Close Reading Socratic Seminars

Close Reading Socratic Seminars or Socratic debate, is named after the classical Greek philosopher

Socrates. Elenchus is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions. It is a dialectical method, often involving a discussion in which the defense of one point of view is questioned; one participant may lead another to contradict themselves in some way, thus weakening the defender's point

Socratic Seminar Purpose: 

Socratic Seminars promote thinking, meaning making, and the ability to debate, use evidence, and build on one another’s thinking. When well designed and implemented, the seminar provides an active role for every student, engages students in complex thinking about rich content, and teaches students discussion skills. 

One format for the seminar is as follows: 

Procedure 1. The teacher selects a significant piece of text or collection of short texts related to the current focus of study. This may be an excerpt from a book or an article from a magazine, journal, or newspaper. It might also be a poem, short story, or personal memoir. The text needs to be rich with possibilities for diverse points of view. 

2. The teacher or facilitator develops an open-ended, provocative question as the starting point for the seminar discussion. The question should be worded to elicit differing perspectives and complex thinking. Participants may also generate questions to discuss. 

3. Participants prepare for the seminar by reading the chosen piece of text in an active manner that helps them build background knowledge for participation in the discussion. The completion of the pre-seminar task is the participant’s “ticket” to participate in the seminar. The pre-seminar assignment could easily incorporate work on reading strategies. For example, participants might be asked to read the article in advance and to “text code” by underlining important information, putting questions marks by segments they wonder about, and exclamation points next to parts that surprise them. 

4. Once the seminar begins, all participants should be involved and should make sure others in the group are drawn into the discussion. 

5. The seminar leader begins the discussion with the open-ended question designed to provoke inquiry and diverse perspectives. Inner circle participants may choose to move to a different question if the group agrees, or the facilitator may pose follow-up questions. 

6. The discussion proceeds until the seminar leader calls time. At that time, the group debriefs their process; if using a fishbowl (see below), the outer circle members give their feedback sheets to the inner group participants. 

7. If using a fishbowl, the seminar leader may allow participants in the outer circle to add comments or questions they thought of while the discussion was in progress. 

Criteria Participants… • Respect other participants. Exhibit open-mindedness; value others’ contributions. • Are active listeners. Build upon one another’s ideas by referring to them when it is your turn to talk. • Stay focused on the topic. • Make specific references to the text. Use examples from the text to explain your point. • Give their input. Ensure that you participate. Ask questions. As needed, ask clarifying questions to ensure that you understand the points others are trying to make, and ask probing questions which push the conversation further and deeper when appropriate.

The Socratic method is a method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. The Socratic method searches for general, commonly held truths that shape beliefs, and scrutinizes them to determine their consistency with other beliefs. The basic form is a series of questions formulated as tests of logic and fact intended to help a person or group discover their beliefs about some topic, exploring the definitions or logoi (singular logos), seeking to characterize the general characteristics shared by various particular instances. Aristotle attributed to Socrates the discovery of the method of definition and induction, which he regarded as the essence of the scientific method.

Socratic Seminar Resources 

[PDF] AVID Elective Teacher Training Socratic Seminar - Cloudfront.net
Use all of your close reading to participate in a discussion that helps you ... Socratic Seminar focuses on deep discussion around a central text, so it is important ...

[PDF]SOCRATIC SEMINAR GUIDELINES
Montgomery County Public SchoolsRead and prepare your text before the seminar using the critical reading process. 1. ... Use all of your close reading to participate in a discussion that helps you ...

[PDF]Socratic Seminar: The Power of Questions
“learning”? • How do you– and should you– assess Socratic Seminar? ... Purpose: To bring the whole-class reading of Romeo and Juliet to a close and to spark ...

[PDF]AVID Socratic Seminar
Seminar Preparation Worksheet, and Socratic Seminar Questions. 2. ... Pay attention to your first impression as to what the reading is about. ... Closing Questions.

[PDF]Socratic Seminar Format Overview - Robert Frost Farm
the format for poetry, Socratic Seminars work equally well with short prose ... Develop students' understanding and application of close reading analysis and ...

