SOCRATIC SEMINAR

Background information to help us prepare…

WHAT ARE THEY?

Socratic Seminars are named after

the Greek philosopher, Socrates

Believed in the power of asking

questions

“To make my contribution I must

Ask Questions, Speak the Truth,

Think for Myself, and Care for My

Soul”

WHAT ARE THEY? ( C O N T I N U E D )

By definition…

“The Socratic seminar is a formal discussion,

based on a text, in which the leader asks open-

ended questions. Within the context of the

discussion, students listen closely to the comments

of others, thinking critically for themselves, and

articulate their own thoughts and their

responses to the thoughts of others. They learn to

work cooperatively and to question intelligently

and civilly.”

LET’S TAKE A LOOK:

Let’s see how another school has used Socratic

Seminar!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pGVR6ZF_2M

WHAT STEPS WILL WE TAKE?

1. Read the text in an ACTIVE way (close read, “Mark it up!”, text

codes, annotation)

2. Plan for Socratic Circle: review any “Mark it up’s and preview

and plan out responses to questions… remember text support!

3. Inner circle (two responses with flipped cards)/outer circle

(feedback form and hot seat) responsibilities

4. Switch!

Socratic seminar feedback form.docx

IS THIS FOR A GRADE?!++ Score of 5: response is on topic, uses tex

t evidence, takes discussion to “the next leve

l” to move forward

√+ Score of 4: on topic, text evidence

√ Score of 3: related to topic, may be too gen

eral or too similar to another response

√-Score of 2: weak response, lacks (or irrelev

ant) text support

-Score of 1: no text evidence, simple self con

nection

Socratic seminar feedback form.docx