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 contributing-

add something valuable to the conversation, and support your ideas

My Expectations for this seminarDid 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• 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 ResponsesBook 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.