by Presto Plans
Have you ever wondered if a Socratic seminar might be fun to try with your middle or high school ELA students? These student-led discussions allow participants to explore a topic (or an entire text) through open-ended questions and critical dialogue. But there's a catch! In a true Socratic seminar, there is no "leader" (teacher or student) who facilitates the discussion. Instead, all students share in the conversation by directly responding to - or building on - each others' ideas. The conversation flows freely, and when someone wants to share an idea or ask a question, they jump right in.
I love Socratic seminars in the upper middle school and high school grades for so many reasons. I find this method encourages students to analyze multiple perspectives and practice active listening skills as they engage in meaningful discussion with their peers. If you're looking for an opportunity to step back and let your students take the lead, here's how I like to approach Socratic seminars from start to finish.
1. Set Clear Expectations and Norms
Because the goal of a Socratic seminar is for students to keep the discussion flowing, I find it useful to begin by setting some ground rules. Establishing clear expectations for respectful discussion can create a safe framework for students to express their thoughts and ideas.
Here are some of the norms I like to share with a class before they get started:
- Stay on topic
- Speak one at a time/avoid interrupting other
- Respect different perspectives
- Keep the discussion focused on evaluating ideas, not judging individual
- Assume good intentions and give others the benefit of the doubt
Some students might be a little apprehensive about trying something new. Not to worry! You are here to guide them through the entire process from start to finish.
2. Select Engaging, Thought-Provoking Topics
The secret to a successful Socratic seminar is choosing a topic that students find relevant and interesting. Depending on how you structure your seminars, you might offer students a few different choices to select from. Alternatively, you might run a few Socratic seminars throughout your course on diverse topics that incorporate students' interests and various points of view.
Socratic seminars can be based on a thought-provoking question, an issue for students to problem-solve, or relate to a work of literature. As long as the topic supports lively discussion and incorporates multiple perspectives, almost anything goes!
Here are some seminar topics that, in my experience, always get students talking:
- Will AI make our world better or worse?
- Should we go to Mars?
- Should school start times be later in the day?
- Should there be age limits for certain sports?
- Should we capture life on social media or live in the moment?
3. Build Background Knowledge with Pre-Reading Materials
One important thing to remember - especially in middle and high school - is that not all students have the same level of background information on any given topic. I find it useful to establish a level playing field by providing students with accessible background information. One thing I like to do to set the stage is show a high-interest video (like these hand-drawn ones from Dr. John Spencer from Spencer Education) to get students thinking about the topic. To make this even more accessible, providing a video transcript can be especially helpful for students who could benefit from reading along.
From here, I also have students read a relevant article related to the topic and provide a vocabulary preview to help students understand important terms and definitions related to the topic of their discussion.
4. Prepare Students for the Discussion
As students begin to prepare for their Socratic seminar, a graphic organizer can help them track their thoughts. For example, in a discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence, students may wish to record some key details or keep a "pros" and "cons" list as they learn about the impact of AI from social, political, and economic perspectives.
From here, they can then discuss what they have researched from the video and the article and reflect on their understanding. For this step, I break students up into small groups for a round-robin discussion to help them gain some additional perspectives on the issue.
Questions like these can help to guide this discussion:
- Do you agree with the text? Why or why not?
- How does this text relate to your world?
- Where can you find evidence to back up the main idea? (What evidence might contradict it?)
- What can you clarify about the text?
After this discussion wraps up, I ask students to return to their own seats and personally reflect on the issue. This helps to refine their reasoning before the discussion and anticipate counter-arguments that other students might make.
5. Facilitate a Structured (but Student-Led) Discussion
Now, it's time for the fun to begin! For me, the hardest part of running a Socratic seminar is removing "myself" from the conversation - but it's also the most rewarding! Turning the control over to the students provides them with the freedom and flexibility to explore their ideas and consider new perspectives.
Before students get started, I briefly remind them of the discussion norms. At this time, I also like to provide a handout with suggestions for sentence stems to initiate a discussion, agree with another student's argument, or respectfully disagree with someone's ideas. These sentence starters can also be used to build on another student's thought or to clarify a point of information.
Once the discussion is underway, I like to let students take the lead - intervening only to facilitate if the discussion gets too off-topic or to give a warning about how much time remains. More often than not, I find that students are usually quite engaged in the discussion and that they are keen to follow the structure of the seminar. While they are speaking, I like to take some quick notes, tracking each student's contribution.
6. Debrief and Reflect
I believe there is real value in a post-discussion reflection - for students, and for the teacher, too! A reflective conversation after the seminar can reinforce learning and help students identify areas of strength and growth to be aware of for the next discussion.
Reflections can take many different forms. Sometimes, I like to share a response sheet to provide structure for students as they analyze their own participation and the group's discussion. Other times, a journal prompt offers a more free-form approach to reflection. I might also have students self-assess their contributions to the seminar using a rubric and then compare their assessment to my observations and notes. This collaborative assessment can help to provide constructive feedback and encourage growth.
If you've never tried a Socratic seminar in middle or high school ELA before, they can provide an awesome way to help students develop discussion and critical thinking skills. I hope this post gives you lots of ideas for how to make one work in your classroom!
Looking for more resources and ideas for great class discussions in middle school ELA? Check out these great links from my friends here at the Secondary English Coffee Shop!
Socratic Seminar for End of Year Review by The Daring English Teacher
Scaffolding Speaking Skills for Student Success by Room 213
