Plato: exploring worldviews
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain Plato’s theory of the forms and how it shapes our understanding of reality.
Key learning points
- Plato was an Ancient Greek philosopher and was Socrates' pupil and Aristotle's teacher.
- Plato believed that true knowledge of reality is built in.
- The theory of the forms explains true knowledge as understanding perfect, abstract concepts.
- Plato's theory influenced the worldview that knowledge is discovered through reason.
Keywords
Allegory - a story where characters or events represent deeper ideas or messages
Forms - ideal concepts that reflect the true nature of things
Plato - an Ancient Greek philosopher known for his theory of the forms
Real / reality - something that actually exists and is not imagined
Common misconception
Students might think Plato believed we are born knowing everything.
Plato believed learning was a form of remembering knowledge hidden in us.
Teacher tip
You could ask students to sketch the allegory of the cave, labelling the characters and what they learn.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The word 'philosophy' comes from Ancient Greek and means love of ...
Q2.What is an argument in philosophy?
Q3.Which two of the following statements are premises in the following argument:
"All birds have wings, a sparrow is a bird, therefore a sparrow has wings."?
Q4.Socrates was known for asking to encourage deep thinking.
Q5.What do we mean by facts, opinions and beliefs?
A statement that can be proven true or false.
A viewpoint that can vary from person to person.
An acceptance that something is true without having proof.
Q6.Which of the following statements expresses a belief?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In Plato's allegory, the prisoners are trapped in a ...
Q2.What are most prisoners content to accept?
Q3.The escaped prisoner who goes searching for the truth represents a ...
Q4.What does Plato believe about where knowledge comes from?
Q5.According to Plato, what is the order of the steps we go through when we are learning?
Q6.Plato founded his to create a space for learning and philosophical debate.
To help you plan your 7 religious education lesson on: Plato: exploring worldviews, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 religious education lesson on: Plato: exploring worldviews, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 religious education lessons from the Blik: how do I interpret the world around me? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.