Today was an amazing day in the classroom. The students’ level of engagement in the discussion was at a distinguished level. The students took control of their learning, and I become a spectator watching the students become independent thinkers~ A teacher’s highest hope!
Let’s look back at the lessons that occurred leading up to today.
As you learned in a previous blog post, we have been reading about courageous characters~ specifically how a writer crafts a person/character to exhibit the quality of courage.
This week we read and watched an interview about Malala Y. This topic naturally brought inquiry questions. One of the categories on the note taking graphic organizer is questions. Students naturally have questions, this space is a place to record the questions. I am constantly reminding students to write down the questions they have. I can tell from the students questions if they have understood the piece or if there is confusing. Below is an example of one of the graphic organizers we filled out throughout the week.
Note taking Graphic Organizer
Next, we clarified understanding of the article and video. We compared and contrasted the presentation of the information in both pieces. Thinking about how the video may have clarified or enhanced their thinking about Malala. I knew by the end of the activity, the students had a clear understanding of the topic, and a discussion would be a powerful tool to extend thinking.
Today’s lesson incorporated many elements. First we reviewed what a Socratic Seminar entailed. It is a discussion based on questioning in order to find deeper meaning behind a concept, text, etc. There is a inner circle and outer circle. The inner circle consists of half of the class. They discuss the text through questions they had, building on ideas, and clarifying understanding. The outer circle observes the conversation and provides feedback on what they noticed about discussion (the glows and grows).
We started by reviewing collaborative group strategies.
We also discussed how to clarify understanding of the topic. For example, one student brought up a point and all the students went WHAT??? I asked them how does that make a person feel. What could you have said?
- What did you mean by that?
- I am not following your thinking, could you explain your thinking further?
Then we discussed how the Socratic Seminar was going to work. The students were given two poker chips~ they were required to speak a minimum of two times. The chips would be a cue for students to bring in students who have not contributed to the discussion yet.. Then to keep the outer circle involved, I added another element, Todaysmeet.com.
Today’s Meet is a back channel that can be used in the classroom to create further conversation. The students in the outer circle were to comment on, add questions, and provide notes related to the discussion. The students’ comments were projected on the screen in the classroom so the students in the inner circle could see them. This could provide a spring board for the discussion for the inner circle if no one could add on to the discussion. Below are the links to the two conversations of the outer circle on Todaysmeet..
As the students were discussing, I took notes on questions asked, adding to the discussion, respectfully disagreeing, using evidence from the texts, and inviting others into the conversation. Below is the way I tracked student participation in the discussion.
I am editing the Socratic Seminar video this weekend. I look forward to sharing it soon! Here is a couple pictures of what it looked like.
Have a wonderful weekend!
