The easy way to do socratic seminars in your classroom. Prior to the discussion, the teacher will select an appropriate text. When i first began using socratic seminar often in my room, i received the rules for socratic seminar packet at a conference. Have the students sit in a circle with all textual materials, seminar prep sheet, note cards. Outer circle member monitor your partner by checking each. You will engage in one as an assessment over postmodernism and the information age.
Here are the general guidelines for participating in a socratic seminar and a rubric that will be used to assess your participation. In these discussions people dont talk over one another. Jul 28, 2015 he realized that this process encourages divergent different and unlimited thinking rather than convergent one single, correct answer thinking. It can be used at all levels and is a helpful tool for all teachers. Opening questions core questions closing level 1 level 2 level 3 relates to text. Socratic seminars are a form of analytical inquiry in the form of discussionsdialogue between students, based on asking answering inductive and deductive questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas and deepen understanding of texts. Click on popout icon or print icon to worksheet to print or download. Participants must be able to disagree without being disagreeable.
He realized that this process encourages divergent different and unlimited thinking rather than convergent one single, correct answer thinking. The socratic seminar is both simple and complex, as many art forms are. Socratic seminar guidelines before the socratic seminar read and prepare your text before the seminar using the critical reading process. Socratic seminar template and samples social studieshumanities sample a socratic seminar named after socrates is a deep discourse led by questioning. One goal of seminars is to understand the ideas and thoughts of others through asking questions and listening to answers. Resources and downloads for teaching critical thinking. Socratic seminar socratic seminar is a great way to draw students into higher level discussion. Sep 30, 2016 so heres what i did to make my socratic seminar different from a regular class discussion.
Seminar handout and have it available to use during the seminar. The socratic seminar a socratic seminar activity often begins with the discussion leader, a student or the teacher, asking an openended question. If you choose a simple text where the meaning is fairly straightforward, there wont be much for students to discuss. Steps for socratic seminars tangipahoa parish school board. It can be used at different points within a unit or project. A socratic seminar is a method to try to understand information by creating a dialectic class in regards to a specific text.
In turn, you also expected to apply good listening skills during th. A socratic seminar is method to try to understand information by creating a dialectic in class in regards to a specific text. Use 2 each of level 1, 2, and 3 questions see the descriptions. This resource is part of the socratic seminars collection and the english 10 course. Socratic seminars acknowledge the highly social nature of learning and align with the work of john. My previous socratic seminar lesson goes through my expectations and includes the observation assessment sheet and the expectations visual that i like to display. The socratic seminar a declaration of independence from. It enlarges their understanding of ideas, values, and issues. Bring notes and bookmarked pages that are relevant to the discussion. Therapists use socratic questioning verbally by asking probing questions about their clients irrational thoughts.
Socratic seminar kvec social studies teacher leader network. Its true, there is no such thing as a bad question, but some are definitely better than others. As clients improve their awareness of irrational thoughts, they can begin to consciously question their own thoughts. The purpose of a socratic seminar is to achieve a deeper understanding about the ideas and values in a text. Level 1 comprehension questionclose ended question. Readings in literature, history, science, math, health, and philosophy or works of art or music may be used. Dont try long texts or long seminars at first, build gradually. The socratic questioning technique is an effective way to explore ideas in depth. In a socratic seminar, participants seek deeper understanding complex ideas in the text through rigorously thoughtful dialogue.
The quality of the learning in a socratic seminar rests on the kinds of questions. What do young children do when they want to know something. This activity provides students with an opportunity to discuss issues at a higherorder thinking level. The aim of a seminar is not to replace or jazz up instruction, then, but to supplement it. Students engaging in socratic seminar generally sit in a circle. Socratic seminar hood river county school district overview. Guidelines for socratic seminar facilitators your task is not to make participants cover the topic but to help them use their minds well.
