Copies of Animal Farm are available at the Brevard High School Media Center and the county and college libraries; call Ms. Licht
(883-3439) if you have trouble procuring a copy.
English 12-Honors Summer Reading: Socratic Seminar Assignment
Adapted from Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Hills, California
Here’s your chance to put your literary analysis, listening, and speaking skills to the test and impress your
instructor and your peers.
What is it?
A Socratic Seminar is a student-led discussion that is based on an “essential question.” Socrates, an Athenian
philosopher born in 469 BC, is credited with formulating this method of discussion. Encouraging participants
to sit in a circle, Socrates would draw knowledge from the group by presenting a series of deeply
philosophical questions. A seminar consists of four elements:
•
•
•
•
The text – George Orwell’s Animal Farm
The question – How does the desire for power corrupt humans’ desire for social ideals? How does
human nature undermine our desire for peace, equality, and justice?
The leader - Offers the initial question then plays a dual role as leader and participant.
The participants - Study the text in advance, listen actively, and share ideas using evidence from the
text for support.
Your task: Answer the essential questions above through a close reading of the text.
In order to prepare for the Socratic Seminar for Animal Farm you will need to gather significant quotations
and examples from the book. I will be grading you, in part, on your level of preparedness.
Step #1: Finding Evidence from Animal Farm:
As you read, annotate the text. Find passages that seem to speak to the essential questions. Record these in a
double-entry journal. Your journal should be divided into two columns. On the left, record the quotation or
write a synopsis of the scene that speaks to the questions, and record the page number(s). On the right, record
connections to the essential questions, to other parts of the text or the text as a whole, to other texts (written,
visual, or aural), to personal experience (self), or to the world. You should also record any deeper questions
that the passage raises. These deeper questions do not have yes/no answers; rather, they beg answers that are
thoughtful, meaningful, insightful, and require critical thinking.
This text is deceptive. Despite its short length, it is rich with commentary relating to the essential questions,
and the volume of your annotations should reflect that richness.
Step #2: Compiling the Best Examples of Evidence
Find within your annotations the best specific examples from the book that help to answer the above essential
questions. For the seminar, you must have a total of 3 “quote sandwiches.” A quote sandwich consists of an
introduction, the quotation, its context, and commentary on the quotation.
Suggested examples or ideas:
• How does the issue of power appear in this section? How is it acquired or exercised? Who has it?
Who doesn’t? Who abuses it? (context)
• How does Orwell want you to feel about power in this section? How do you know? (commentary)
• How do things go wrong in this section? Why do the animals’ original utopian ideas fail?
(commentary)
Step #3: Compiling Compelling Discussion Questions
Write down 5 discussion questions that are related to the essential questions and that you might introduce to
the group during the seminar. Remember, good discussion questions are “open ended” and produce more than
just yes/no answers or answers that are easily found in the book. They require critical thinking, recognized in
Bloom’s taxonomy as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. They are “so what” questions. If you need help
getting started, see http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/Dalton.htm for question stems.
What are you supposed to do when you’re in a Socratic Seminar?
o Refer to the text when needed during the discussion. A seminar is not a test of memory. You are not
“learning a subject;” your goal is to understand the ideas, issues, and values reflected in the text.
o Ask questions about the reading or issues related to the reading.
o Ask for clarification of something you don’t understand.
o Make judgments that can be defended with the text.
o Locate facts and examples that can be cited as evidence for an argument.
o Connect the reading to the real world
o It’s OK to “pass” when asked to contribute.
o Do not participate if you are not prepared. A seminar should not be a bull session.
o Stick to the point currently under discussion; make notes about ideas you want to come back to.
o Move the seminar forward—avoid repetitions.
o Don’t raise hands; take turns speaking.
o Listen attentively and patiently.
o Exhibit mature behavior with patience and self-control.
o Speak up so that all can hear you.
o Talk to each other, not just to the leader or teacher.
o Be aware of time in terms of how long you speak and in terms of the needs of others to speak.
o Use specific examples when you speak and avoid generalizations.
o Avoid speaking for the group; use “I statements” when possible.
o Avoid interrupting someone when he or she is speaking and avoid side conversations.
How will you be graded?
• By coming to the seminar prepared with five excellent discussion questions (10 points), three quote
“sandwiches” (35 points), and your annotations (double-entry journal) of Animal Farm (30 points).
