WHAT IS FAIRNESS?

Nico’s Big Questions: What Is Fairness? | Companion Activities for Ages 7–14

Does fair always mean equal? Can different people need different kinds of help? And can a rule be the same for everyone but still leave someone out?

Invite students to explore these questions with this thoughtfully designed, 24-page printable companion to Nico’s Big Questions: What Is Fairness?

Guided by Nico the jaguar and Mike the capybara, learners move beyond simple answers to investigate equality, equity, effort, opportunity, fair rules, and perspective-taking. Accessible language and meaningful scenarios help children develop deeper ethical thinking while connecting ideas to everyday life.

What’s included:

• Teacher guidance and flexible lesson plans.
• Vocabulary explained in child-friendly language.
• Before-viewing and film-response worksheets.
• Six investigations exploring equal shares, different needs, effort and rewards, rules and participation, other perspectives, and chance and repair.
• Six discussion cards for partner or whole-class inquiry.
• A rainforest supply challenge involving choices and limited resources.
• An argument-building worksheet.
• A fair-rule design activity.
• A transfer assessment and personal reflection.
• Suggested teacher responses and a simple assessment rubric.
• Deeper inquiry prompts for ages 12–14.

Learning goes beyond choosing an answer.

Students practice giving reasons, identifying missing information, considering competing claims, listening to others, and revising their ideas. Open-ended activities encourage thoughtful disagreement: students explain why a decision may be fair and explore when another approach might be more appropriate.

Flexible for ages 7–14

Younger learners can respond through drawing, discussion, or dictated answers. Older students can examine conflicting principles, hidden barriers, and the limits of majority decisions. Age adaptations help teachers select an appropriate level of challenge.

Suitable for philosophy for children, social-emotional learning, citizenship, ethics, critical thinking, and classroom discussion.

Format: 24-page PDF in US Letter size, with an illustrated Nico-and-Mike cover and ink-friendly student worksheets.

Created by Maria Ines Quevedo Stuva | Wonder Train Studios