Idalia
Outstanding job with the discussion. You made some really interesting points including the idea
that Curley’s anger might put George in danger and that George was risking his own life for
Lennie in the process of killing Lennie. I like what you said about best friends doing anything to
protect their friends and your suggestion that George may end up killing himself because he
killed Lennie (you will see this idea again in our next unit!). You also did a great job of
facilitating discussion by asking questions, asking others for clarification, and rephrasing a
question that you didn’t understand. You also cited the book for support more than most of your
classmates. Great job Idalia!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 4/4
Engagement in Discussions - 4/4
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Cody
Cody I love your enthusiasm in the discussion. I thought you had some excellent points such as
the fact that Lennie is like George’s own son and that maybe his relationship with Lennie is more
of a job than a friendship. I thought your point about everything adding up to the death at the
end was very insightful and I wish you had developed the idea further with some evidence and
ideas from the text. Also great job remaining engaged in the discussion and respectfully
disagreeing!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 3.5/4 (more evidence from the book!)
Engagement in Discussions - 4/4
Preparation- /4
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Mateo
Mateo this is exactly the leadership I want to see from you all the time! You are a very skilled
speaker and debater and it is clear from this discussion. Your point about George making a
commitment to Lennie that he has to stick with was an interesting idea and well defended and
your idea that George and Lennie have a mother son relationship was also well defended. I love
your connections to life today (students in life skills classes and your mom’s obligation to take
care of you). You also did a great job of asking for clarification and pulling in some of the
quieter students in the group. Keep up the good work!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 4/4
Engagement in Discussions - 4/4
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Hai
Great job with this discussion. You were much more engaged than in the previous discussion
and you made some really interesting points. You brought up that neither Lennie nor George
want to be lonely (which is especially important to consider when thinking about their
relationship and why George kills Lennie) and Lennie would have died no matter what decision
George made. You mentioned that George is losing someone very important in his life when he
kills Lennie as well. You also asked Cody for clarification of his question at one point and
responded to what everyone else was saying. Keep up the good work Hai!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 4/4
Engagement in Discussions - 4/4
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Emma
Great job engaging in discussion, especially given that this is your first Socratic Seminar. I liked
your points that George needs to worry about his own future and that Lennie would cause more
trouble no matter what because he can’t be by himself. It makes for a pretty complicated
decision for George which you understand very well. You made sure that your voice was heard
despite some the fact that there were a number of other strong opinions in the group. Great job!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 3/4 (more evidence please!)
Engagement in Discussions - 4/4
Preparation- /4
Outside Circle Feedback Total
Jay
Great job participating in this discussion. You really made sure that your voice was heard
despite having a very strong opinioned discussion group. I like your comment that best friends
stick together no matter what and that George helps Lennie by killing him because he’s Lennie’s
best friend. I would have loved to hear more about why you think that George killed Lennie
because he is his best friend. Overall I’m very impressed Jay!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 3/4 (more evidence please!)
Engagement in Discussions - 4/4
Preparation- /4
Outside Circle Feedback Total
Timmy
I found your opinion about George’s decisions interesting. You said that if you were George you
would not kill Lennie because he is your best friend but I wonder if there ever a situation when
you would kill a friend if it was what was best for them? It is clear that you were listening to the
discussion because you said that you would risk getting killed in order to not kill a friend (an
idea that Idalia had presented earlier in the discussion). I would love to hear more of your
opinions throughout the discussion and to hear more evidence from the reading that supports
your views.
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 2/4
Engagement in Discussions - 2/4
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Sam
I give you a lot of credit for agreeing to stay inside the circle for the second discussion as well as
the first even though I know that speaking in public is not always easy for you. I thought your
question about why the director of the movie chose to show George traveling at the end was a
great question. I wonder what he was trying to imply through the last scene and I wish you had
given your own opinion or asked a follow up question to keep it as a part of the discussion.
Please keep on working on participating and giving evidence to support your ideas and I’m
happy to help however I can!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 2/4
Engagement in Discussions - 2/4
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Genesis
I love your strong opinions and statements. I think you brought up a really good point that
Curley may not have loved his wife, he just wanted to kill Lennie. This was especially important
because a lot of the group saw his desire to kill Lennie as an act of love and you are right that it
was not so clear. I also like your bold statement that you would have killed Lennie but I would
like to know more about why you would have killed Lennie. Your thoughts were very
interesting and helped move the discussion forward. I would have liked to hear even more from
you!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 3/4
Engagement in Discussions - 2/4
Preparation- /4
Outside Circle Feedback Total
Nashwa
Nashwa I thought you made a good point that you would consider killing someone who kills
your wife (especially since Idalia asked you the question in a little bit of a confusing way). I
know that the discussions are challenging for you but I would love to hear more of your ideas
throughout the conversation. It will be easier if you read the book!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 2/4
Engagement in Discussions - 2/4
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Agnes
Outstanding job in this discussion. I love your strong opinions and the evidence that you use to
support them. Killing someone was still a very big deal in the 1920s but you are right that
people with mental disabilities were not given the same respect that they are now. I think you
made an excellent point that keeping Lennie alive could mean putting other people (including
George’s future family) in danger. It is a lot of ask for George to take care of Lennie for the rest
of his life when he can go after his dreams even without Lennie. You did a good job of listening
to what other people said and responding. I would love to hear more evidence from the text that
help support your thoughts.