• By participating three times in a meaningful way during the seminar. To participate in a meaningful
way means to make a comment, make a connection to the text, ask a question that builds on what other
participants are saying, etc. (15 points)
• By being an academic participant. I will be watching your conduct and grading you accordingly (10
points). Do you…
◦ Speak loudly and clearly?
◦ Stick with the subject?
◦ Avoid inappropriate language (slang, technical terms, sloppy diction, etc.)?
◦ Seem prepared/interested?
◦ Listen to others respectfully?
Should you have questions or concerns about the preparation for this assignment, call or e-mail me at
[email protected]. I will check my e-mail at least once a week over the summer. Your preparatory work is
due on the first day of class. Our seminar will follow on the second day.
Example Annotation
“Man is the only creature that consumes without
producing….Yet he is lord of all the animals. He
sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare
minimum that will prevent them from starving, and
the rest he keeps for himself” (29)
Old Major discusses the dichotomy between the
workers (animals) and the owners (man). This
clearly connects to Marx's ideas about the
exploitation of labor. It also parallels the current
situation in American labor, wherein workers
receive poor wages, especially in comparison to the
multi-million dollar salaries of CEOs made possible
by the fruits of their workers.
Example Quote Sandwich
Introduction
Quotation
Context
Commentary
In Old Major’s speech to the animals of Manor Farm, he gives a clear indication of the
relationship between those in power and the powerless. It is this relationship that undermines any
chance of peace, equality, or justice. He says: “Man is the only creature that consumes without
producing….Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the
bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself” (29). In
his speech, Old Major sets up a dichotomy: the workers, or producers, and the owners, those who
own and control the means and yields of production. The animals are powerless to keep the
products of their bodies and their labor, while man uses the animals for his own benefit, neglecting
those who made the benefits possible. Orwell wants his readers to see this relationship as patently
unfair. This is evident in the language Old Major uses to describe the situation when he says: “the
whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings.” It is further elucidated
when Old Major goes on to say that, should the animals remove man from the picture, “the root
cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever.” Finally, Old Major says: “all the evils of this
life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings.” Peace, equality, and justice are antithetical
to the values of the tyrant, whose power is often exercised cruelly and unjustly. This speech sets
the stage for the Rebellion, which should bring about an utopian society in which “all the produce
of [the animals’] labour would be our own” and in which all the animals would be “rich and free.”
Animal Farm Summer Reading Assignment
Annotations
* Quality
Thoughtful,
insightful, makes
connections to
variety of
sources,
consistently poses
thoughtful
questions
Thoughtful,
insightful, makes
connections to
variety of
sources,
sometimes poses
thoughtful
questions
Often thoughtful
and insightful,
sometimes makes
connections to
variety of
sources, rarely
poses thoughtful
questions
* Quantity
At least 5 per
chapter
At least 4 per
chapter
At least 3 per
chapter
Occasionally
thoughtful and
insightful,
sometimes makes
connections to
variety of
sources, rarely
poses thoughtful
questions
At least 2 per
chapter
Fails to meet
standards
* Focus
Strong, distinct
focus on the
guiding questions
of the assignment
Consistently
focused on the
guiding question
of the assignment
Usually focused
on the guiding
questions of the
assignment
Sometimes
Fails to meet
focused on the
standards
guiding questions
of the assig
Strong, distinct
focus on the
guiding questions
of the assignment
Seamlessly
connects the parts
of the sandwich
to create a
thoughtful
analysis of the
quotations
Consistently
focused on the
guiding question
of the assignment
Represents all
required parts
(intro, quote,
context,
commentary) to
create a
thoughtful
analysis of the
quotations, but
may not always
be fluid
Usually focused
on the guiding
questions of the
assignment
Represents all
required parts
(intro, quote,
context,
commentary) to
create a
thoughtful
analysis of the
quotations, but is
rarely fluid
Sometimes
focused on the
guiding questions
of the assig
Represents most
required parts
(intro, quote,
context,
commentary) to
create an
rudimentary
analysis of the
quotations
Fails to meet
standards
One or two
Fails to meet
standards
Fails to meet
standards
Quote
Sandwiches
* Focus
* Construction
* Quantity
Three
Fails to meet
standards
Discussion
Questions
* Critical
thinking
All questions
demonstrate high
levels of critical
thought and a
variety of ideas or
perspectives
Four out of five
demonstrate high
levels of critical
thought and a
variety of ideas
or perspectives
Three
demonstrate high
levels of critical
thought and a
variety of ideas or
perspectives
Two demonstrate Fails to meet
high levels of
standards
critical thought
and a variety of
ideas or
perspectives