Contract during A Socratic Seminar

 

• Talk to each other, not just to the discussion leader or teacher.
• Refer to evidence from the text to support your ideas.
• Ask questions if you do not understand what someone has said, or you can paraphrase what another student has said for clarification (“I think you said this; is that right?”).
• You do not need to raise your hand to speak, but please pay attention to your “airtime”—how much you have spoken in relation to other students.
• Don’t interrupt.
• Don’t “put down” the ideas of another student. Without judging the student you disagree with, state your alternate interpretation or ask a follow-up question to help probe or clarify an idea.
• Common statements or questions used during a Socratic Seminar activity include:
  • Where does that idea come from in the text?
  • What does this word or phrase mean?
  • Can you say that in another way?
  • Is this what you mean to say...?
  • What do you think the author is trying to say?
  • What else could that mean?
  • Who was the audience for this text? How does that shape our interpretation of these words?
  • Who was the author of this text? What do we know about him/her? How does that shape our understanding of these words?