Time goes forward this way, along the xaxis, so it cannot be a. Socratic seminar template and samples generic template a. A few indepth responses are more valuable than a lot of hasty oneword responses. In the socratic seminar questions worksheet, write down a minimum of 6 questions about what you have read that you will look to get answered during the seminar. Explain to them that this seminar will require them to participate by asking and answering questions of their classmates. A socratic seminar named after socrates is a deep discourse led by. Prepare participants for a socratic seminar by asking them to not only design questions for the discussion, but to also observe an assigned. Students take time to prepare notes and find evidence from the text to use in the discussion. A declaration of independence developed by maureen festi grade 5 length of class period. I think it is graph a because a ferris wheel goes round. The guidelines that mathematics teachers at forest park high school found effective are as follows. The topics raised are deceptively simple, carrying potential for extended discussion and use of intellectual exchange.
Read and prepare your text before the seminar using the critical reading process. The goal of the socratic seminar in elementary and secondary schools is not to arrive at a correct. Before we start seminar, we need to go over the expectations. Because students have an opportunity to prepare for the discussion, you will find some less confident speakers suddenly have a voice. In turn, you also expected to apply good listening skills during the activity.
In a socratic seminar, participants seek deeper understanding of complex ideas in the text through rigorously thoughtful dialogue, rather than by memorizing bits of information. This means that seminar participants must practice how to agree and disagree. Socratic seminar focuses on deep discussion around a central text, so it is important that complex, rich texts are chosen that invite multiple interpretations and negotiation to arrive at meaning. Socratic seminars can be more than a teachers dream. Overview in a socratic seminar,participants seek deeper understanding of complex ideas through rigorously thoughtful dialogue. Socratic questioning is one technique to encourage this process. Seminar is not meant to test your knowledge of a certain reading but to help you better understand it. Socratic seminar worksheets socratic seminar handout.
A socratic seminar is a formal discussion where students are given openended questions to discuss in advance. Why do people choose to declare their independence, and what effect does. You will engage in one as an assessment over julius caesar. Also, the text should not be too long to read closely in the. My classrooms kind of set up like that anyway, but i think changing the aesthetics helped prep the kids for a new kind of activity. Complete both sides of this handout in order to be adequately prepared for the fishbowl style socratic seminar that will take place next class. The seminar works best as a precursor to or synthesizing experience of traditional didactic teaching and skill coaching the seminar presents students with chances to explore the meaning of the work assignments, lessons, discrete learnings that make. Write down any lines, quotes, excerpts, or phrases you found interesting, important, or just caught your attention. Begin by asking students to differentiate between behaviors that characterize debate persuasion, prepared rebuttals. This also allows for student leaders to step up and direct the discus. Worksheets are socratic seminar preparation work, socratic seminar handout, socratic seminar, socratic seminars unit plan, the socratic questioning technique, socratic seminar observation checklist, costas levels of questioning, sharing practice through socratic seminars. Speaks in the discussion makes eye contact with other speakers or as shehe speaks refers to the text asks a new or followup question. In the seminar, participants systematically question and examine issues and principles related to a particular content, and articulate different pointsofview. The socratic seminar strategy is based on close textual analysis, so it is important to select a text that provides ample avenues for interpretation and discussion.
You have to set the kids up in two concentric circles and go over the rules and do practice dialogues that last 1015 minutes several times a month to prepare for an actual dialoguewho has time for that. Socratic seminar selfreflection one goal of seminars is to understand the ideas and thoughts of others through asking questions and listening to answers. My students have participated in socratic seminars numerous times, so they should be prepared for the procedures. Socratic seminars are a great way to encourage the development of critical thinking, speaking, and listening skills. Openended questions andor critical reasoning analysis sheet, discussion partner evaluation purpose the purpose of a socratic seminar is to achieve a deeper understanding. Fill out the socratic seminar questions worksheet 10 pts. Socratic seminar is an excellent and engaging way for students to practice higher order thinking skills. A socratic circle also known as a socratic seminar is a systematic procedure used to. The odyssey socratic seminar in preparation for our socratic seminar, answer the following prompt on a separate sheet of paper. Socratic seminar questioning activity inside augsburg. You are a colearner, not an authority on right answers. Fill out the socratic seminar preparation worksheet 3. Developing opening, guiding, and closing questions seminar participants and leaders can use the ideas below to help develop questions appropriate to key stages of the socratic seminar. This 55slide powerpoint resource with printables is a socratic seminar featuring the poem stopping by woods on a snowy evening by robert frost, which is a fitting poem for the winter season.
