.” Older kids could certainly get into a much more detailed discussion of how race, class, and gender impact how often we are in a box of limitations. You could also discuss how breaking down one of those walls becomes harder when the wall has been hardened by social practice. (For example, number 8 (the word we don’t want people to think of when they think of us) could easily represent a gendered or racial stereotype and open up a discussion on that topic). You could also change the questions for what goes in each box to make this even more pointedly about social justice. Here are some ideas:

• Questions 1-4 (the “free” box) could be things like When do you feel most successful? When do you feel most supported? When do you feel most respected?
• Questions 5-8 (the “restricted” box) could be things like When do you feel most doubted? When do you feel least capable? When do you feel least trusted?

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