Lesson 9

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, Penguin Random House, 1994

• • “The Second Coming,” William Butler Yeats, Public Domain, 1919

Materials

Tools

• Attending to Details Tool

• Discussion Tool

Reference Guides

• Academic Discussion Reference Guide

Editable Google Docs

• Attending to Details Tool

• Discussion Tool

Activity 1: Discuss

We will review the norms for Socratic Seminars and prepare to have an effective seminar.

Step 1

At the end of the section, you will participate in a Socratic Seminar in which you analyze how the author uses characterization, plot, and stylistic devices to build up the tension in Part 2 of the novel. Today you will practice the protocols of a seminar.

Step 2

You might be wondering what a Socratic Seminar is and why we conduct them.

A Socratic Seminar is a student-led dialogue in which participants use open-ended questions to gain a deeper and more robust understanding of the ideas and values in a text or the connections across multiple texts. The purpose of a seminar is not to argue for a particular view or interpretation, but to ask questions, posit your own thinking, listen to others' responses, and expand your views of the texts and topics. Each participant's voice is equal, and there are no experts.

Different perspectives and analyses of the texts are critical: they help all participants see multiple sides of complex ideas, issues, and topics, expanding everyone's understanding. During a seminar, it is important to pose questions that elicit discussion, not a simple right-or-wrong or yes-or-no answer.

As such, it is critical that questions in a Socratic Seminar are open-ended (they elicit multiple perspectives), thought-provoking (they challenge you to evaluate text and synthesize your ideas), and clear (they are easily understandable).

Step 3

With your classmates, create norms for a Socratic Seminar.

Activity 2: Write

We will use the Attending to Details Tool to prepare for our Socratic Seminar.

Work with a partner or in a small group to complete your Attending to Details Tool, using the following question to guide your responses:

1. Why might Achebe allude to “The Second Coming” in the text and title of Things Fall Apart?

Activity 3: Discuss

We will prepare for our Socratic Seminar.

Step 1

A successful Socratic Seminar requires you to have read the text closely, reviewed your notes and annotations, and prepared to articulate your ideas clearly. The expectation is that everyone participates in the discussion. You can engage in the discussion through the following discussion strategies:

• posing meaningful questions that propel the conversation

• asking clarifying questions

• respectfully challenging perspectives

• building on others’ ideas by providing additional evidence or ideas

• synthesizing your peers’ ideas

Step 2

On your Discussion Tool, write the following discussion question:

1. Why might Achebe allude to “The Second Coming” in the text and title of Things Fall Apart?

Write down your initial claims and evidence in the During the Discussion section of the Discussion Tool.

Step 3

Consider Things Fall Apart, “The Second Coming,” and any other text you have read in this unit. Write two open-ended, thought-provoking questions you would like to discuss during the Socratic Seminar. Reference the following examples of strong question frames:

• What do you think about _____?

• What evidence from the text supports your belief?

• What is the relationship between _____ and _____?

• What do the texts say about _____?

• What about this perspective do you agree or disagree with?

• What significance is this to _____? If _____ is true, then _____?

Below are questions to avoid:

• questions that are too vague (these invoke uncertainty in other group members)

• questions that are too general (these do not ensure understanding)

• yes-or-no questions (these do not elicit discussion)

Write down your questions in your Learning Log.

Activity 4: Discuss

We will engage in a Socratic Seminar.

Begin the seminar by asking one of your open-ended questions to the group. Anyone can respond and start a discussion. Remember, this is a discussion, not a question-and-answer session.

Continue the discussion by asking other open-ended questions and responding to your peers’ questions. Remember to use textual evidence to support your responses and observations.

Activity 5: Write

We will write a paragraph analyzing the author’s choice of title for Things Fall Apart.

For homework, write an extended paragraph in which you analyze Achebe’s choice of title for Things Fall Apart. In your analysis, be sure to do the following:

• Consider what was discussed during the Socratic Seminar.

• Include the claim from your Attending to Details Tool.

• Use evidence from the poem and the novel to support your claim.

• Analyze your evidence and provide a conclusion that wraps up your main idea.

• Be sure to cite your evidence correctly using MLA formatting.