1. What makes us special?

2. What is special about each of these animals?

3. What questions do you think these people have?

4. Questions that have changed the world
How can I cure this disease?
How can I travel faster?
How can I make sure there is enough for everyone to eat?
How can I make the world a fairer place?

5. What questions would you like to know the answer to?

6. Interesting Questions?
Order the questions from easy to most difficult.
Then order the questions from least interesting to most interesting.
Do you notice anything?
What colour is a lemon?
Does life exist on other planets?
Where does the Prime Minister live?
Does every question have an answer?
Is it always wrong to tell a lie?
Can we cure the common cold?
Is time travel possible?
Where did human beings come from?

7. Place the questions on the grid
Interesting
Easy
Difficult
Boring

8. What do humanists believe?
Humanists believe human beings are special and human life is valuable
Humanists don’t believe in a god, or believe we can never know if there is a god
Humanists believe human beings should try to live full and happy lives and help others to do the same
Humanists believe people should ask questions and work the answers out for themselves

9. What does this word mean?
‘Curiosity’
Being curious can make us happy.
Asking good questions can help to make the world a better place.

10. Has anyone ever given you the wrong answer?
Question: What are the pyramids made from?
Answer: Ice
How can you check the answer?
Ask other people or look in books
Go and visit the pyramids
Use knowledge about ice in heat

11. Finding the answers for ourselves
Humanists don’t just accept every answer they are given.
Reasoning: We can think carefully about what the answer might be and whether an answer we have been given is a good answer.
Evidence: We should try to find as much good evidence as we can to help us answer questions.

12. Has anyone ever asked you to stop asking questions?
You can never have too many questions!

13. Why are human beings special?
Humanists value our...
Curiosity
Brains
Language
Imagination
Creativity
Problem solving
Empathy
Kindness

14. Decorate a Happy Human
Fill the Happy Human with the most interesting questions you can think of.
Or...
Fill the Happy Human with as many things you can think of that make human beings special.

15. Plenary 1) What have you learned about humanists?
2) How might you use what you have learned today?
3) Did you change your mind about anything during the lesson?
4) What questions would you want to ask a humanist?

16. understandinghumanism.org.uk
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