Teach Like Socrates

Guiding Socratic Dialogues and Discussions in the Classroom (Grades 7-12)

Erick Wilberding

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000503821
• Print ISBN:
  9781618211439
• Subtopic: Education Teaching Methods

What is the Socratic Method? How can we bring the Socratic Method into the middle school and high school classroom? How does a teacher lead a Socratic discussion and develop the discussion skills of students? Using passages from the works of Plato and Xenophon, Teach Like Socrates answers each of these questions, clearly explaining the most famous and the most misunderstood teaching method in the world.

Unrivaled as a constructive vehicle for critical thinking and problem solving, the Socratic Method can be brought into the classroom every day for the inductive exploration of ideas and scaffolded problem solving as well as for cooperative discussion. Teach Like Socrates includes templates, sample lesson plans, discussion games, and example dialogues from students. With this book, every teacher can master the style that leads students to critical thinking, problem solving, and independent learning.

Grades 7-12

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Dedication Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction The Fourth “R”—Reasoning
• Chapter 1 “I am a kind of gadfly”: The Life of Socrates
• Chapter 2 How to Examine Life: The Two Socratic Methods
• Chapter 3 Be Careful What You Ask For: Preparing a Socratic Dialogue
• Chapter 4 Take the Students With You: Conducting a Socratic Dialogue
• Chapter 5 Cultivating Gadflies: Teaching Students the Socratic Method
• Chapter 6 Searching and Testing: Preparing a Socratic Discussion
• Chapter 7 Splitting the Education Atom: Conducting a Socratic Discussion
• Chapter 8 Conclusion: Thinking and Arguing Together
• References
• Appendix A Further Reading
• Appendix B Planning Templates
• Appendix C Suggestions for Discussion Texts
• About the Author
• Common Core State Standards Alignment