Each prompt should be answered thoroughly with concrete details and analytical insights. This link gives a pretty good explanation of a socratic seminar. Use the socratic questioning worksheet alongside other cbt interventions to help your clients challenge irrational thoughts. Complete the chart in preparation for the seminar next class, which will be focused on themes. The text must be complex and rich in ideas that promote thinking and discussion.
With socratic seminar, you are given opportunities to examine a common piece of text, whether it is in the form of a novel, short story, poem, art print, or piece of music. We suggest that clients are allowed to select 35 questions for each thought, rather than completing every question. Fill out the socratic seminar questions worksheet 10 pts du eminar preparation worksheet, and socratic seminar questions 2. Nov 10, 20 pdf socratic seminar selfreflection socratic seminar selfreflection. Feb 06, 2017 in the socratic seminar, the teacher uses questions to guide discussion around specific learning goals.
I made the kids move their chairs into a circle so we could all see each other. It works well to discuss timeless issues, hypothetical situations or school or community concerns. Explain that socratic seminars are questiondriven discussions, named after the great philosopher, socrates, who used questions to teach his students. Socratic seminar focuses on deep discussion around a central text, so it is important. Socratic questioning is a systematic process for examining the ideas, questions, and answers that form the basis of human belief. You will prepare your thoughts on several different questions. Lynda tredaway describes the socratic seminar as a form of structured discourse about ideas and moral dilemmas. The six types of socratic questions due to the rapid addition of new information and the advancement of science and technology that occur almost daily, an engineer must constantly expand his or her horizons beyond simple gathering information and relying on the basic engineering principles.
Opening questions should get the seminar off to a start. Each time your partner does one of the following put a check in the box. After you elaborate on each prompt, devise at least. This 73slide powerpoint resource with printables is a socratic seminar featuring the poem the spider and the fly by mary howitt. And charles dickens a christmas carol is a perfect text for such a seminar. Socratic seminar discussion questions a good socratic question is open ended, encouraging discussion rather than regurgitation of facts. This student uses either a large sheet of paper that can be displayed on. The socratic seminar example video provides footage of a seminar conducted for another lesson, but demonstrates the classroom set up and what a seminar looks like. A socratic seminar for elementary learners user generated. This process encourages divergent thinking rather than convergent. By using socratic questioning, teachers promote independent thinking in their students and give them ownership of what they are learning.
It is designed to help them come up with several question that they can use as. Displaying all worksheets related to socratic seminars. Use this worksheet as you are introducing the socratic seminar idea to your students. Because student inquiry and thinking are central to the philosophy of socratic seminars, it is an authentic move to include students integrally in the establishment of norms for the seminar. Students must be trained in the method, but this tradition of academic discussion will serve them throughout their college careers and beyond. Swbat use the insights discussed with peers to determine the theme of a poem. Ss 101 socratic seminar socrates, a classical greek philosopher, was convinced that the surest way to attain.
A socratic seminar fosters active learning as participants explore and evaluate the ideas, issues, and values in a particular text. See the attached level questions worksheet for guidance. If small groups are not possible, students could take turns sitting in the. Socratic questions therapy worksheets, tools, and handouts.
Socratic seminars are named for their embodiment of socrates belief in the power of asking questions, prize inquiry over information and discussion over debate. Please utilize the following sentence frames while you speak in order to incorporate strong academic. Find socratic seminar lesson plans and teaching resources. After you elaborate on each prompt, devise at least two level 23 questions to pose to the entire class. Have text, socratic seminar preparation worksheet, and socratic seminar questions. This is the worksheet that all students should complete before the seminar date. What little reading i had done about them showed that theyd take up a ton of class time. Socratic seminar template and samples ela sample a socratic seminar named after socrates is a deep discourse led by questioning.
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