Socratic Seminar Introduction Compiled by Ashley Walker, M.Ed.

What is a Socratic Seminar? The purpose of a Socratic Seminar is to achieve a deeper understanding about the ideas and values in a text  Participants question and examine issues and principles related to a particular content and express different perspectives  Meaning is constructed through analysis, interpretation, listening, and participation The participants carry the burden of the responsibility for the quality of the discussion The discussion is not about right answers; it is not a debate

Rules of Seminar Be courteous at all times. Listen while others are talking. Support all comments with evidence from the source. Avoid raising your hand to talk – instead jump in at an appropriate time. When disagreeing with a previous comment, disagree with the idea rather than attack the person. Address the group when talking, not the teacher.

Habits of Mind

Debate vs. Dialogue With your partner, read and annotate the “Dialogue vs. Debate” handout. One partner will read Dialogue. The other partner will respond by expanding and commenting on what that statement means. One Partner will read Debate.

Salvador Late or Early, Sandra Cisneros Take 20 minutes to closely read and annotate the passage. anything that sticks out to you patterns characterization questions words ideas

Big Ideas Somewhere on your paper, write these three ideas in order of most important to least important. Big Ideas 1 2 3 Love Responsibility Courage