Lesson 7
As a class, we will participate in a Socratic Seminar to deepen our knowledge about communities, using evidence and examples from any of the texts we have read during the unit to respond to questions. Then, we will write short personal reflections about the seminar and our participation in the seminar.
Lesson Goals
Reading and Knowledge
- Determine Meaning and Purpose: How well do I use connections among details, elements, and effects to make logical deductions about authors’ perspectives, purposes, and meanings in texts?
- Compare and Connect: How well do I recognize points of connection among texts, textual elements, and perspectives to make logical, objective comparisons?
- Analyze Relationships: How well do I recognize and interpret important relationships among key details and ideas (characters, setting, tone, point of view, structure, development, etc.) within texts?
- Question: How well do I formulate and use questions to establish and deepen my understanding of texts?
Speaking and Listening
- Engage Actively: How well do I actively focus my attention on independent and collaborative tasks?
- Collaborate: How well do I work productively in various roles with other participants?
- Listen: How well do I pay attention to and acknowledge others while thoughtfully considering their ideas?
Texts
Core
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- Chapter 4, excerpt from Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance, HarperCollins Publishers, 2016
- “Stoop Sitting,” excerpt from The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo, HarperCollins Publishers, 2018
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- “If They Should Come for Us,” Fatimah Asghar, Poetry, March 2017
- “‘Where I’m From’: A Crowdsourced Poem That Collects Your Memories of Home,” Casey Noenickx, Kwame Alexander, and Rachel Martin, National Public Radio, August 28, 2019
Materials
Tools
Reference Guides
Question Sets
Editable Google Docs
Activity 1: Listen – Discuss
We will review the norms of a Socratic Seminar and prepare to have an effective seminar.
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).
Take one minute to create a list in your Learning Log of possible norms for class discussion.
Share your ideas as your teacher charts everyone’s ideas in order to collaboratively create norms for your Socratic Seminar.
Activity 2: Listen – Write
We will prepare to engage in a Socratic Seminar to deepen our understanding of community.
Step 1
A successful Socratic Seminar requires that you have read the text closely and that, during the discussion, you review your notes and annotations and articulate your ideas clearly. The expectation is that everyone participates in the discussion.
We will engage in discussion through use of the series of discussion strategies listed below:
pose meaningful questions which propel the conversation
ask clarifying questions
respectfully challenge perspectives
build upon the ideas of others with additional evidence or ideas
synthesize the ideas of your peers
Step 2
On your Discussion Tool, write down the following discussion question:
What does it mean to belong to a community?
Write down your initial claims and supporting evidence in the During the Discussion section.
Step 3
Review your Vocabulary Journal. Identify significant words that you would like to use during the seminar. Write them down on your Discussion Tool.
Activity 3: Discuss
We will engage in a Socratic Seminar to deepen our understanding of community.
Step 1
Begin the seminar by identifying the most important word, phrase, or line from one of the poems in the unit. Share this word, phrase, or sentence with the class. Don’t explain your rationale for your choice, just share your word, phrase, or sentence.
Utilizing evidence from the poems you have read during the unit, you will use the following questions to guide the Socratic Seminar:
What does it mean to belong to a community?
Which text provides the most compelling examination of community? Why?
For homework, you wrote three open-ended, thought-provoking questions. During the seminar, use those questions to inspire discussion, exchange ideas with your classmates, and deepen your understanding of community.
Use the texts you have read to pose new questions, support your responses to your classmates’ questions, and develop a more critical understanding of community.
Step 2
After the discussion, reflect on your learning and participation. Complete Section 3 of the Discussion Tool.
Activity 4: Write – Discuss
We will reflect on our work on the Section Diagnostic and assess how prepared we are for the Culminating Task.
Choose at least three of the questions below and respond to them in your Learning Log:
How well did you take necessary action to prepare for the task?
What went well for you during the completion of this task?
What did you struggle with during the completion of this task? How did you push through that struggle?
How well did you actively focus your attention during this independent task?
How well did you develop and use an effective and efficient process to maintain workflow during this task?
What would you do differently during the next Section Diagnostic?
Review your Culminating Task Progress Tracker. Think about all you have learned and done during this section of the unit. Evaluate your skills and knowledge to determine how prepared you are for the Culminating Task.
Add or refine any skills and content knowledge required for the Culminating Task.
Evaluate how well you are mastering skills and knowledge required for the Culminating Task.
Activity 5: Read – Write
For homework, we will read Chapter 4 of J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy.
For homework, read Chapter 4 of Hillbilly Elegy. While reading, annotate the text regarding the descriptive words and phrases Vance employs to illustrate his community to his readers.