How do I prepare for a Socratic Seminar?
Summary: This is a tip sheet to prepare students for Dr. Callahan’s Socratic Seminars. A Socratic Seminar is a dialogue to discuss a chapter within your textbook. You’ve probably already noticed that your book is different than a typical textbook. The Socratic Seminars will allow you to fully explore the primary sources provided. When participating in a Seminar, you don’t need to raise your hand. If you have a brilliant idea, speak up!
Preferably, the following steps should be completed several days before the day of the Socratic Seminar. Some chapters contain difficult primary sources to grasp, so it is in your best interest to do the reading ahead of time. Planning ahead also gives you time the night before to reread your notes.
STEP 1: To start reading, grab
- your textbook
- pen or pencil
- a highlighter that will not be too dark to read through
- sticky notes (These can be used if you’re hesitant about writing in the textbook).
STEP 2: Read “The Problem” section. This section is the general overview of the chapter topic or the typical Western Civilization textbook explanation. It’s also an awesome way to get a general feel for the context of the sources.
STEP 3: Read the “Source and Method” section with care.
- Post-it/highlight/asterisk each area in the section when the author starts writing about individual sources. (You’ll understand why in the next step).
- Whatever you do, don’t skip this section! The “Source and Method” section gives the reader the building blocks to understand the context of each primary source.
STEP 4: On to “The Evidence” section of the chapter.
- These are the primary sources that broadly fall into two categories – written and visual sources.
- Before reading any source, flip back to the “Source and Method” section to read the background information again. Just read about that one source.
o When you’re all done with the first source, flip back to the “Source and Method” section to read the background about source two.
o Then continue to read source two.
o Even though it seems time consuming, it’s the best way to make sure you understand the background of each source. Another plus is that the information is fresh in your mind as you read the primary source.
Written Primary Sources:
- For written sources, note who wrote the source.
- If you have a question while reading the section, write it down in the margins or on a sticky note.
- If something shocks you, write “wow” in the margins.
- Little notes to yourself give you more to look at when you’re involved in a fast-paced Socratic Seminar.
- Try reading near a computer. If you have a word/term that is unfamiliar to you, Google it.
Visual Primary Sources:
- Don’t breeze by a picture source!
- Take some time looking at whatever the visual source is and write what you see.
- Ask these questions to yourself:
o What does it mean?
o Are there any symbolic meanings?
o Can the picture be placed within a historical context?
- If you know architectural elements or any other technical terms from prior knowledge, write it down.
****Remember, if you get stuck on one source, don’t stop and give up on the whole chapter! Write or sticky note that you had problems understanding a source and use that as one of your comments for the beginning of the Socratic Seminar. Try moving on to another source, and most importantly, don’t get discouraged.****
STEP 5: Read the “Questions to Consider” section.
- While reading, think about the connections you saw through the sources.
- Answer the questions mentally as you read.
- If you find that you are losing concentration by only answering the questions in your head, write some answers down in the margins.
- Focus on the questions from this section that make you cross reference multiple primary sources.
- Try answering the questions from sources that you didn’t understand.
- Synthesize the information!
Quick note: The “Questions to Consider” section is also to the place to start compiling questions if you are asked to be a leader of a Socratic Seminar.
STEP 6: Read the last section titled the “Epilogue.” It never hurts to get one last overview. Sometimes this section also gives a summary of what happened in history after the source material time period.
STEP 7: What’s next? Try revisiting your text book/notes the night before the Socratic Seminar. Read over your notes and highlighted phrases to keep the topic fresh in your mind.
STEP 8 (Socratic Seminar day): Generally, Dr. Callahan asks if the whole class— one at a time— could comment on the chapter or ask any questions regarding the reading. Be prepared for the question! Since you’ve taken such great notes, find two ideas that you found intriguing to talk about when it is your turn. Always have a back up for those pesky students who steal your first idea. If you have a question about a source, ask during this “round robin” time. Also, keep a notebook handy to write any ideas that your fellow classmates talk about that are unique or seem interesting.
General rules for a Socratic Seminar:
- Reference sources!!! Try always giving specific information to back up your ideas, and say what page number you are getting your information from in the book.
- Be courteous of other students and their ideas.
- Don’t panic if there’s a long pause! Take that time to either add on to the previous topic or to change the topic.
- Generally there will be certain people who take charge of the Seminar. Use their energy to get into the conversation. Add your ideas.
- Lastly, don’t be afraid to speak.
Good Luck J
