If you are confused by something on your handouts...
If you just need some reassurance and clarification before our seminar on block day...
THIS IS THE POST FOR YOU!
This post contains everything we've done the past three days to prep for our Socratic Seminar on Wednesday, February 28th and Thursday, March 1st.
Below is one of the more important handouts. It was printed in class on purple cardstock.
There are 3 types of questions on this handout:
- Level 1 Plot Questions - These questions are OPTIONAL. You should really only complete these two questions if you literally didn't understand something about the book and you absolutely need clarification!
- Examples: How did Equality escape from the Palace of Corrective Detention? Why don't they have electricity? What did they find in the house at the end? (*SPOILERS*)
- Analysis Questions - "Analysis" really just means breaking down a whole into parts and looking more closely at the parts. This is any kind of question that generates conversation (not just a simple question-answer interaction) between multiple individuals. It could be about a particular concept (Rand's philosophy, point of view, etc.), symbols (lightbulb, books, colors, the forest, etc.), or a part of the plot (Liberty and Equality's relationship, the rules of the City, the end of the book, etc.). Your study guide questions are a good place to start, but be sure you are asking a question that will generate a conversation, not just a simple recall answer.
- Examples: Do you think Liberty and Equality are ready to be parents? Do you think Prometheus and Gaea are appropriate names for them? Why did Ayn Rand have Equality build a lightbulb as opposed to something else?
- "Light Conversation" Questions - These are the "gossip-y" type questions you ask as the seminar gets rolling and maybe begins wrapping up. They are not questions that require a huge depth of thought to answer, but you have to have read the book to be able to answer it.
- Examples: If you could ask Ayn Rand one thing, what would you ask? If there were a sound track for this book, what songs would be on it? If you lived in this society and Equality came back to save you, would you go?
The only requirements for it to be smart are:
- You are passionate about it
- You can talk about it for at least 15 seconds
You also need PAGE NUMBERS that give an example of what you are asking about or prove your answer. These page numbers aren't for me. They are for you! The less time you spend flipping through your book, the more time you have during the seminar to contribute and earn credit!
This is the tracking sheet we will use on block day. You don't have to do anything with it until the day of the seminar. It was printed on bright green cardstock.
This packet is full of optional resources. It lists types of questions to ask and even gives question stems. It is NOT a required assignment. It is meant to be a "resource" or helpful tool.
Remember, students who are not prepared on block day will be given an alternative assignment that will take the entire class period to complete.
Not sure what a Socratic Seminar is?
Well, in class today, we watched part of a video that demonstrates a real Socratic Seminar! You can see it below. A few notes though:
- In the video, you'll see the kids have red cups on their desks. This is a tracking tool used by the teacher. We will not be using that.
- These students are discussing gender roles as a pre-reading activity. They have not yet read the text and so most of their answers are references to their personal experiences. In our seminar, you should be referring to the book just as often as your own experiences.
- The outer circle is interacting by providing feedback digitally. They are not just chilling on their phones.
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