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Tasks for Both Inner & Outer Socratic Circles
One common approach to Socratic Seminars is to form an outer circle of students to observe an inner circle of their peers. In this set-up, the inner circle engages in discussion while the outer circle...
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Spiderman + Therapy = Theme
As English teachers, our usual approach into literature is inductive. We read a poem aloud — usually two or three times — perhaps ask students to mark it up or analyze it in pairs or a group, and then...
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S & L — The Common Core’s Biggest Challenge
The Common Core focuses on reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language, but the only undercover agents in the bunch are speaking and listening. Sure, as English teachers, we say our kids...
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Wedding Academic Conversations with Literary Analysis ~ Idea of the Week #48
Is there a cuter couple than academic conversation betrothing literary analysis (to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, and ditch the rice, please, because it’s slippery)? For me, the shocker...
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Recursive Writing, Speaking, and Listening ~ Idea of the Week #51
Recursive. According to the Oxford Dictionaries online site, it means “characterized by recurrence or repetition, in particular.” The word comes from the Latin recurs, or “returned,” and has been...
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Prep Steps for Robert Frost’s “Birches” ~ Idea of the Week #56
One of my favorite poems is Robert Frost’s “Birches.” These poetic trees are rooted in some fertile ground for discussion because the poem offers multiple interpretations. And much like Mark Twain’s...
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Using Socratics for Essay Preparation
Tomorrow we end our Night unit with an in-class, open-book, timed essay. To improve students’ chances of writing substantive papers, I will divide today’s “review” class into three segments: 10 minutes...
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Variations on a Theme of Socrates
“Variations on a Theme of Socrates.” It may not be up there with Paganini, but in yesterday’s class it was the background music for my latest discoveries. What did I learn during yesterday’s Socratic...
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Three Parts Aristotle, One Part Socrates
After introducing Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle, I always look for a high-interest opinion column so students can get their feet wet first as readers before moving up to the more difficult task of...
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To Hone Speaking Skills, Stress Listening Skills
In a meeting yesterday, the 8th grade teachers were discussing progress on our SMART goal around academic conversations and changes we might make for next year. We wondered if more basic exercises...
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