Run a Socratic Seminar for any text in your 3rd-6th grade classroom with this comprehensive printable and digital resource complete with everything you need to ignite higher-level thinking, critical thinking, and depth & complexity. This is an excellent activity to extend ELA (reading & speaking) skills!
 
Student workbook, project templates, teaching slides, and much more are included. Students will make deeper connections to any text or topic through collaborative conversation and thoughtful reasoning. 
 
What is a Socratic Seminar?
Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher, is the inspiration behind Socratic Seminars. Socrates believed that the best way to gain knowledge was through the practice of disciplined conversation, and examining ideas logically.
 
The objective of a Socratic seminar is to have a deeper understanding of complex ideas through thoughtful and collaborative conversation (just like Socrates did). 
 
Socratic Seminars can be used with scholars of all ages! I’ve seen them run effectively with students as young as 2nd graders! Before the seminar, everyone in the group reads the same article, story, or looks at a topic. This gives everyone something to talk about. The discussion starts with an open-ended question, and everyone takes turns sharing thoughts, adding ideas supported by the text or topic, and listening to each other. This collaborative conversation leads to a higher-level thinking about the topic, and an understanding of different perspectives.
 
What’s included:
Step-by-Step Guide
Teaching Presentation Slides
Student Reference Pages & Workbook
Topic & Question Ideas
Dialogue VS Debate Page
Student “Note Catcher” templates
Socratic Seminar Tracking Sheets
Printable & Digital Options
Vocabulary Page & Posters
Socratic Roles Reference Page
Socratic Expectations
Seating Arrangement Templates
Sample Text to use for Socratic Seminar
Sentence Frames & Posters
Student Reflection Templates
Focus Wall/ Bulletin Materials
 
A full project outline is provided, however you can use the materials and activities in any way that works with your schedule.