In a Socratic Seminar activity, students help one another understand the ideas, issues, and values reflected in a text through a group discussion format. Students are responsible for facilitating their group discussion around the ideas in the text; they shouldn’t use the discussion to assert their opinions or prove an argument. Through this type of discussion, students practice how to listen to one another, make meaning, and find common ground while participating in a conversation.
This brainstorming exercise is a quick way to generate students’ thoughts, measure prior knowledge, or check learning.
Help students strengthen their literacy skills by increasing the complexity of the questions they need to answer about a text.
Ensure students’ reading comprehension by emphasizing a purposeful reading and rereading of a text.
Create a practice of student journaling to help students critically examine their surroundings and make informed judgments.