This document contains a summary of a student-centered learning lesson plan utilizing a Socratic circle discussion method. The lesson involves students reading and annotating a poem and nonfiction source related to themes in "The Lovely Bones" to prepare comments and questions. Students will then divide into two groups - an inner circle for in-person discussion and an outer circle using technology to participate in an online chat discussion, with the teacher only listening and redirecting as needed. Halfway through, the groups will switch roles. After, the teacher will review important notes from the discussion. The goal is for students to scaffold new understandings through collaborative discussion of curated materials.

1. Meagan Harrelson
FRIT 7235
Student-Centered Learning
Student-centered learning is a model of instruction wherein the teacher is not the focus and
is not simply dispensing information, but rather is providing students with the resources and
tools they will need to discover instruction. In this type of instruction, the teacher simply
serves as mediator/facilitator. The students are able to use their resources and ideas and
communicate with each other, therefore using one another’s knowledge to scaffold their
own understanding of a new topic.
I fully agree with this learning approach and believe it to be one of the best methods of
instruction. When students are given the opportunity to take control of their learning and be
accountable for their learning, many times they are more interested and engaged in the
material. With this approach, students are able to voice their own ideas and teach one
another, something they may not always get to do in a teacher-directed instructional setting.
Student-Centered Learning Lesson Plan: Socratic Circle
Monday
ALCOS/CCRS
OBJ.
10th Standards: RL1, RL2, RL3, RL5, RL7, SL1, SL5
Outcome
Students will be able to:
 Participate in collaborative discussions concerning theme, author's choices, character
development, and subject representation across multiple texts related to The Lovely
Bones by Alice Sebold.
 Use new and existing information to scaffold new ideas and knowledge concerning
topics presented.
 Use technology to add to classroom conversation.

2. Before
Students must come to class prepared for Socratic Circle. Preparation must include: 1
annotated poem (from a selection provided by teacher), 1 nonfiction source related to
themes or topics discussed in The Lovely Bones (found from a curated list of websites
provided by teacher), 3 thoughtful comments for each piece, along with textual evidence for
each comment, and 3-5 questions.
Teacher will briefly review the rules of Socratic Circle.
During
Students will divide into two groups; one sitting on the inner circle and one group sitting on
the outer circle. The students in the inner circle will use the materials they’ve prepared to
participate in collaborative discussion and come to educated conclusions for the questions
they’ve prepared. Students sitting on the outer circle will silently use technology to
participate in a chat session on Today’s Meet about the current discussion. The chat session
will be projected in the front of the classroom, and can be referred to by the inner circle
when the conversation seems dull or when the teacher directs attention to something on the
screen. During the Socratic Circle, the teacher will only listen and redirect conversation
when necessary. The teacher will also be taking notes on important comments and questions
that arise.
Halfway through the period, students will stop and the inner circle will move to the outer
circle, and vice-versa.
After
The teacher will review her notes with the class and revisit necessary comments and
questions that arose during discussion.