Question Formulatio n Technique Into the Wild Socratic Seminar

Objective Today all students will develop questions based on a focus topics related to Into the Wild. They will choose priority questions as discussion questions for the Socratic Seminar.

Question Formulation Technique (QFT) Step 1: Produce questions based on QFocus Step 2: Categorize questions Step 4: Prioritize questions Step 5: Questions Socratic Seminar Step 6: Reflection Before we get started, let’s go over the rules rules

Group Ground Rules: Rules for Producing Questions 1.Ask as many questions as you can 1.Do not stop to discuss, judge, or answer the questions 1.Write down every question exactly as it is stated 1.Change any statement into a question What may be difficult about following these rules??

Question Focus Statements 1.One must pursue one’s dreams no matter the consequences. 2.Not until we are lost that we begin to understand ourselves. 3.As materialism increases, so does conformity 4.To be great is to be misunderstood

1.Select a Scribe 1.Follow the Ground Rules of Producing Questions 1.Share questions slowly to allow the scribe to capture questions accurately etc. Step 1: Produce Questions Based on focus statements ?

Step 2: Categorizing Questions Identify the level of your questions (write C for close-ended and O for open-ended - Use a different color) Closed-ended Questions can be answered with a “yes’ or “no” or with a one-word answer. Open-ended Questions require more explanation. Change any close-ended questions to open- ended and look at some of your questions for improvement.

Step 4: Prioritizing Questions Choose the two (3) most important questions from your list and write them on the backside of your butcher paper. Please leave some space after each question. Keep these ideas in mind when selecting questions: Use the focus statement. The question will require critical thinking and possibly textual support for the Socratic.

Socratic Questions Walk around the room and choose no more than (3) questions that you believe would make good Socratic Questions Place a check next to these 3 questions

Period 3 Questions 1. How would understanding something make it “ungreat”? 2. How does Chris go about spreading his ideals? 3. Is there a correct way to pursue a dream? Does it matter if it is immoral or life-threatening? 4. How did McCandless change after he lost himself? 5. What does public opinion indicate about being great? 6. What does it take to break away from conformity?

Period 4 Questions 1. Can someone lose himself/herself in someone or something? Why or why not? 2. Does one follow his/her dream for the experience or the destination? 3. How does Chris’s parents’ wealth affect his viewpoint on materialism? 4. What evidence proves McCandless was set on suicide all along? 5. Was Chris’s boycott of materialism a statement of non- conformity or an effort to simply? Why? 6. Was McCandless’s death pointless and foolish? Why?

Period 5 Questions 1. Why were Thoreau and McCandless both drawn to nature in order to understand themselves? 2. Are one’s dreams or consequences a reality of his/her situation? Why? 3. Was Chris’s refusal to accept certain goods a sign of nonconformity or arrogance? 4. What does it mean to be great? 5. Was Chris great and misunderstood or just crazy? 6. Who defines conformity? Those that conform or those that do not?

QFT Written Participant Reflection Why is learning to ask your own questions important for learning? What was positive and challenging about this activity?