Socratic Seminars are not just for middle school and high school. In this session which is geared toward upper elementary, participants will learn the components of a Socratic Seminar, participate in a mock seminar, and understand ways to vary the execution in their classrooms. With some scaffolding and adjustments, this strategy can be very effective for developing deeper classroom discussions. The Hattie Effect size of a Socratic Seminar is 0.82 which is equivalent to two years worth of student growth if done with fidelity and consistently. First, participants will complete a word sort as a prediction activity. Next, they will read a short article and listen to a short podcast about adult screen time with controversy introduced. Finally, they will participate in two different types of mock seminars. We will show how using sentence stems, conversation cups and counters, and outside circle responsibilities will keep ALL students engaged in the activity.
