English IV is going to be a fun class!

I have a great group of boys in this class and they are all very interesting and dynamic but require a strong hand when getting into their work and producing some quality results. Most are ridiculously intelligent but lazy as they come so to inspire them, I decided to do a unit on the concept of insanity and who, what, or how insanity is determined. We are reading three books this semester, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.

All amazing books and I thoroughly enjoy teaching them and the subject matter. However, I let them know today that they are responsible for the way the class is going to be. If they don't do their homework, it will be a silent reading experience with everyone individually completing their work- OR they can complete their homework at home so we can have interesting and dynamic discussions about controversial topics and issues. Most of these students have had me before and appreciate my frank and honest explanations about everything we read or discuss so they know that in order for me to put in the effort to coordinate these discussions, they need to do their part, but I wonder how some of the new students will react.

It will be interesting to observe the different pressures from the students who want to discuss the book and topics on the students who just want to slack off. I told them it was all or nothing and I hope I didn't make a mistake by doing that because I know they want to slack off but also really want to talk about things that most other classes would never consider discussing. I think this will be my favorite class this year but it requires a ton of energy to teach and I have SO much on plate with the other 3 different levels of English I am simultaneously teaching IN ADDITION to being the College Counselor and Academic Counselor. I am already tired! But I love getting them inspired about great literature so I will give it all I got!

Understanding the Socratic Method

Before last year, I had never heard of the Socratic Method. I mean, I should have, it is a classic teaching method and one that has been around for a very long time. But I didn't really care to know much about even when it WAS mentioned in my teaching circle. I can't really explain why either. I enjoy reading about teaching methods, I enjoy collaborating with other secondary teachers, and I really enjoy hearing about other teacher's successes in the classroom. So, why I never went deeper into this method is really a mystery. However, when I had to start clearing my credential for the State of California and I had to create an inquiry to test in the classroom, I remembered about this method and thought I would give it a shot.

WOW!! I can't even explain how much this helped kids in my class! I created a worksheet to help students understand what was expected of them and how to find the information in the novel they were analyzing. I also spent a great deal of time researching how to apply the method. What good is something without understanding the how and why of its application? So, I spent a couple of hours combing the internet and the EnglishNing community on what to do and how to do it, adding to my worksheet little by little until I came up with a final product.

In this worksheet, there is a section that asks students to find examples of literary devices that they chose from their notes. What this does is help students recognize literary devices in actual text instead of applying their definitions to tired explanations or examples. Next, there is a section that asks for students to explain character development, adding new details as they read, explaining how the characters develop and change. By choosing characters and watching them change and develop during the course of the story, they are processing what they are reading and analyzing the actual characters instead of the events that happen around them. This also leads into the next section which asks students to analyze relationships within the text and how they shift and change depending on the events in the book. Finally, there is a section asking students to ask their own questions about the text in three forms but about the same theme. Student use the factual, inductive, and analytical formats to create their questions and students become familiar with the different question formats this way.



This picture is of the process before the actual Socratic Method on paper. By asking students to go deeper into the material, they are able to find and make the necessary connections.


I have to say, after using this method of analyzing with my students for Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, I have seen such an amazing difference in their ability to find and actually understand the more complex concepts of the novel. I have actually seen some of my Below Basic and Far Below Basic students achieve some amazing intellectual ability because they were required to do it themselves instead of the typical teacher-led, student-answered format. I will be using this method from now on, especially with more complex novels and stories.

Click HERE to see my Socratic Method Worksheets in my store.