Would You Rather starters, such as; 'Would You Rather be a cat or a dog?' are a great favourite in the world of Philosophy for Children (P4C) with so many speaking, thinking and listening skills evidenced through such a simple activity, with of course effective facilitation. There are many books such as 'Would You Rather...' by John Burningham and 'What Would You Do in Winnies World?' by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul. to support with starter ideas and assist in modelling this approach in the classroom. I would however say that the best 'Would You Rather...' examples have come from the children themselves and of course as with all child led learning this also results in greater engagement.
I have had so much fun with 'Would You Rather' with my own children, whether around the dinner table or on walks, to the extent that I asked my 12 year old child to write some of their favourites down.
My eight year old particularly enjoys creating his own on walks, with some of our favourites including;
'Would You Rather be mud or a puddle?' I really loved how we even got onto the water cycle linked to this one and how soil is made.
'Would You Rather be a bird or a tree?' 'Would you rather be a river or a beach?'
Of course he also loves the more gruesome examples too like; 'Would you rather never be able to stop pooing or never be able to stop being sick?!' (His words not mine!)
Anyway, I hope that you have as much fun as we have with creating and discussing your own 'Would You Rather' starters, we would love to hear about them.