Socratic Seminar
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
How does it work?
• Students sit in two concentric circles
• Outer circle=questioners
• Inner circle=conversationalists
Outer Circle
• EACH member of the outer circle asks at
least one question to the students in the
inner circle
• Outer circle members must focus on the
discussion to ensure that they do not repeat
similar questions.
• EACH member of the outer circle pays
attention to the discussion and takes
thorough notes on his/her partner’s
participation.
Inner Circle
• EACH member of the inner circle responds to
questions from the outer circle in an orderly
and tactful manner
• EACH member must speak a minimum of
three times
• Inner circle members are allowed to use a
“cheat sheet” on which they’ve compiled notes,
events, and important quotes to use as
evidence in the discussion
After
Round 1
• Members of
the inner
circle and
outer circle
switch
places/roles
• Members of the inner and outer circle must be careful
to
– Avoid dominating conversation (hang back a bit
once you’ve gotten your turn and give time for others
to discuss)
– Avoid being reticent (talking too little)
– Avoid repeating (pay attention to the discussion) or
interrupting
– Avoid contributing just for the sake of contributingadd something valuable to the conversation, and
support your ideas
My Expectations for this seminar
Did the 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 questioner or me?
• Paraphrase accurately?
• Avoid inappropriate language (slang, technical terms, sloppy
diction, etc.)?
• Ask for help to clear up confusion?
• Support each other?
• Avoid hostile exchanges?
• Question others in a civil manner?
• Seem prepared?
Quotations Assignment
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Quotations Assignment: As you read, pay attention to important lines from
Great Expectations. For each seminar, choose 5 significant quotations to
analyze. Type your responses to the information described below, and bring
it to the seminar review days. This assignment is worth 50 points, and it
must be turned in on the day of each seminar. I will NOT accept late work
for this assignment.
You must include the following information for each quote:
The quote itself
Page number
Speaker
Context- brief summary
Develop one question that will lead to a discussion of the quote’s
significance to the novel as a whole.
– Answer your question in 3-4 sentences
•
Develop one connection question that relates the meaning of the quote to
the great world outside the novel (your life, other books, movies, world
events, society, etc.)
– Answer your question in 3-4 sentences
Quote Assignment- Strong Responses
Book Question
• Quote: “Oh! There are many kinds of pride,” said
Biddy, looking full at me and shaking her head;
“pride is not all of one kind” (149).
• Question: What types of pride do Pip, Biddy,
Joe, Estella, and Miss Havisham have, and how
does their pride make them react to certain
situations? Example- Estella not wanting to play
with a commoner because of her pride of being
uncommon.
Quote Assignment- Connection
Question
• Quote: “In a word, I was too cowardly to do what
I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to
avoid doing what I knew to be wrong” (160).
• Question: Why do people today make bad
decisions that they know are wrong when they
have the option to do something else that is
right? For example, why do some people use
drugs and not tell or seek help for their problem?
Is it because they are afraid of what others in
society might think of them?
One more connection question
• Memorable day quote
• If any one day in the history of America
didn’t happen, how would that have
affected us for better or for worse? Give
an example.