discussion/Socratic questions for each chapter of books?

[caedmyn]

I'm looking for something that gives Socratic-type discussion questions for each chapter of various books (ie a list of questions for each chapter of Little Women).  I'm not looking for reading comprehension or general literature analysis-type questions.  This would be for my 6th grader next year.   I need something more open-and-go than the generic lists of Socratic questions for any book that I've found.  Is there anything out there like this?

[Lori D.]

SWB's handout for Academic Excellenc: gr. 5-8 -- lit discussion questions under  LA heading, 2/3rd down the page
50 Questions to Help Students Think About What They Think (reflection & collaboration; self-reflection; reasoning; analysis; connections; literary questions; science & social questions)
The 6 Tpes of Socratic Questions
Bloom's Taxonomy Questions
Twenty Five Question Stems Framed Around Bloom's Taxonomy

Guides for the parent to help guide discussion on literature
Suppose the Wolf Were an Octopus: Guide to Creative Questions for Literature (gr. 5-6)
Reading Strands
Teaching the Classics

Another suggestion:
Go through a resource such as Figurative Speaking and learn 1-2 literary elements per week and then practice looking for the elements in the Literature you're reading. Discuss what effect that literary element has on you in: enjoying and getting absorbed in the work; understanding the character; building the mood; developing a motif or theme; helping you see a "big idea" or worldview of the author; etc.

While these threads were for late middle school/high school ages and not just for Lit, you might find the discussions here of interest:
"How do you encourage independent thinking and discussion?"
"How valuable are Socratic questions?"
"When Discussion/Socratic questioning goes badly" -- how do you handle it
Why does my DD have lots to say (until I ask her to write it down) -- while specifically about using annotation to spark discussion on literature, this thread had specific ideas for giving hints to help guide the student into thinking and from there, discussion
Socratic discussion problems -- introverts
Doing Literature with my 9th grader
TWEM (see Nan in Mass' methods in post #1)
Discussions in your homeschool -- how to do it?

Edited September 21, 2019 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

Gaahh! I misread your post and just did the OPPOSITE of what you are asking for... SO sorry.

 

Let me get back to you with ideas of questions for specific books.

 

[caedmyn]

Lol...I was thinking, "That's a lot of good information but sort of the opposite of what I was looking for!"

[desertflower]

SWB's handout for Academic Excellenc: gr. 5-8 -- lit discussion questions under  LA heading, 2/3rd down the page

50 Questions to Help Students Think About What They Think (reflection & collaboration; self-reflection; reasoning; analysis; connections; literary questions; science & social questions)

The 6 Tpes of Socratic Questions

Bloom's Taxonomy Questions

Twenty Five Question Stems Framed Around Bloom's Taxonomy

 

Guides for the parent to help guide discussion on literature

Suppose the Wolf Were an Octopus: Guide to Creative Questions for Literature (gr. 5-6)

Reading Strands

Teaching the Classics

 

 

Another suggestion:

Go through a resource such as Figurative Speaking and learn 1-2 literary elements per week and then practice looking for the elements in the Literature you're reading. Discuss what effect that literary element has on you in: enjoying and getting absorbed in the work; understanding the character; building the mood; developing a motif or theme; helping you see a "big idea" or worldview of the author; etc.

 

While these threads were for late middle school/high school ages and not just for Lit, you might find the discussions here of interest:

 

"How do you encourage independent thinking and discussion?"

"How valuable are Socratic questions?"

"When Discussion/Socratic questioning goes badly" -- how do you handle it

Why does my DD have lots to say (until I ask her to write it down) -- while specifically about using annotation to spark discussion on literature, this thread had specific ideas for giving hints to help guide the student into thinking and from there, discussion

 

Socratic discussion problems -- introverts

Doing Literature with my 9th grader

TWEM (see Nan in Mass' methods in post #1)

Discussions in your homeschool -- how to do it?

