What is a Socratic Circle?
- Provides an opportunity for everyone to participate through speaking and listening
- Opportunity for greater understanding of material
- Allows us to communicate information and ideas in a style that is often appropriate to the audience and purpose
Some Tips:
- 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. For example: “I think you said this, is that right?”
- You do not need to raise your hands 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 who you may 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 include:
- 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?
- 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?