The more Daniels and Zemelman detailed out the concept of
book clubs in content areas, the more I realized that my AP Literature teacher
had done almost every step in my class. While the whole class would read the
same text, we would break into two “Socratic seminars” with an inner and outer
circle. The inner circle would discuss the section while outer circle listened,
took notes, and scored a randomly assigned inner circle student on some of the
criteria listed on pages 254 and 255. We would do this for almost any material
we read, including poems and song lyrics. While this instance is slightly
different from the book clubs described in the book, I can connect the benefits
of hearing other students’ perspectives on the same text. I believe that it is
impossible to read any text the same way twice. The time will always be
different, you will have different experiences and perspectives the second time,
and different people will notice different things. Hearing what another student
absorbed from the same text you read gives every reader a “second reading” of
the material. This pushes students to question their views in reference to
others views, which encourages them to be active in the reading process. Smaller
groups than the half class seminars we had in my AP Literature class will
promote deeper and more involved discussions as there is more time for each
student to speak and to listen.
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Hey Maddie,
ReplyDeleteMy AP Lit and Lang Classes did the same thing with the inside and outside circles for Socratic seminars; definitely better than writing a paper or taking a test on a book. And where I see totally how it is a great strategy for an ELA class, I question its usefulness in a Math or Science class (selfish motives as a future math teacher). Also, love the Gilmore Girls meme!
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Hmmm.... What if you assigned a group a very difficult, multistep word problem, and that group becomes in the inner circle while the outer circle listens to how they work together to solve the problem? As a math teacher, can you see any potential benefits to that?
DeleteThanks, Maddie. The socratic seminar method is incredibly popular in ELA classes around the country. It's being used so much, in fact, it may even be getting stale for a lot of students. I bet there are teachers innovating on that method as we speak. Regarding Sarah's concerns, do you see a place for socratic seminar in your future class?
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