All is not lost.  I can use this information! :)  Thanks Lori.

 

 

[Lori D.]

Gaahh! I misread your post and just did the OPPOSITE of what you are asking for... SO sorry.

 

Let me get back to you with ideas of questions for specific books.

 

Okay, back again. ;)

 

 

I'm looking for something that gives Socratic-type discussion questions for each chapter of various books (ie a list of questions for each chapter of Little Women).  I'm not looking for reading comprehension or general literature analysis-type questions.  This would be for my 6th grader next year.   I need something more open-and-go than the generic lists of Socratic questions for any book that I've found.  Is there anything out there like this?

 

Okay, in re-reading your question, I'm really not sure that there is something out there like what you are asking for, at least from the way I'm interpreting your question, which could be me mis-reading in another direction. ;)

 

It sounds like:

 

- you want questions geared for each chapter of a specific book

Check -- sort-of. Individual lit. guides are written for specific works. While most do not have questions for EVERY chapter (the only guides I can think of right now that have *questions* for every chapter are the Garlic Press Discovering Literature series guides), the guides usually have questions for sections of the book, or for several chapters together.

 

- you don't want comprehension questions

Check; lit. guides usually provide 2 types of questions: comprehension and discussion questions, and the discussion questions are often of several types (literary devices and how they are working; "thinking" questions; and questions about themes, big ideas or other literature topics and how they are at work in the piece of literature). So, another check: easy enough to skip the comprehension questions.

 

- you don't want literature analysis-type questions

Hmmm... this becomes more problematic, because questions for a specific book usually involve analysis -- not only how literary elements are working, but also themes or big ideas or how the work fits in with the genre, etc. But, you could skip those questions, too.

 

- you want Socratic questions geared for each specific chapter of a book

But, the point of Socratic questions is that they are open-ended thinking questions that CAN be applied to any work, rather than questions specifically geared for an individual book... ?

 

If we set aside specifically Socratic-type questions, then you can probably use discussion questions (rather than comprehension or literary analysis questions) that are provided in individual lit. guides that cover several chapters at a time. If that is acceptable, then these are FREE guides to specific books, with some discussion questions:

- Glencoe Literature Library -- middle/high school

- Penguin Teacher's Guides -- high school/college

- Bibliomania -- high school/college

 

There's another free site out there with lots of middle school/high school titles, that I can't recall at the moment. I think it may be more comprehension questions than discussion. I'll come back and add it if I think of it.

 

Another helpful option that often provides the best finds are from google searches for the specific book, with a search wording of something like:  "study guide for ________", or, "discussion questions for ________".

 

 

One last question to consider is how is it you plan to use the resource? As prompts / helps / springboard for oral discussion with you and your student about the work? Or as solo work for the student? Because that really makes a difference in what resources will best meet your goals. If solo work, then a lit. guide with teaching info and a series of guided questions specific to the work is likely to be a better fit, and while the Glencoe Literature Library guides are good for some books, there are other individual guides that might fit better, with worksheets, guided questions, and with paragraphs of explanations and "teaching info" about literary elements and literature topics that fit in with the specific work being read.

 

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding what you want. BEST of luck in finding what fits for your needs/goals! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited April 14, 2017 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

All is not lost.  I can use this information! :)  Thanks Lori.

 

  :thumbup1:  "liking" your post :)

[Juliegmom]

My daughter just finished reading Little Women and I came across this old post. Great resources! Thanks, Lori! 

[nixpix5]

My daughter just finished reading Little Women and I came across this old post. Great resources! Thanks, Lori!

Thanks for bumping, I hadn't seen this one. I have saved more of Lori D's posts than anything else because she is a mecca of amazingly helpful information!

[RenaInTexas]

Just in case anyone finds this post looking for a similar resource -- as originally requested -- RFWP Suppose the Wolf were An Octopus is an exact such resource with questions for about 50 books per level.

Edited February 7, 2018 by RenaInTexas