A new curriculum teaching students how to think by engaging them in social, political, and moral issues. Values clarification and character building.

Intellikit: Teaching students how to think

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Below is just a small sampling of things students have said while using our curriculum.

2nd - 4th grade
	"I like hamburgers, but they're more of a want than a need so we shouldn't kill animals for them." - 2nd Grader
	"I'm just curious...why does the world need money? I don't remember what I said about the computer industry, but I know what I said with the hospital. I said that the hospital should be owned by the government, and things like heart attacks, stroke, or cancer should be cheap while less serious stuff should be for more money. I think that because the doctors need money, but if poor people are very sick, they won't be able to go to the doctor." - 3rd Grader
	"What's most important is human happiness, so I think that if we have to kick animals out of their forest to be happy then we should." - 4th Grader
5th - 6th grade
	"You can't just have one person in charge of making laws because what if that person makes a mistake?" - 5th Grader
	"I think the story was really good. I liked that we had a very interesting and mind challenging debate, and how there was a big problem the class had to solve, and how we gave ideas then other people said 'no I have a better idea.'" - 6th Grader
	"We have figured out the ideal form of government for this situation [the situation being how to get a country in shambles back on its feet]. First you start small and in each major city you have a mayor and a few other people who make all the decisions. And like the computer industry, you start off with the government owning all industries so there's no competition. Then as the ecomony becomes stronger and people have jobs and money, then you switch to the other (capitalist) system with competition so people can get better products." - 5th Grader
7th - 8th grade
	"Even though it seems like always acting to maximize other people's happiness is a good idea, it can lead to really bad things, like taking away someone's freedom just because nobody likes them, so it isn't such a good idea." - 7th Grader
	"One way to show the Nazis they're wrong is to line the streets with philosophical writings from different parts of the world." - 8th Grader
	Responding to another student: "But if you have a form of government that needs to be watched by a higher form of government to make sure they don't do anything wrong, then you need a higher form of government to watch over that one, and then a higher government to watch that one...so that won't work." - 8th Grader

Our curriculum has recently been reviewed by Education Clearinghouse - an impartial evaluator of new curriculums and educational products. The following is an excerpt, the full review can be found on their site.

The Intellikit series is a thought provoking, attention grabbing reading system for children in grades 2-8. The stories are short, so they can read through without a large time investment, and they are to the point, conveying their character building messages very well. The stories convey moral dilemmas and at the end the child answers thought provoking questions.
These [stories] will invoke reasoning skills within a child, and help them to make their own decision on right and wrong, based on their own beliefs and biases. It is interesting to note, that with the children in different age brackets we reviewed this with, they had no problem disagreeing with one another, when it was something they believed strongly in. . . The tone was mild, no one was upset with the other, but from the youngest to the oldest, they clearly were able to stand their ground for their opinion and had reasons to back it up.
The reading levels are appropriate for the ages recommended. Each level increases it's complexity in it's thinking level, but the reading level stays fairly easy. . .which is great for those who struggle with reading higher level books. The questions and situations become tougher the higher you go.
The pictures are adorable and fun loving and the quality is great. This is a set that is going to help guide children for years to come. Once you have tried it, you will wonder why conversation ice breakers seemed so hard before . . . Now you can start a moral debate in any class circle at any time ... and not worry about a "heated" discussion brewing . . . These will have everyone thinking in a new light.
These stories would be great to use as lesson fillers. When studying other topics you will now have access to great moral dilemma situations, to work in to another topic. If you are studying government, social welfare systems etc . . . you will have a great addition! They are also great as stand alones or ice breakers in a new group. These would also be worthy of inclusion as topics for an essay. Present the story to the class and have them write a paper backing up their response. So many ideas you could add to this, as it is, by nature, very easy to include into other lessons.

See the Try it section of our site.

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