Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Socratic Seminars
A Socratic seminar can be described as a great discussion over the assigned material that ansers certain essential questions that have been posted. The following questions will be discussed upon our completion of the novel. While you are reading the novel, you must jot down examples and answers to these four essential questions. Your answers will provoke great conversations. Answer these questions in your composition book (FOB). Label them as a journal: OMAM Essential Questions. The Essential Questions are as follows: 1. What kinds of circumstances are truly beyond an individuals control and what options are truly within the realm of personal choice? Can murder ever be justified? Whats the difference between murder and mercy killing? Who decides? 2. As a society, what is in our responsibility to people who circumstances are beyond their control? What is our responsibility to those people, like Lennie, who cannot make choices for themselves? 3. What is the meaning of friendship, loneliness, and being an outsider? How can friendship/companionship combat loneliness? Do our friends have to look and act like us? What is our responsibility to the friendless? (less fortunate/less able people) 4. What is the importance of our dreams for our future? Why do our well-planned and thought out dreams often change? What happens if our dreams are never realized? Responses to these essential questions are to be carefully, thoughtfully, and thoroughly outlined and discussed in your compositions notebooks. These questions need to be discussed in your composition notebooks. These questions need to be discussed through the lens of examples from the book, from personal life, and from world experiences. (World experiences might need to be researched!) These responses will be used in a Socratic Seminar when we finish reading the novel. Socratic seminar participation is graded (summative) and each person in the group must speak at least once in the conversation. The conversation focuses on a claim to answer the question, and then the speaker must present evidence from examples in the text and personal or real world experiences. Piggybacks can occur when additional examples are offered to support one persons claim or the examples may qualify (change or restrict) the claim. The student will be assess on the italicized components.