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Boys Will Be Boys...Right?
Through this exercise, high schoolers identify character traits present in Romeo and Juliet. They listen to an excerpt from "The Office of Christian Parents: Showing How Children Are to be Governed" and participate in a Socratic...
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Asking the Questions and Questioning the Answers
What would you ask a presidential candidate if you had the chance? Bring politics to your language arts classroom with this lesson, in which young readers brainstorm questions they would have liked the presidential candidates to answer....
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Socratic Questioning
If you are new to the technique of Socratic questioning, check out this resource that details the five steps in the Socratic method. The examples of each step are drawn from Brave New World.
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Night: Socratic Questioning Activity
We construct meaning through discussion, so help your readers of Elie Wiesel's work Night with a socratic questioning activity. The strategy is outlined on the first page, and the second page offers some example questions you give to...
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Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn Introductory Lessons
“What is the role or function of controversial art? And, should children, our children, be required—forced—to study certain works they may find painful or humiliating or offensive?” Robert Zalisk’s question, found in his article, “Uproar...
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Reading Blog Log
Bring technology to your novel unit with this lesson, which prompts readers to analyze a book they are reading in a Socratic discussion with their classmates. They create a live blog online in which they can give their opinions and...
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The Search for a Meaningful Dialectic
Students explore a framework of political and social values to evaluate the validity of any public policy debate, bill, or law. They participate in cooperative learning in terms of the group investigation model.
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Dangers of Labeling and Stereotyping
The content of this lesson is intended for a mature group. Participants imagine that they must decide which eight of fourteen people on a doomed cruise ship will be allowed to board the only life boat and survive. A list of passengers...
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Do You Recall?
Students share reactions to Mattel CEO Bob Eckert's message to consumers. They identify how Mattel is responding to several product recalls by reading and discussing the article "After Stumbling, Mattel Cracks Down in China." Students...
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Shades of Gray
Students examine their own strengths and weaknesses and try to determine if it is a result of nature, nuture or both. After reading an article, they discuss how gender may or may not account for differences in intelligence. They...
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After the Fact
Students investigate summaries of the "9/11 Report" and examine questions relating to its findings in a fishbowl discussion. They reflect in writing on how they wish the outcomes of this report would be resolved and how these outcomes...
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Mobius Strips
Students discuss the scientific method and construct their own Mobius Strips. They examine their Mobius Strip, and write observations and a hypothesis on how many strips of paper they have when they cut the strip in half length-wise.
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Losing Face or Saving Face?
Students examine the recent partial face transplant in Ameiens, France and the ensuing public debate on extreme plastic surgery. They participate in a fishbowl discussion on the ethics and implications of future face transplants.
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Press-ing Freedom
Learners consider how free speech applies to journalistic practices in light of a legal case involving two reporters. They participate in a fishbowl discussion about journalism codes of ethics and write response papers.
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Do Ask? Do Tell?
Students explore debates regarding gay rights following the Supreme Court's Lawrence v. Texas decision. They participate in a fishbowl discussion, exploring questions on marriage, adoption, custody, employment, and military service.
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Bootleg Bytes
Students conduct background research to explore the positions of different groups involved in the digital piracy debate, then participate in a fishbowl discussion that seeks to find a consensus on the issue.
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Critical Analysis of Evolution
Tenth graders discuss anomalies in nature and science. They discuss times that anomalies led to the collection of data that explained the phenomena and contributed to changing scientific understandings. Students work in groups to...
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Measuring Where We Sit In The Universe
Students investigate scientific measurement. They use a variety of scales to do the job and communicate the results correctly. The teacher uses socratic questioning throughout the lesson checking for comprehension. Students measure some...
Orange County Department of Education
Integrity and "Thank You, M'am"
Ninth graders explore the definition of integrity through a class discussion. They provide positive/negative examples from the story and their own experiences. Students determine character traits by analyzing the dialogue in a short...
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Annotated Example of Socratic Questioning: Climate: Global Warming
Students compare and discuss short-term and longer-term global temperature data. They evaluate data from three sets of graphs and then participate in a structured whole class Socratic discussion on the possible causes of climate change.
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Oceans Socratic Questioning
High schoolers participate in a whole class discussion of ocean-floor structures and plate tectonics. They respond to prompts in a structured sequence that lead them to conclusions about the role of plate tectonics in the creation of...
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Solar System Socratic Questions
Students reflect on and discuss theories of how the solar system was formed. They respond to prompts in a structured sequence to relate the formation of the solar system and the age of the Earth.
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Annotated, Detailed Example of Socratic Questioning
Learners identify and define the main components of the hydrosphere and the ways in which they interact with one another. They explore how changes in Earth's surface materials affect components of the hydrosphere and evaluate the effect...
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Time and Earth History Socratic Questions
Pupils develop a sense of geologic ("deep") time and the ways in which Earth scientists construct the geologic time scale. They study he major events that shaped Earth, including the origin and evolution of its lithosphere, atmosphere,...