We have incorporated Socratic Seminars into our 5th grade curriculum for the past three years, and this past year for 4th grade. We have also embedded Depth & Complexity learning strategies by J Taylor Education into our daily teaching. These strategies teach students how to write their own open-ended questions for higher level, critical thinking discussions.
Our teachers will be expanding this program into our 3rd grades classes in the coming year.
These are exciting times for taking reading to the next level for our students at Edith Wolford Elementary. If you are not already part of our EWES family, join us and allow your child to fall in love with the characters in their novels while becoming strong critical thinkers and lifelong readers.
Former Student Comments about Socratic Seminar
“Socratic Seminar was the light at the end of the tunnel because everyone always looked forward to it. I love it for many reasons. First of all you get so attached to the characters while reading the book. Secondly, the discussion is so in-depth...it is just AWESOME! M. S.
“I like that you can discuss the questions that you make and you can have a long discussion. I also like that all of the participants treat each other with respect. Lastly, I like that the books are so powerful when we read them.” B. M.
“Socratic Seminar is a great way to communicate with people.” D. M.
“I love how I get to really think about my ideas to share with everyone. I also love how it makes you use critical thinking.” C. A.
“I enjoyed reading the stories, talking about all the questions and just having a good learning experience.” J. P.
“Socratic Seminars made me open up to talk in big crowds. It made me happy to discuss the sides of the arguments. I loved the faces people would make.” C. L.
“It helped me get amazing reading grades. It even made me want to make a Socratic Seminar group.” A. C.
“I like how the teachers used heartfelt books. They are books we can relate to and it was a good experience. The students came up with amazing questions.” A. B.