[PDF]Thoughtful Dialogues and Socratic Seminars - Ignite Research
by AS Pihlgren - ‎2014 - ‎Related articleshas shown good effects on students' reading comprehension and ability to ..... When the seminar has closed a meta-dialogue follows, to give the participants.

[PDF]Close Reading - Fisher & Frey
reading strategy called close reading. Nancy Frey and ... routine called close reading, known in some circles .... engage in a Socratic seminar; or debate a topic.

[PDF]Socratic Seminar
The purpose of a Socratic Seminar is to achieve a deeper understanding about the ideas ... Sample questions to bring the discussion back to students in closing:.

[PDF]Socratic Seminar
Lipscomb University Guidelines for Socratic Seminar: 1. ... reading and with some questions or topics to ... Instructions: When preparing for a Socratic Seminar, write questions using these .... Sample questions to bring the discussion back to students in closing:.

[PDF]Socratic Seminar - Teach Arts
seminar. Socratic seminars always include a text. Sample readings might include: ... It is often helpful to model close reading, note-making, and developing.

[PDF]Socratic Seminar Resources
A Socratic Seminar fosters ach've learning as participants explore and ... Use all ofyour close reading to participate in a discussion that helps you understand the ...

[PDF]Appendix: Protocols and Resources - EngageNY
“Close Readers Do These Things” Anchor Chart (starter kit) .... Contrast first and second reading/showing of the mystery text: “What was it like to hear .... classroom, or to model specific techniques such as literature circles or Socratic Seminars.

[DOC]Perfect for Constitution Day – September 17 th – A Close Reading of ...
Close Reading -- Grade 5 ... Prior to the close reading activity, teacher and students will watch the Schoolhouse Rock Preamble video ... Socratic Seminar PDF.

[PDF]Socratic Seminar - Shoreline School District
Socratic Seminar: Classic Style is a structured, collaborative dialogue, focusing on a common text or ... format for students to practice skills in critical thinking, reading, and inquiry, as .... have been explored or time has drawn to a close. 16.

[PDF]Socratic Seminar Observation Checklist - Spokane Public Schools
Socratic Seminar Observation Checklist. Your Name: ... Socratic Seminar Self-Assessment ... Socratic Seminar Rubric for Individual Participants. Name: ...

Socratic Seminar Rubrics - Greece Central School District
Evaluating student participation during a Socratic Seminar can be challenging. It would be a mistake to assume that the most talkative students are necessarily ...

[PDF]AVID Socratic Seminar - Waiakea High School
Successful Socratic Seminars are dependent upon groups of students developing skills together over ... Socratic Seminar is a necessary element in every AVID program, and successful seminars have been imple- ..... Socratic Seminar Rubric ...

[PDF]113 Socratic Seminar Rubric
Socratic Seminar Rubric. Exemplary. Proficient. Partially. Proficient. Developing. Comments. Analysis and. Reasoning. • Clearly references text to support.

[PDF]Seminar Discussion Rubric - Edutopia
Edutopia Seminar Discussion Rubric. Inner Circle. Norms. Speaking. Participates at least 6 times. /6. Sticks to the subject. /3. Avoids inappropriate language. /3.

[PDF]The Intensified Socratic Seminar Assessment Guide - Edutopia
EdutopiaThe Intensified Socratic Seminar Assessment Guide. All students start with a grade of 100%. As a grader, you can subtract points if people do not follow the.

[DOC]Socratic Seminar: Participant Rubric
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation SEMINAR: GM Foods: Friend or Foe. Socratic Seminar Guidelines and Rubric. Guidelines for Participating. Come prepared. Bring notes and info that is relevant ...

[PDF]socratic seminar: a teacher resource packet - Blogs
THE QUESTION A Socratic Seminar opens with a question either posed by the ... THE LEADER In a Socratic Seminar, the leader plays a dual role as leader and ...... {irradiation Rubric ~86 points possinie. teacher may give points in itietween ...

[PDF]Page 1 SOCRATIC SEMINAR LEADER TRAINING TEACHER ...
Boulder Valley School DistrictSocratic Seminars and Standards. Socratic seminars align with the Common Core State Standards for. English/Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social ...