What is a Socratic Seminar?

Your next question may be, "can I do this with my elementary aged students?"   

A Socratic Seminar is a discussion method begun by, guess who?  Anyone? Bueller? :)

Socrates. Of course!

His method of creating learners who can think and articulate answers for themselves taught his students to discuss their ideas.  In elementary schools, where I have spent most of my teaching career,  I began to use the Socratic Seminar Method with third graders.  Since then, I've utilized Socratic Seminars for kids as young as first grade with great success.  One of the biggest buy-ins for students is understanding that what you are going to have them do is actually on a high school or college level.  They love to hear that.  

Success breeds success

Just determine you will try it out. Soon, you will have a group of students who can carry on an academic discussion, and all you had to do was find really good literature, choose the best topics/questions for discussion, and teach them the norms.  Success at this level is very rewarding for your students.  They know they are doing something amazing.  

Practice makes better. 

You will have to give them practice time to learn the norms and become fearless to express themselves.  This means you have to have a safe environment where nobody laughs at anybody because of their opinions or thoughts. You also have to teach elementary students how to accept and welcome answers different from their own and not become offended when someone disagrees.  You will need to teach polite sentence stems to begin a differing opinion.  Students will learn to use these and they may even spill over into other academic activities.  I have definitely noticed this happen in my classes.  

What to do

1. Find a couple of great story books that have strong themes (middle school students love story books...they just don't want to check them out from the library.  This gives them permission to read great stories.)  The books you choose are probably your favorite read-alouds anyway! These will be your "training books."  Novels can also be used, but short stories/books are best to start with. 

2. Write a few discussion topics.  Drag out the list of Bloom's Verbs that is probably in your files.  Find verbs from columns four or five that cause students to think critically.  You should pre-teach what the verbs mean. You should NEVER front-load ideas about the story prior to reading or conducting a Socratic Seminar.  Your topics/questions should not have a correct answer.  No literal questions allowed. 

3. Tell the students what you are going to do after the book.  Go over the norms.  Find some videos on YouTube of younger kids having Socratic Seminars.  

4. Read the story book. (Remember, no front-loading or pre-teaching outside of going over the norms and the few Bloom's Verbs.)  

5. Read the book again the next day if time allows.  

6. Conduct your first Socratic Seminar.  

This is not hard, friends.  It's not a secret, complicated method.  It just requires training and celebrating small successes.  We are at a place in my classroom where we set goals for our own personal participation and use rubrics to evaluate our participation.  My students write their own topics (I choose which ones we use), and they know how to use Bloom's Verbs (I tell them it's a list that only teachers had, and I'm SHARING it with them.  So coool.)

If you want support and some question stems to get you started, I do offer that in my TPT store.  Or, you can WING IT!  

I'm adding my Socratic Norms here for you to use:

TPT: Socratic Seminars for Younger Elementary Students

Let's Talk About GT-ness

What is your own definition of giftedness? Who comes to mind when you think of gifted individuals? Jot down your definition, then compare it to the information here or what you find online.  Why does a definition of giftedness matter? According to Jim Delisle, “The concept of giftedness is not limited to high intellectual ability.  It also comprises creativity, ability in specific academic areas, ability in visual or performing arts, social adeptness, and physical dexterity.” (Delisle, 17)  

The Texas state definition for gifted talented students states: 

“A gifted/talented student is a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who

• exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;

• possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or

• excels in a specific academic field. (Texas Education Code §29.121)”

I would imagine many states have something similar. How do states other than your own define gifted and talented? Contrary to what many people (including many educators) think, being in GT services is not a privilege or some sort of “award”.  Gifted children are amazing, but in addition to that, giftedness presents an educational need.  Gifted services are not something that should be withheld as punishment or used as a reward for performance.  I have seen both parents and teachers want to withhold services because of bad grades or behavior. That is comparable to taking someone's glasses away as punishment. Students need services to meet their unique needs...all students need their education needs met. Even though in some circles it may be a status symbol to have a child labeled as gifted, it is not a social club. The other side of that coin is that parents and students should not feel inferior if a student is denied services. We need to spread the word, that GT services fit an educational need, and if that need isn't there, then services aren't what is best for that student. I’ve had many parents inquire as to how they “sign up” their student to be in GT classes. It's okay to ask that question, but we also need to educate parents in our schools about when GT services are necessary and not necessary. A need to educate a community about giftedness should be met with interaction and readily available information.

