Socratic Seminars 101

1. Socratic Seminars 101 For Corridor By: Robin Parrish

2. Next class… You will be conducting Socratic Seminars with other students who have read your novel. Your job is to create 4 open-ended questions that are of different thinking levels for discussion as well as identify two important quotes/passages.

3. For discussion, you must be ready with… (1) Level 1 question factual/literal/in the text (1) Level 2 question interpretive/you inferring about what’s in the text (2) Level 3 questions Analytical/why does this matter?/connections outside of the text

4. What does a Socratic Seminar look like? First, you will be interviewing someone else with two lower level questions. Then, with your two higher level questions, you will be presenting those within a group discussion. There will be an inner circle (the discussers) and an outer circle (the observers). During class, you will have the opportunity to be both a discusser and an observer.

5. This video will give you an idea of how the Socratic Seminar is run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHPoPyizSEU

6. Create a Level 1 Question • Factual/Literal or directly from the text • You might use these to begin your question: • Who, What, When, Where, Why? • Summarize… Recall…. Identify….. Describe… • Other components to include in your question: • Details of the novel, key scenes, main conflicts, characters, setting.

7. Create a Level 2 Question • Interpretive/you inferring about what’s in the text • You might use these to begin your question: • Compare and Contrast….Interpret… • What could you infer….Relate… • What is the relationship between ____ and ____. • Other components to include in your question: • Character traits, important passages, figurative language, relation to yourself, context clues within the text

8. Create two Level 3 Questions • Analytical/why does this matter?/connections outside of the text/think global • You might use these to begin your question: • How does ____ symbolize? • What could you infer….Relate… • How is the theme of ____ portrayed in the novel? In today’s society? • Other components to include in your question: • Character motive, author’s purpose, target audience, themes, symbolism, relation to our society, meaningful passages.

9. Seminar Norms • Be respectful • There will be no put-downs and no sarcasm. • Do not interrupt; allow everyone enough time to finish his or her thoughts. • Be participative • There is no need to raise hands here; speak up when no one else is talking. • THINK before you speak • You must speak at least TWICE during the seminar. • Be an active listener • Do this by responding to others’ questions and making your observations. • Refer to the text • Share text evidence and important passages. • Ask the group to turn to a specific page number.

10. Seminar Norms • Be respectful • There will be no put-downs and no sarcasm. • Do not interrupt; allow everyone enough time to finish his or her thoughts. • Be participative • There is no need to raise hands here. • Speak up when no one else is talking. • You must speak at least TWICE during the seminar. • Be an active listener • Do this by responding to others’ questions and making your observations. • Refer to the text • Share text evidence and important passages. • Ask the group to turn to a specific page number.

11. Seminar Norms • Be respectful • There will be no put-downs and no sarcasm. • Do not interrupt; allow everyone enough time to finish his or her thoughts. • Be participative • There is no need to raise hands here. • Speak up when no one else is talking. • You must speak at least TWICE during the seminar. • Be an active listener • Do this by responding to others’ questions and making your observations. • Refer to the text • Share text evidence and important passages. • Ask the group to turn to a specific page number.

12. Seminar Norms • Be respectful • There will be no put-downs and no sarcasm. • Do not interrupt; allow everyone enough time to finish his or her thoughts. • Be participative • There is no need to raise hands here. • Speak up when no one else is talking. • You must speak at least TWICE during the seminar. • Be an active listener • Do this by responding to others’ questions and making your observations. • Refer to the text • Share text evidence, important passages, and specific scenes. • Ask the group to turn to a specific page number.