Socratic Seminar Showdown! Engage Your Students in Discussion

Socratic Seminar Resources to use for any discussion

 At one point or another, every teacher has written in their lesson plans "Students will engage in a discussion on (insert topic of lesson here)." But what really happens when you have a whole class discussion?

In most classrooms this is what a "whole class" discussion looks like: You, as the teacher, pose some thought provoking questions to the class. A few students raise their hands (usually the ones who always have their hands up anytime you ask a question) and offer their response. And while you might occasionally call on a student who doesn't have his or her hand up, by the end of the "whole class" discussion, you have only actively engaged a handful of your class in the conversation. The majority of the class is usually left passive, despite your best efforts to include as many students as possible. The other issue with traditional "whole class" discussions is that you, as the teacher, are doing the most work because you are leading the discussion, generating the questions, and are keeping it going. Why not put the onus back on your students and allow them to take charge of the conversation?

Socratic Seminar is an excellent way to accomplish this. This activity allows all of your students to participate in the class discussion, whether they happen to be speaking or not! It also addresses the Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards, which sometimes fall to the wayside when there is such a focus on reading comprehension and writing to help students meet the expectations of state tests.

If you're unfamiliar with Socratic Seminar, here's how it works:

• Pick a topic you want your students to discuss, based on what you're teaching
• Assign your students material to read, based on the topic
• It could be a chapter in a novel, a chapter in a text book, or an article
• In my class, I usually assign students a packet of multiple sources, so they have more to discuss
• You can also give students a variety of different types of sources to make for a more interesting conversation
• For example: When I do Socratic Seminar for Fahrenheit 451, I have students read a selection of pages from the novel and assign them various non fiction articles to read to assess whether or not Bradbury was prophetic in his visions of the future. This allows them to make connections between fiction and nonfiction resources.
•  Tell your students to annotate the source or to take notes. They should be encouraged to write down any questions, make connections, and highlight important quotes that they can use to support their opinions in a discussion
• If it is your students' first time doing this activity, you might want to give them a few questions to focus on, so they have a starting point for their conversation
• The next day, arrange the desks in your room into two circles - a small circle of 4-6 chairs in the middle of the room (depending on how many students you want to participate in the conversation at a time) and a larger circle with the rest of the desks in the room that surrounds the inner circle
• Before the conversation begins, I usually review the focus or the topic of the conversation with my students, as well as go over appropriate conversation behaviors that I want to see in the circle, and negative ones I want them to avoid
• Assign 4-6 students to be the first to go in the inner circle or take any students willing to volunteer as tribute!
• Be sure to tell the chosen ones for the inner circle that the rest of their classmates will not be spared! When I do Socratic Seminar, I make sure EVERYONE goes in the inner circle, so everyone in the class will have an opportunity to take part in the discussion
•  Set a timer (I usually give students about ten minutes) and write some focus questions on the board to help the students get back on track if there is a lull in the conversation
• Sit back, and watch the conversation unfold - completely generated by your students!

Outer Circle Overview

What does everyone else in the class do do while your 4-6 students are having a conversation? They listen, of course! How do you know if they're listening? You have to give them something to do and hold them accountable, otherwise, as teenagers tend to do, they will tune out. While the inner circle is having the conversation, the outer circle has to fill out an overview worksheet of the conversation. This worksheet requires them to critique the conversation behaviors of the whole group by noting conversational strengths and weaknesses, and also select an individual in the group to give feedback to. Additionally, students can record their own thoughts, comments, and questions that they would have said if they were a member of the inner circle. I also ask students to evaluate the most important topic the group discussed and list any important topics that they may have not discussed in the time allotted. After the inner circle is done, I also usually go around the outer circle and ask each student to give the inner circle feedback.

Rubric for Outer Circle

This way, EVERY single student participates in the discussion! You will be surprised how adept students are on picking out important topics or connections. Every time I do Socratic Seminar, I am pleasantly surprised with an insight a student has about a novel or a topic that I never even thought of. Some of those insights that the students had, have even turned into inspirations for lessons for me! However, if you feel an important topic is missed, you can either address it with the whole class to engage the students in further discussion or see if any students in the outer circle mention the topic that was left unaddressed in their outer circle overview card .

After one group is done and they have received feedback from the outer circle, I have the inner circle complete a worksheet reflecting on the conversation they just had. Then we switch, and new students go in the inner circle until everyone has had a chance.

In regard to assessment, I use rubrics to assess the responses students give on their outer circle overview worksheet and a  separate rubric to assess the participation of the students in the inner circle. I keep track of the the participation of the inner circle by using an observation recording sheet.


You might be thinking that some of your students are so shy that this could end up being a disaster. While the first few times the conversations can be a little awkward, especially with shy students, eventually they get the hang of it. Students are also motivated to participate when they know their grade for the day is going to be tied to their participation in the discussion.

Coupons for Socratic Seminar Winners

However, another way I have found to motivate the students to fully engage in the discussion is through a little healthy competition! Students love competition, they love games, and they definitely love prizes. I turn Socratic Seminar into a game by assigning students in the inner circle points for displaying positive conversation habits and using textual evidence to support their claims. At the end of the discussion, I tally up the points and declare a winner! The winner of Socratic Seminar earns a coupon from me for either a homework pass, 5 points on a quiz, 5 points on a test, or the ability to hand in an essay late without penalty. But you can make your prizes for whatever you feel will best motivate your students.

In the end, when you use Socratic Seminar you are engaging your students in a completely student centered and student generated activity, that requires them all to use high order thinking skills and participate.

If you would like to use Socratic Seminar in your classroom and are looking for resources, please check out my Socratic Seminar Made Easy product for all of the materials featured and listed in this post.