Before you come to a Socratic Seminar class, please read the assigned text (novel section, poem, essay, article, etc.) and write at least 1-2 question(s) in each of the following categories:
1. World Connection Question: Write a question connecting the text to the real world.
Example: If you were given only 24 hours to pack your most precious belongings in a back pack and to get ready to leave your home town, what might you pack? (After reading the first 30 pages of Night).
2. Close-Ended Question: Write a question about the text that will help everyone in the class come to an agreement about events or characters in the text. This question usually has a "correct" answer.
Example: What happened to Hester Pyrnne's husband that she was left alone in Boston without family? (after the first 4 chapters of The Scarlet Letter).
3. Open-Ended Question: Write an insightful question about the text that will require proof and group discussion and "construction of logic" to discover or explore the answer to the question.
Example: Why did Gene hesitate to reveal the truth about the accident to Finny that first day in the infirmary? (after mid-point of A Separate Peace).
4. Universal Theme/ Core Question: Write a question dealing with a theme(s) of the text that will encourage group discussion about the universality of the text.
Example: After reading John Gardner's Grendel, can you pick out its existential elements?
5. Rhetorical Analysis Question: Write a question dealing with a rhetorical device that an author used or why the text is so stylistically persuasive?
Example: What do you believe is Schlosser's purpose in writing Fast Food Nation?
• Refer to the text when needed during the discussion. A seminar is not a test of memory. You are not “learning a subject”; your goal is to understand the ideas, issues, and values reflected in the text.
• It's OK to "pass" when asked to contribute.
• Do not participate if you are not prepared. A seminar should not be a bull session.
• Do not stay confused; ask for clarification.
• Stick to the point currently under discussion; make notes about ideas you want to come back to.
• Don't raise hands; take turns speaking.
• Listen carefully.
• Speak up so that all can hear you.
• Talk to each other, not just to the leader or teacher.
• Discuss ideas rather than each other's opinions.
• You are responsible for the seminar, even if you don't know it or admit it.
Did participants....
Speak loudly and clearly?
Cite reasons and evidence for their statements?
Use the text to find support?
Listen to others respectfully?
Stick with the subject?
Talk to each other, not just to the leader?
Paraphrase accurately?
Ask for help to clear up confusion?
Support each other?
Avoid hostile exchanges?
Question others in a civil manner?
Seem prepared?
Participant offers enough solid analysis, without prompting, to move the conversation forward
Participant, through her comments, demonstrates a deep knowledge of the text and the question
•articipant has come to the seminar prepared, with notes and a marked/annotated text
Participant, through her comments, shows that she is actively listening to other participants
Participant offers clarification and/or follow-up that extends the conversation
Participant’s remarks often refer back to specific parts of the text