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 3.5/4 (more evidence please!)
Engagement in Discussions – 3.5/4
Preparation- /4
Outside Circle Feedback Total
Manny
Great job participating in the discussion! I like how you suggested that George killed Lennie
because he pitied Lennie but that it might not have been the right decision. I also thought it was
great that you used the context that Lennie and George are migrant farmers to help understand
their relationship. You asked the group if they would kill their friend which I thought was a
great way to help continue the conversation but also connect the story to your own lives. It
would have been great if you could have supported your ideas with some more evidence from the
text. Great job overall Manny!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 2.5/4
Engagement in Discussions - 4/4
Preparation- /4
Outside Circle Feedback Total
Jocelyn
Great participation in the discussion! I’m really glad that you were here for this discussion. You
compared Lennie to a pet which I think is an interesting comparison – Steinbeck makes the same
comparison when he describes how Candy has to kill his old dog. You asked if you would kill a
pet that you don’t want to take care of which is an interesting question because we sometimes do
kill pets that we don’t want to care for in our society today. I also thought the question you
asked about Curley’s wife and if she knew that she was doing something wrong when she asked
Lennie to pet her hair was interesting. I’d love to hear more evidence from the text to support
your ideas. Overall great participation!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 4/4
Engagement in Discussions - 3/4
Preparation- /4
Outside Circle Feedback Total
Erik
Great job participating in the discussion. I think you improved a lot from our Memphis
discussion. Specifically I thought your suggestion that George should kill Lennie in the kindest
way possible (in his sleep) was interesting. Do you think that George was trying to be kind by
telling Lennie his favorite story right before he shoots him? I also thought you posed an
interesting question to the group when you asked if it should be George who killed Lennie. Why
do you think it’s important that George do the killing? I’d love to hear even more of your
thoughts and more evidence to support them!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 3/4
Engagement in Discussions – 2.5/4
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Outside Circle Feedback Total
Christian
Great job facilitating this discussion. I could tell that you were very aware of the discussion and
who was speaking more than other students. You asked some great questions to keep the
conversation moving and made a very successful effort to get everyone engaged in the
discussion. I was really impressed! I know that sometimes it can be challenging to facilitate and
to share your own opinions but I would loved to hear more about what you thought about the
book as well!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 2/4
Engagement in Discussions – 5/4 ( for facilitating so well!  )
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Sara
Great effort to get involved in the discussion. I know that speaking in front of a group can be a
challenge for you but it is a challenge that you and I decided we are going to work on throughout
the year and I think you did a great job trying to get involved. I thought your point that Lennie
would cause trouble wherever he and George went was a great point and made a lot of sense. I
would have loved to hear the evidence that made you think that. Please keep pushing yourself to
talk a little more because you have some very good ideas that the class would benefit from
hearing.
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 2/4
Engagement in Discussions – 2/4
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Keiris
Keiris, great job participating in the discussion. I thought that you made a good point that there
will always be other problems aside from just touching Curley’s wife’s hair. No matter what
Lennie may continue to get into trouble. I would have loved to hear that evidence that supported
your idea (there is a lot of it in the book!). I think you did a good job of making your opinion
heard but not being an overpowering voice in the group. Great job!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 3/4
Engagement in Discussions – 4/4
Preparation- /4
Outside Circle Feedback Total
Teddy
Great engagement in discussion. You made sure that your ideas were heard but were not
overpowering within the group discussion. Specifically I thought your point that George was
putting Lennie out of his misery was very interesting. You said that you thought Lennie couldn’t
control what he was doing and asked the group if they thought George could teach Lennie what
to do. This is an important question because if Lennie can learn to take care of himself or at least
understand the consequences of his actions maybe George was wrong to have shot him.
Remember, the more evidence you give the stronger your arguments will be!
Grade –
Communication of Personal Opinions- 4/4
Engagement in Discussions – 4/4
Preparation- /4
Outside Circle Feedback Total