If you are confused by something on your handouts...
If you just need some reassurance and clarification before our seminar on block day...
THIS IS THE POST FOR YOU!
This post contains everything we've done the past three days to prep for our Socratic Seminar on Wednesday, May 15th and Thursday, May 16th.
Below is one of the more important handouts. It was printed on yellow paper.
There are 5 types of questions on this handout:
- Level 1 Plot Questions - These questions are OPTIONAL. You should really only complete these two questions if you literally didn't understand something about the book and you absolutely need clarification!
- Examples: What was the name of the mead hall that Beowulf was asked to defend?
- Analysis Questions - "Analysis" really just means breaking down a whole into parts and looking more closely at the parts. This is any kind of question that generates conversation (not just a simple question-answer interaction) between multiple individuals. It could be about a particular concept (Christian and pagan allusions in Beowulf), symbols (blood in Macbeth), or a part of the plot (Paul's untimely death in "Rocking Horse Winner"). Your general notes and reviews from throughout the year are a good place to start, but be sure you are asking a question that will generate a conversation, not just a simple recall answer.
- Examples: Is Beowulf's form of heroism still desired or has it become outdated? What might have happened if Macbeth refused to kill Duncan? Do you believe that the love between Cecily and Algernon is true?
- "Light Conversation" Questions - These are the "gossip-y" type questions you ask as the seminar gets rolling and maybe begins wrapping up. They are not questions that require a huge depth of thought to answer, but you have to have read the book to be able to answer it.
- Examples: Who do you think would make a better boyfriend: Marcus or Samm?
- Resource Questions - These are questions that cover the general overarching topics from your article. These are questions that could be answered by people who didn't read the same article as you.
- Examples: Are we really prepared as a society to deal with an epidemic?
- Resource Connections - These are statements that show how your article connects to something else we have read this year.
- Examples: This article about the true reasons for why we lie and betray others reminded me of Macbeth. Maybe human nature was what caused him to betray Duncan, not just the witches' prophecy.
The only requirements for it to be smart are:
- You are passionate about it
- You can talk about it for at least 15 seconds
You also need PAGE NUMBERS that give an example of what you are asking about or prove your answer. These page numbers aren't for me. They are for you! The less time you spend flipping through your book, the more time you have during the seminar to contribute and earn credit!
This is the tracking sheet we will use on block day. You don't have to do anything with it until the day of the seminar.
Remember, students who are not prepared on block day will be given an alternative assignment that will take the entire class period to complete.
Not sure what a Socratic Seminar is?
Well, in class, we watched part of a video that demonstrates a real Socratic Seminar! You can see it below. A few notes though:
- In the video, you'll see the kids have red cups on their desks. This is a tracking tool used by the teacher. We will not be using that.
- These students are discussing gender roles as a pre-reading activity. They have not yet read the text and so most of their answers are references to their personal experiences. In our seminar, you should be referring to the book just as often as your own experiences.
- The outer circle is interacting by providing feedback digitally. They are not just chilling on their phones.
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