The Art of Living
Learning Sequence 8
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Introduction
This activity introduces children to philosopher Peter Singer’s ideas about kindness and respect for nature. They will form their own Kindness Club, choosing three acts of kindness to benefit their community or environment.
Using creativity, students will reflect on their learning by creating a comic strip that illustrates Singer’s message, fostering collaboration and philosophical understanding. The children will then present their ideas, encouraging others to join, promoting a shared culture of kindness. This activity blends reflection, creativity, and real-world application.
Hello everyone! This week, we’re going to learn about the philosopher Peter Singer and his ideas about respect for nature and kindness. Just like we learned from the farmers in Iceland, who let their sheep roam free across the land, it’s important to respect all living things—whether it’s animals, insects, or people.
Peter Singer believes that animals deserve to be treated with kindness, just like humans. He taught children that we have a responsibility to take care of the world around us, and that we should be kind to everything that lives. He even started a Kindness Club with students to spread this message of care for both nature and people.
This week, you’re going to create your own Kindness Club! First, think of three ways you can show kindness to nature or others in your community. It could be helping the environment, like planting a tree, or doing something kind for a classmate or neighbour. Remember, it’s all about making the world a better place through small acts of kindness.
Once you’ve decided on your three acts of kindness, you’ll create a comic strip telling the story of Peter Singer and his Kindness Club. Show how he taught students to respect animals and each other, and how they took action to make a difference. You can use Canva to make your comic fun and colourful!
Finally, share your Kindness Club ideas with your school or community. Tell them what you plan to do and how you think it will help make the world a kinder place. You could even inspire others to join in and spread kindness!
This week is all about showing kindness to nature and each other, and thinking about how we can make a positive impact. Let’s get started!
Weekly Keywords
In this activity, children will explore keywords related to Peter Singer’s teachings on kindness and respect for nature. They’ll explain each word in simple terms, reinforcing their understanding of Singer’s ideas.
By connecting these keywords to previous lessons on Icelandic farmers and the Kindness Club, students will reflect on how kindness and responsibility apply to the natural world. This activity promotes philosophical thinking, reflection, and critical thinking while helping children break down complex ideas into simpler, actionable concepts for everyday life.
On your task card, you’ll see a list of keywords related to Peter Singer and his ideas about kindness and respect for nature. Your challenge is to look at each word and explain what it means in the simplest way you can. Think about how these ideas connect to the lessons we’ve learned from the Icelandic farmers and Peter Singer’s Kindness Club.
This activity will help you understand Peter Singer’s teachings better by making them easy to grasp. By breaking down big ideas like kindness, respect, and responsibility into simple parts, you’ll strengthen your understanding and be able to use these concepts in your own life. Learning to explain big ideas in a simple way is a great skill that will help you in all your future learning and discussions.
Let’s dive into the keywords and think about how we can spread kindness and care for the world around us!
Important - Download Your Workbook Template
Over the next ten weeks, students will design a 28-page booklet on “The Art of Living,” using a provided workbook to ensure everything stays organised and properly formatted. It’s crucial that teachers emphasize the importance of keeping content within the safe zone (dotted line) to avoid any issues during printing.
This project not only allows students to express creativity but also serves as a structured reflection of their learning journey. The final product will be a meaningful keepsake, potentially ordered as a printed booklet, so attention to detail is vital.
Over the next ten weeks, you will be designing a 32-page booklet on “The Art of Living.” All the designs and information will be gathered by you, but we’ve put together a workbook to help you keep everything organised and in the right order.
Feel free to change the colours and some of the designs to make the booklet unique to you, but be sure to keep all content within the safe zone (the dotted line). This is important because, once your book is uploaded to the Upschool library, you might want to order a printed copy, and we don’t want any important information to be cut off during printing.
You’ll be using this booklet each week, so please make sure to download it today and return to it each week to add new pages. This booklet will be a reflection of your learning journey and a beautiful keepsake of your work on “The Art of Living.”
Quote of the Week – Peter Singer
In this activity, students independently reflect on a quote by John Rawls that highlights the importance of fairness and creating rules that benefit everyone.
They will either write, print, or create a drawing inspired by the quote, fostering creativity. Through reflection, students will think critically about how Rawls’ ideas can be applied in their school or community to promote equality and inclusion. This activity encourages independent thinking and helps students connect philosophical wisdom to real-life situations.
Each week, we’ll share an inspirational quote from a great philosopher. This week, it’s Peter Singer, who teaches us about kindness and respect for all living things, whether it’s animals, nature, or people.
Here’s his quote:
“The way we treat animals is a reflection of how we treat each other.”
Write down the quote, print it, or create a drawing inspired by Peter Singer’s words. Then, take some time to reflect on what the quote means. Think about how it encourages us to be kind and responsible for the world around us, and how Singer’s wisdom can help us build a community where kindness and respect make everyone’s lives better.
Let’s see how this quote inspires you to think differently about the world!
Design Your Information Card – Peter Singer
In this activity, students will research key facts about Peter Singer, focusing on his life, birthplace, and major contributions to ethics, animal rights, and kindness. The goal is to simplify this information for clear understanding.
After collecting the details, students will find or create an image of Singer, using either actual photos or their own artistic interpretations. This task promotes creativity, research skills, and philosophical reflection as students craft an information card highlighting Singer’s impact on ethical thinking and respect for living beings.
In this activity, your task is to do some basic research on the life of Peter Singer. Record key facts like when he was born, where he is from, and what he is famous for. Keep the information simple and clear, but make sure to include the most important details about his work on ethics, animal rights, and kindness.
