Socratic Seminar Planning Guide

Help me plan a Socratic Seminar for my class.

Text/Topic: ${{TEXT_OR_TOPIC}}
Subject: ${{SUBJECT}}
Grade Level: ${{GRADE_LEVEL}}
Class Size: ${{NUMBER_OF_STUDENTS}}
Time Available: ${{MINUTES}}
Students' Discussion Experience: ${{NOVICE_INTERMEDIATE_EXPERIENCED}}

Create a complete Socratic Seminar plan:

**PRE-SEMINAR PREPARATION**
1. Text selection rationale
2. Pre-reading activities
3. Annotation guide for students
4. Vocabulary pre-teaching needs
5. Background knowledge building

**QUESTION DESIGN**
Generate questions at multiple levels:

Opening Questions (2-3)
- Broad, accessible questions to begin discussion
- Connect to student experiences

Core Questions (4-6)
- Deep analysis questions
- Multiple perspective questions
- Text evidence required questions

Closing Questions (2-3)
- Synthesis and application
- Personal relevance
- Connection to larger themes

**SEMINAR STRUCTURE**
- Seating arrangement diagram
- Roles (inner circle, outer circle, fish bowl)
- Time allocations
- Facilitation moves and phrases
- Intervention strategies for common issues

**DISCUSSION NORMS**
- Expectations for participants
- Sentence starters for students
- Evidence citation expectations
- Respectful disagreement phrases

**ASSESSMENT TOOLS**
- Self-assessment rubric for students
- Peer observation form
- Teacher observation checklist
- Discussion tracking sheet
- Post-seminar reflection prompts

**FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES**
- Written reflection options
- Extension discussions
- Connection to upcoming content