A couple weeks ago, my ninth graders held a Socratic Circle over the second half of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and some non-fiction readings over the Five Love Languages and color psychology. It was the second circle of the year, so there is still a lot of training and growing to do.
After both circles had discussed color symbolism in the story and which characters seemed to show affinity for which love language, the outer circles had debriefed, and we set some goals as a class for next circle, they went back to talking about the book in the last five minutes before the bell, like curious and engaged human beings are prone to do. Even the quiet ones who hadn't talked much during the "official" time spoke. They asked questions and listened and referred to the text, and continued discussing their thoughts about the gender of Death, how the book would be different without Death's bolded comments, about Rudy and Liesel: platonic or romantic? and Max and Liesel: siblings or soulmates?
They conducted class without me.
I sat calmly, though I was doing back flips in my head, paid careful attention to their thoughts and contributions, and continued to take notes. When the bell rang, they were disappointed to leave. On a Friday afternoon.
WHAT?!
This week we've been discussing literary lenses (schools of criticism). I introduced them to the gender lens with the video "Girl in a Country Song" by Madi and Tae. As the video ended, one girl, usually quiet though not shy, slapped her hand on the table and said, "Finally! Let's talk about objectification!" I couldn't agree more, Ms. Molly. The class virtually exploded with banter as we discussed the expectations presented by society based on gender and sexuality.
They quieted when I handed them the essay "Team Katniss" from the excellent collection The Girl Who Was on Fire: Your Favorite Authors on Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy (2012). They dug into reading, questioning, and highlighting passages they wanted to share. The next day, they all came in on fire for discussion, no lie. "Mrs. Paulsen, I had ten passages I wanted to talk about just on the first page! I can't believe you only assigned three for the whole essay." "Can we get in the circle now?" "Can I be first?"
The "hot seat," where the outside circle can jump in on a question, was filled at all times. This time, girl after girl after girl could barely contain themselves as they jumped into the discussion. It was a power shift that threw my vocal boys for a loop. There were passionate, yet considerate discussions about the difference in media portrayal between a love triangle with two girls and a guy (consensus: unimportant drama) vs. two guys and a girl (consensus: competition through action). One student asked: How would the story would be different if Katniss was a boy? One notable observation: The careers would have assumed she was a threat if she were male--that the motive for volunteering would come from skills and confidence rather than love. (Oh the dangers of underestimation! Is there a more powerful force than love?? Did we not learn from Harry Potter, my friends?) This idea, proposed by a thoughtful male athlete in the class, ignited some interesting talk, though they did not get to the obvious contradiction presented by Peeta volunteering for Haymitch. (Don't worry, we'll get there next week in their written reflections!) They always manage to cover all the territory I expect. And surprise me with ideas that never occurred to me. On the rare occasion when I jump in, to push or redirect, I have their full, undivided, laser-like focus.
It's. Totally. AWESOME!
They discussed Katniss' childhood, the influence of her parents, the hard shell she had to grow to parent Prim, how hard it is to survive the deaths of all whom you love, whether it is better to outlive the ones you love or sacrifice yourself to save another, how Katniss and Liesel were alike (survivors), how the essay made them understand that it was hard to know Katniss because we are limited to what she knows of herself. Favorite quote of the conversation from a feisty girl with curly hair: "Katniss is the kind of girl you wanna BE. She doesn't need some boy to rescue her. She's BA. Can I say that? I just did. Katniss. Is. B. A."
As the bell rang, the students had just pried up a new tile in the floor of the both the essay and the story as they considered how the movie might be different if Katniss' olive skin in the book wasn't "white-washed" or if the love triangle had LGBTQ characters. They lingered, chattering amid the controversy, and again I had to shoo them out the door. On the last day of the week.
Don't get me wrong. I don't teach at Utopia Junior High. But it's close. So. Close.
As I read over the Silent Contributor online discussion on Schoology, I see opportunities to dig deeper, to ask for clarification, to push for textual evidence. We will come back to it and do those very things on Monday. That is the beauty of the online discussion board. It's a permanent, interactive record of on-going thought. As we grow and change in our thinking, we can see it in real time. This addition to our discussions has allowed us to capture the most ethereal of thoughts and grounds their self-assessment in hard evidence.
I have never graded a Socratic Circle. They have never asked me how many points they earned. They contribute and participate for the sheer engagement of it. They assess themselves and set goals and watch for growth over time. They reflect on their own contributions, others' contributions, our progress as a whole. Even the students who dislike talking recognize the power of the learning happening, based on their reflections and feedback.
I've been using the Socratic Circle method of discussion in class since I read the book by Matt Copeland about a year and a half ago, so it's still new and my understanding is still developing. In twenty years of teaching, no other strategy or structure has had the profound and immediate impact on teaching and learning in my classroom that Socratic Circles do. My room is alive with purpose and intent and anticipation for what's next.
For the curious, more literary lenses, more Hunger Games essays. Then: we tackle Disney, y'all. We're on fire!
If you are interested in trying this out in your classroom, here is my webpage with resource links. Follow Socratic Circles on Facebook. Start simple. Learn by doing!
Image Credit: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/782234.Socratic_Circles
I just bookmarked your resources. Many thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDelete