Socratic Seminar Lesson

Rob Nelson

CRIN S-00

Prof. Stoddard

22 November 2010

Socratic Seminar Lesson

Social Issues during the Harlem Renaissance

Topics: Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes

Grade/Class: 11th Grade American Studies (Co-taught: English + US History)

Length: 45-60 minutes

Overview/Background Information:

Much like our recent experience with the financial crisis of 2007, the American economy of the 1930s was caught in the grips of the Great Depression. This lesson diverges from the traditional historical narrative of the era and focuses on an African American perspective. Having embraced the promise of equality some sixty-five years after the end of slavery, black Americans were finally beginning to claim their share of the “American Dream.” The Harlem Renaissance was in full swing and hope was high coming out of the Roaring 20s, but Black Thursday may have had a double meaning for Black America: in the depths of the Depression, when one-third of all workers were unemployed, more than 50% of African Americans found themselves out of a job; and to make matters worse, society took its economic frustrations out on African Americans, blaming them for the lack of jobs and available capital.

It was in this climate that Langston Hughes wrote his powerful poetic lament “Let America Be America Again.” Langston Hughes was a quintessential American poet who was uncommonly attuned to the ideals of freedom and democracy, and in this case the sometimes elusive promise of the American Dream. While it is the litany of the great promise of opportunity that has drawn so many of the world’s disaffected to American shores, this poem is also a call to make that promise real for all Americans – especially for the descendants of slaves. This poem reminds our society that America is a nation always in the process of becoming, always striving to build a more perfect union. In this lesson, students will develop an understanding of Hughes’ “Let America Be America Again” (see pages 10-12), as well as engage in a meaningful conversation about the social issues it presents.

Rationale:

As a co-teacher in an American Studies course there are two major advantages of teaching with an English colleague. First, the students can learn from what the English department calls a ‘deep reading’ of a text (in this case poetry). The students can dive into metaphors, imagery, and other poetic devices that a Social Studies teacher might overlook. Second, there is a unique opportunity to effortlessly infuse poetry into the history curriculum. “Let America Be America Again” is a poem that is rich in issues such as the American Dream, the opportunities afforded to African Americans and the lower class, and the ideals of freedom and democracy. To each student reading the poem, these concepts and issues seem to be best learned not as a specific point to put in their notes, but as an unrestrained discussion guided by the teacher. In this sense a Socratic seminar seems to be the best way to create a meaningful learning experience for Hughes’ poem. Socratic seminars differ from traditional classroom discussions in that they do not have a pre-determined destination and are not intended to “teach” some immediately identifiable piece of content. Rather, a seminar goes where the group takes it, and uses as a measure of success the rigor with which the ideas are pursued and developed. Seminars are a specific opportunity for a group of students to come together and consider the many issues, ideas, and values in the assigned text. This is why “Let America Be America Again” should be taught as a Socratic seminar.

Objectives:

1)The students will demonstrate knowledge of the social, economic, and technological changes of the early 20th century by examining literature from the 1920s/1930s, with emphasis on Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance (VA SOL, USH II.6).

2)The students will apply key concepts such as time, causality, change,conflict, and complexity to explain, analyze, and show connections amongpatterns of historical change and continuity (NCSS, Thematic Standard B).

3)The students will be given a printed copy of “Let America Be America Again” and be required to show their detailed annotations (i.e., a “marked up” text) at the beginning of class to the teachers.

In addition, the students will be required to submit their answers to some guided questions for an entrance ticket on the day of the seminar for a participation grade.

4)The students will learn skills that are essential for discussion and public speaking. These include eye contact, tone and volume of voice, coherent sentences, posture, hand gestures, and non-verbal communication.

Assessment:

Since this sort of lesson is something 11th grade students might not be very comfortable with it is important that the students be explicitly told they will be discussing the poem as an entire class in the days preceding the seminar. The onus will be on them to learn from each other, and the teacher should explain that he/she will only act as a facilitator of certain questions to stimulate discussion topics. One of the most important factors that help create a good seminar is student preparation. Simply put, if the students do not read or understand the poem, they will not be able to discuss it. Thus the students will be required to submit an “entrance ticket” on the day of the seminar as proof they read and at least somewhat understand the poem (see page 13). Over the course of the year the students have been taught proper ways to mark up a text, so they should all be able to complete this section successfully. The second part of the ticket is guided questions that serve as some scaffolding for sections that are critical for discussion.

The students will be told that this ticket will be graded on a Check-Plus/Check/Check-Minus scale, which the teacher will mark next to every student on a class list. A check-plus is for students who demonstrate exceptional skill at analyzing and marking up their text. In addition, they are able to communicate their answers to the guided questions in a logical and descriptive way. A check should be given to a student who is unable to clearly articulate his or her ideas in the guided section, but still annotates the poem well. A check-minus is for students who either did not turn in their entrance ticket or did not complete the homework adequately.

The actual seminar itself should be a “grade free zone.” In other words, students should not be assigned a grade for either talking or not talking during the seminar. A goal of Socratic seminars is authentic conversation so “paying” students to participate works against authenticity. Additionally, it seems unworkable to assign points for potentially mundane speaking, but not reward thoughtful and engaged silence. This is not to say that seminars are an “assessment free zone.” The teacher should always be cognizant of each student’s participation, engagement in the seminar, and discussion skills. For this lesson the teacher should look for those who are consistently talking/consistently quiet, those who are partaking in side conversations, and those who misread/misinterpret the text. In addition, the teacher should note strengths and weaknesses of student discussion skills (does the student speak confidently, do they give the proper body language, to they coherently build off of what other students are saying, etc.). Each student will receive feedback from the teacher in regards to these characteristics when they are returned their entrance ticket after the seminar.

Resources:

Appropriate number of copies of “Let America Be America Again” to hand out for homework.
Appropriate number of copies of the Guided Questions worksheet.
Projector with computer hook up to show a video modeling a good Socratic seminar, web site below:

Content and Instructional Strategies:

Preparation for Seminar
The students will be handed out a copy of “Let America Be America Again” (see pages 10-12) two days before the seminar. The teachers should explain that they will be required to annotate the poem and that they will be checking this for a participation grade on the day of the seminar.
At the same time, the students will be handed out the Guided Questions (see page 13) worksheet and be explicitly told that they must complete this and bring it in on the day of the seminar for a grade.
The first half of the block will be a ‘deep reading’ exercise prepared and run by the English teacher.
From the Social Studies perspective, this will ensure all students understand the content of the poem. This part of the class will not go into the issues, ideas, and values of the poem; rather, it will focus on the poetic devices, content, and vocabulary; as well as the context and background of Langston Hughes.
Once this literary analysis concludes the students will be given a 3-5 minute break while the teachers set up the projector and load the Socratic seminar video
The students will watch the YouTube video demonstrating a Socratic Seminar, which lists some general rules and norms. (Stop video at 4 min.)
The video explicitly lists some rules such as no raising hands, no talking over others, it is a discussion not a debate, and the fact that students must lead their own free discussion.
Following the video the teacher will lead a whole group discussion about the rules for the seminar, specifically stressing that the students must respect each other.
The teacher will also lead a whole class discussion about the discussion skills they saw in the video, asking what was “good” and what could have made the discussion better.
The good: students building off of what each other had to say (e.g., “I agree with that because…”), examples of strong voice, sitting up straight, eye contact, no raising hands, etc.
The bad: some students did not specifically reference the text (e.g., “I forgot where it said this, but…”) – for this example the teachers should explicitly say that they expect the students to be able to reference what they are talking about so the whole class go be on the same page as them. This is why the students were required to mark up the text, so you could easily find what you want to talk about.
The teacher will list the procedures for the seminar on the board
Be prepared to participate
Do not raise hands
Refer to the Text
Listen to and Build off of others’ responses
Respect your fellow classmates
Practice the good discussion skills we talked about
Room Arrangement
The students will then move the room into two large circles.
Seminars should only be conducted in a circle, with each participant sitting at their desk.
Name cards can be used to allow students to call each other by name; although for this specific lesson these students will have been together for over six months so it may not be necessary.
The inner circle will be for those students who have successfully completed their entrance ticket and are ready to discuss the poem.
Each participant must have his/her annotated copy of the poem out.
The outer circle will be reserved for those students who did not complete their entrance ticket. They will be required to focus on the discussion skills (both positive and negative) of the inner circle and the conversation itself.
The Seminar
Text: “Let America Be America Again” – by Langston Hughes
This poem is rich in issues such as the American Dream, the opportunities afforded to African Americans and the lower class, and the ideals of freedom and democracy.
Opening Question: “How can we make America be America again?”
Core Questions & Potential Follow Up Questions:
What are the contradictions in the poem?
What is the American Dream?
How can there be different American Dreams for the different people described in the poem?
Does the American Dream still exist in today’s society?
What is the narrator’s purpose and perspective?
What do you think the narrator represents?
What is Equality for the narrator?
What is wrong with America from the narrator’s perspective?
How is the narrator’s perspective different from your perspective?
What do you think is the most important phrase in the poem and why?
Has America changed enough to satisfy the narrator?
Is America now the “homeland of the free” or is it still “not for me”
Post-Seminar Debrief
The teachers will lead a discussion by asking:
Do you feel like you understand the text at a deeper level?
How was the process for us? Did we adhere to our norms?
What was one thing you noticed about the seminar?
To conclude the teacher must provide feedback about their interpretation of the seminar, as well as make sure the students leave knowing the main point of the poem.

Differentiation:

Differentiation within lesson plans is important because it challenges and supports various styles of student learning in the class. To accommodate various learning styles, this lesson heavily scaffolds the students prior to the seminar. Requiring annotations, answers to guided questions, watching a video modeling a good Socratic seminar, and explicitly instructing the students on proper public speaking and discussion skills helps all students, not just the students with special needs.

This lesson plan also represents a differentiation to traditional curriculum. History teachers these days too often resort to simple call and response lecturing to get through the large curriculum standards set by the state. This lesson, on the other hand, allows for students to become engaged with the material, develop analyzing and public speaking skills. Rather than just taking notes on what the teacher says, structured academic controversy allows students to actively construct their own knowledge, which helps drive the content knowledge deeper by making it personal.

Adaptations:

This lesson can be adapted to meet the needs of students with 504 plans, Individualized Education Programs, or other needs. One way to help students with special needs is to have the students read the poem out loud at the beginning of class. Another technique is to pull of an artistic reading of the text online and play it for the students prior to the seminar. Here is a great video where the poem is read out loud while pictures of different historical events the narrator refers to and different American landscapesare displayed: ( This video would help students with special need immensely and helps everyone be on the same page and be ready to discuss in seminar form.

Another way to adapt the lesson is to put together two smaller groups beforehand rather just one “inner” and “outer” circle. Students with special needs might feel more comfortable participating in the seminar if they are in smaller groups with specific students they are familiar with. If this is the case, the teacher should consider having pre-assigned groups.

This lesson is rather advanced in that there is very little scaffolding during the actual discussion because it is primarily student lead. However, the teacher could provide students with special needs a worksheet beforehand of some questions they might ask to facilitate discussion. This would greatly help them participate because they could write down their answers before class even begins and if the teacher ends up asking them, the students with special needs should be able to answer them. Lastly, instead of just answering the questions on the Guided Questions worksheet, the students with special needs could be provided a specific graphic organizer or frame to help them pull out information from the poem beforehand.

Reflection:

I can foresee a few potential problems that could arise with this Socratic seminar. The biggest issue is participation, which could refer to students not participating at all and/or students who dominate the seminar. If the discussion is lagging for the whole class I plan on using some broad questions to try and stimulate responses. These could include, but are not limited to:

How does that relate to what (someone else) said?

Where do you find evidence for that in the text?

Can you clarify what you mean by that?

Is there something in the text that is unclear to you?

As for students who dominate the discussion:

Who has not yet had a chance to speak?

Who has a different perspective?

Another issue that could arise has to do with the persuasion aspect. I think some students will immediately take this exercise as an opportunity to argue for their ideas instead of a pure discussion. The key will be for me to make my expectations clear regarding this sort of behavior and to act appropriately as a facilitator during the discussion.

Let America Be America Again
byLangston Hughes
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.) 5
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)10
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,15
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.20
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,25
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
30
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.35
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,40
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas45
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."50
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?55
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--60
Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--65
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--70
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,75
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,80
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--85
And make America again!

Guided Questions Worksheet