socratic seminar background information to help us prepare…
TRANSCRIPT
SOCRATIC SEMINAR
Background information to help us prepare…
WHAT ARE THEY?
Socratic Seminars are named after
the Greek philosopher, Socrates
Believed in the power of asking
questions
“To make my contribution I must
Ask Questions, Speak the Truth,
Think for Myself, and Care for My
Soul”
WHAT ARE THEY? ( C O N T I N U E D )
By definition…
“The Socratic seminar is a formal discussion,
based on a text, in which the leader asks open-
ended questions. Within the context of the
discussion, students listen closely to the comments
of others, thinking critically for themselves, and
articulate their own thoughts and their
responses to the thoughts of others. They learn to
work cooperatively and to question intelligently
and civilly.”
LET’S TAKE A LOOK:
Let’s see how another school has used Socratic
Seminar!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pGVR6ZF_2M
WHAT STEPS WILL WE TAKE?
1. Read the text in an ACTIVE way (close read, “Mark it up!”, text
codes, annotation)
2. Plan for Socratic Circle: review any “Mark it up’s and preview
and plan out responses to questions… remember text support!
3. Inner circle (two responses with flipped cards)/outer circle
(feedback form and hot seat) responsibilities
4. Switch!
Socratic seminar feedback form.docx
IS THIS FOR A GRADE?!++ Score of 5: response is on topic, uses tex
t evidence, takes discussion to “the next leve
l” to move forward
√+ Score of 4: on topic, text evidence
√ Score of 3: related to topic, may be too gen
eral or too similar to another response
√-Score of 2: weak response, lacks (or irrelev
ant) text support
-Score of 1: no text evidence, simple self con
nection
Socratic seminar feedback form.docx