by Leo Lionni

Questions for Philosophical Discussion
by Claudia Catalano, Katie D'Ambly, and Rebecca Bailey
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The Nature of Reality:

1. What does it mean to be a real rabbit?
2. If something isn't "real", what is it?
3. If it's not real, how can we be talking about it right now?
4. What are the differences between real and not real?
5. In the story, how do they know that the carrot is real?
6. Does the shadow make it real?
7. Do all things have shadows?
8. Are the scissors and pencil real?
9. Are there any not-real things that have a shadow?
10. If the rabbits aren't real at the beginning of the story, how can they eat the real carrot?
11. How can they be hungry?
    

Show a real carrot, on a piece of white paper, beside the illustration of the "real" carrot.

1. What is different about the carrot?
2. What is the same?
3. Which carrots are real?
4. How can you tell?

Even before they eat the "real" carrot and get shadows, the scissors and the pencil bunnies talk, move, sleep, and eat.

1. Are they alive?
2. What does it mean to be alive?
3. How can you tell if something is alive?
4. Does it have to talk, move, eat and sleep?
5. Can you tell me some things that are alive? (On chart paper make two columns, headed "alive" and "not alive". Go around the circle, using the list below, asking each student to say whether the thing you have told them is alive and give a reason for their thinking. Note the student name and write the item in the correct column, along with their reason. If you have another adult available, have one adult be the writer to keep the pace moving along. Other students may have different opinions which they can add along with their reasons.)

a rock rolling down the hill
a rock buried in the dirt
the sun
a sea turtle egg buried in the sand
a truck
a flower in the vase
a flower growing in the ground
the moon
a chair
a blanket
an apple on a tree
an apple on the ground
an apple on a table
sadness
a bulldozer
milk
a chicken egg
a bird flying
a bird standing on the ground
the wind
a stream of water
a light that is on
water running in a sink

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