Do you have Socratic Seminar questions? Below I will share with you a quick overview of Socratic Seminars and answer many common questions about Socratic Seminars.
Socratic Seminars are a great way to engage students and increase target language output in your class. Sound too good to be true? Find out more info below about how you can get started with a Socratic Seminar in your class today!
1. What is it?
It is a student led discussion based on a prompt. (That is the very watered down, straight-up definition). Your prompt should be level appropriate and thought provoking. Some possibilities are: discussion questions, videos, podcasts, articles, and short stories. You need to give your students ample time to do preparation on their own before coming in and participating in the Socratic Seminar in class.
2. What do I do? What do my students do?
Your role is the facilitator of the conversation. You can jump in and help students along but only when then really need you. Otherwise, you should be listening to their thoughts, answers, opinions, and probing for more when necessary.
Your students are leading the discussion. They choose the themes/questions to discuss and amongst themselves continue the conversation. They may be questioning one another, debating, complementing, story-telling and even making jokes!
3. Why should I try this?
There are SO many reasons!
- Your students will be engaged and completely speaking in the target language (if that’s not enough for you, keep reading!)
- Your students will be practicing and utilizing critical thinking skills.
- It is a great way for your students to get individual time to practice speaking in front of you (because honestly, how many opportunities do we have to hear them each speak in the target language in class?)
- It builds classroom community. Your students will learn about each other, learn to respect differing opinions and respect each other’s language acquisition journey.
- Your administrator will see this, walk in and LOVE it! (Although we should never do things just because our administrators love it, it is a nice perk!)
4. Can I use this in my Lower Level Classes?
Absolutely! In fact, they would greatly benefit from this type of spontaneous and natural conversation. In order for it to be successful, you will have to provide them will more support. This can be done through word walls, anchor charts, lists of key phrases, words/phrases on the board, etc. You will also have to design open-ended questions that they will be able to answer (level appropriate).
Some great Socratic Seminar questions are opinion based because you know they will make for great conversation. Some examples are, “What is the best music group?” “Who is the best athlete?” “What is the best activity to do on the weekend?” You want to plant the seed for a mini debate so that students are immediately engaged and are excited, WANTING to share their voice and opinions.
5. When can I get started?
Sure, you can absolutely start tomorrow however, you should always give your students time to prepare and establish clear expectations. They need to understand their role in the Socratic Seminar and exactly what kind of preparation they should be doing. I suggest doing a demonstration in class for 15 minutes or so where you explicitly teach them how to look at part of an article, take out key information and use it to form opinions and questions. This will give them clear direction and will greatly improve the quality of your Socratic Seminar. I usually assign the prompt with 3-4 days of independent preparation before hosting the Socratic Seminar in class.
Be patient, each one will get a little better as your students adjust to this new style of discussion. As they grow more comfortable with the Socratic Seminar questions and with each other, it will become a great natural conversation that happens organically in your class.
I can’t wait for you to get started! Make sure to let me know how it goes and reach out if you need any help along the way!
Want some ready to go Socratic Seminar prompts? Check these out:
Socratic Seminar: Leisure & Travel
Looking for more ways to get your students speaking in class? Try Vision Boards in the WL Classroom! They are highly engaging and will definitely get your students speaking.