An educational need for gifted services should be decided though various data collection and assessment. Services should be based on that educational need for differentiated, unique instructional, social/emotional activities.  In our district, we focus on critical thinking, research, communication, and creativity in order to meet the needs of our gifted students. 

Some kids think it’s not cool at all to be gifted, and as a result, they try to mask their abilities. Research has proven that kids as young as kindergarten may begin to mask their abilities in order to fit in.  Teaching GT students about who they are as gifted individuals will give them tools to overcome any stigma they perceive about their own giftedness. We want them to feel confident in who they are and hone and strengthen their abilities. Most states require that gifted students be allowed to work with their intellectual peers because it benefits them both academically and socially, which is why they should be together with other GT students for at least part of their day.    

I’d like to think that our gifted students are having their needs met through the GT services offered in our district, and I hope your district offers services as well.  It makes me happy that finally many students are receiving attention, challenge, and are hopefully enjoying GT time with their gifted peers!

Jim Delisle says, “...students have a right to education designed for their level of ability.  With few exceptions, they cannot and do not find their way on their own.” (Delisle 25)

The purpose of our GT time at school is to meet those enrichment or intervention needs for our kids. One of the myths that exists is that gifted students will succeed in life no matter what.  We all have to work together as their advocates and support systems.  Just like other myths and stereotypes that exist about our gifted students, this one is one of the most prevalent in my experience.  While we do have many very successful GT students in our district, many will falter without encouragement, nurturing, and training in how to cope with their exceptionalities.  I am encouraged every day when I see kids’ joy and smiles as we meet together.  I always tell them that they don’t have to be best friends with all other GT kids...but a family supports one another, and that’s what I encourage them to do. 

What are you doing to meet the needs of your advanced and gifted learners? Your definition of giftedness matters. It matters because it affects how you teach your advanced learners and how you perceive them. Is your classroom one that is under extreme pressure to focus solely on RTI? I know classroom teachers are desperately trying play catch up after the shut downs and inconsistencies COVID has created in our education systems. The learning gaps have become canyons. Please, please don't leave your gifted learners out of the intervention and enrichment times. We cannot afford to lose them. There are so many amazing resources at our fingertips that do not require a great deal of preparation. I challenge you to find a couple of things (such as Socratic Seminar or Genius Hour, for examples) in this new year to challenge and enrich the gifted learners in your classroom and in your school.

                                                                                                

Delisle, J. R., Galbraith, J., & Espeland, P. (2002). When gifted kids don't have all the answers: How to meet their social and  emotional needs. Free Spirit Publishing.

Teach Them to Ask Questions

We've all experienced this.  Children typically don't ask great questions.  Of course there is the occasional opportunity to say, "THAT was a great question!"  Don't we love those moments? It means somebody is listening; somebody is thinking!  What if kids were compelled to wonder? When it becomes a classroom norm for your kids to ask good questions, you, as the teacher are their model, you get the ball rolling. Lots of times questions are "off the cuff" (and there's nothing wrong with that because our teaching is fluid), but we might consider ramping up our own questioning strategies.  If we raise the level of our questions in our classroom, we raise the level of thinking. Kids will catch on to how good questions sound and look.  I use verbs from Bloom's Taxonomy every single time I plan (modeling questions for students.) From that list of action verbs come great questions, plans, and ideas. To up your question game, I suggest one great starting point...

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In the same way that publishing children's writing improves their writing, children improve their thinking, understanding, and confidence as we verbally praise and encourage good questions.  

Here is a link to a free "Planning Pal" I have created to give you a reference for planning great questions.  

Click here