After gathering the information, find or create an image of Peter Singer. Since he’s a modern-day philosopher, you can use an actual photo or draw your own version to represent him. You can also use AI tools to help you design this image if you’d like to be more creative.
Once you’re done, you’ll have your very own information card about Peter Singer, showing his life and his important contributions to the world!
Design Your Comic Strip – Peter Singer
In this activity, students will create their own comic strip based on Peter Singer’s teachings about kindness and respect for nature. Using Canva, they will visually illustrate Singer’s message by capturing the essence of his ideas, such as starting a Kindness Club and inspiring care for the environment and animals.
This task encourages creativity, reflection, and philosophical understanding as students express ethical concepts through art. Once completed, they’ll share their comics with the class to inspire kindness and responsibility among their peers.
In this activity, your task is to create your own comic strip based on the story of Peter Singer that you’ve learned. The goal is to illustrate Singer’s message about kindness and respect for nature in a simple but powerful way. You’ll use Canva to design your comic, bringing Singer’s ideas to life through your art.
Think about how Peter Singer taught us the importance of treating animals and nature with kindness and how he started the Kindness Club to inspire others to care for the world around them. Try to capture the essence of his message in your comic strip. Use Canva’s tools to choose colours, shapes, and layouts that best convey the story of kindness, respect, and responsibility for all living things.
Once you’re finished, share your comic with the class and see how your artwork inspires others to show kindness!
Start Your Kindness Club and Make a Poster All About It
In this activity, students will create their own Kindness Club, inspired by Peter Singer’s teachings. They will brainstorm acts of kindness that benefit both their school and community, focusing on inclusivity and making others feel valued.
After selecting these acts, students will design a creative poster that showcases their club’s name, planned activities, and a call for others to join. This task encourages collaboration, creativity, and reflection on kindness. Once the posters are complete, they will be displayed around the school to inspire participation and spread kindness.
This week, your task is to start your very own Kindness Club—just like Peter Singer’s students did! Your goal is to create a club that spreads kindness throughout your school and community, making it a better place for everyone.
Start by thinking about what acts of kindness you and your classmates can do. Kindness could be something small, like helping a classmate with their work, or something bigger, like organising a clean-up in your local park. The key is to make sure your Kindness Club’s actions help everyone and make people feel included and valued.
Once you’ve decided on some kind acts, it’s time to make a poster for your Kindness Club! On your poster, include the name of your club, a list of the kind actions you plan to do, and a message encouraging others to join. Use bright colours, fun drawings, and creative designs to make your poster stand out and inspire your schoolmates to get involved.
After you’ve finished your poster, you’ll share it with the class and place it around the school. The goal is to invite others to join your club and spread kindness far and wide, just like Peter Singer’s students did with their Kindness Club.
Let’s see how much kindness you can spread this week!
What if Wheel of Possibilities - Our Weekly Discussion
Spin the wheel and let it come to a stop. When the wheel lands, ask yourself the question it points to and discuss it with the people around you.
When we think about big questions like these, we gain a deeper understanding of the world and can appreciate how fortunate we are to live in it today.
You only need to spin the wheel once. If you land on a question you’ve already discussed, simply spin again until you’ve explored all 7 questions.
Poetry in Action - Rhyming Couplets
In this activity, students will create a series of rhyming couplets that celebrate kindness towards nature. They will brainstorm different ways to care for the environment, such as picking up litter, planting trees, or protecting wildlife, and express these ideas through creative rhyming lines.
Students will also draw an image to accompany their poem, visually representing the message of environmental kindness. This task fosters creativity, philosophical reflection, and artistic expression, as students use poetry to inspire their classmates to take care of the planet.
This week, we’re going to explore the beauty of rhyming couplets, and our poem is all about being kind to nature! A rhyming couplet is two lines of poetry that rhyme with each other and often express one complete idea. Your challenge is to create a poem filled with couplets that celebrates nature and shows how we can take care of the environment.
Here’s how to get started:
1. Think about different ways we can be kind to nature. It could be things like picking up litter, planting trees, or protecting animals.
2. Write a series of couplets where each pair of lines rhymes and shares a message about kindness to the natural world.
3. For example, “We plant the seeds to help them grow, / We water them to make them glow.”
4. Be creative with your words and make your poem fun and engaging, while reminding everyone about the importance of caring for the environment.
Once you’ve written your rhyming couplets, add a drawing that represents your poem. Share it with your class or display it at home to inspire others to be kind to nature.
Let’s see how your poetry can make a difference for the planet!
Quiz and Your Certificate
In this activity, students will take a quiz focused on Peter Singer’s teachings about kindness and respect for nature. After watching a video, they will answer ten questions about Singer’s life, his ideas on animal rights, and how we can show kindness to the natural world.
A score of 80% or more will earn them a certificate, recognising their understanding of Singer’s philosophy. This task promotes philosophical reflection, learning through assessment, and motivates students to explore the power of kindness. There are 8 certificates to collect throughout the course.
Each week, you’ll be invited to take a quiz focused on the life of a philosopher. This week, it’s all about Peter Singer and his teachings on kindness and respect for nature. After rewatching the video, your task is to correctly answer ten questions about his life, his ideas on animal rights, and how we can show kindness to the natural world.
Achieving a score of 80% or more will earn you a certificate celebrating your understanding of kindness and Peter Singer’s work. The certificate will be sent directly to your email, and there are 8 certificates in total for you to collect throughout the course.
Best of luck, and let’s see how much you’ve learned about the power of kindness and respect for all living things!
