My 8th grade ELA class is about much more than isolated grammar drills and reading comprehension quizzes about random passages. At the center of my classes are great books, which I draw from specific curricula: Wit and Wisdom and Odell. Over the years, though, I have learned how to extend my curricula by creating opportunities for students to delve deeper into the texts and connect them to the world around them. In this piece, I will describe three specific curricular extensions I use with my middle school students: Socratic Seminars, mock trials, and literature circles.
Socratic Seminars: Fostering Thoughtful Dialogue
Socratic Seminars transform the classroom into a space for inquiry, intellectual exchange, critical thinking, and active listening. Rather than answering teacher-driven questions, students pose their own inquiries and engage in respectful dialogue about a shared text. Students analyze texts, question assumptions, and form reasoned arguments, improving their ability to think deeply and logically.
This format:
-Encourages students to support their opinions with textual evidence
-Promotes active listening and thoughtful, respectful responses, even with differing opinions
-Shifts the teacher’s role from lecturer to facilitator, empowering student voice
-Encourages students to support their claims with evidence
-Builds confidence in public speaking
When students lead discussions on a novel like Things Fall Apart or a poem by Nikki Giovanni, they begin to appreciate the nuance and complexity of literature in ways that go far beyond the surface. In addition, students are able to make real-world connections which begins to develop a deeper understanding of the text and a possible love for reading.
Students are seated in two circles: the inner and outer circle. The inner circle begins the discussion while the outer circle observes to prepare to give feedback. Prior to the seminar, the teacher, shown on the right, sets purpose for the lesson. Typically, setting purpose consists of the teacher calling on students to identify how the seminar can relate to their everyday lives. Sample responses from students include:
-the ability to collaborate and work as a team building social skills
-the ability to acknowledge others perspectives, even if you don’t agree
-providing effective evidence, assisting with supporting claims
-time management–each circle is allotted a specific time to complete the seminar
Setting purpose can also include recalling important ideas from the previous lesson or preparing students for a writing activity in the next lesson.
Midway through the seminar, students give their partners feedback based on their goals and progress. At the beginning of the seminar, students jot down three goals on their rubric that they can reference throughout the seminar. During the intermission, partners view goals to provide feedback. Goals include, but are not limited to:
-participate
-cite textual evidence/analyze evidence
-acknowledge other’s perspectives
-use academic language
-make inferences/draw conclusions
-ask open-ended questions
Mock Trials: Bringing Literature to Life
Mock trials are a highly engaging way to help students analyze character motivation, ethical dilemmas, and narrative conflict. Whether they’re defending black protestors and rioters or prosecuting the doctors in Henrietta Lack’s case, students must:
-Analyze text from multiple perspectives
-Write persuasively and speak confidently in front of peers
-Work collaboratively in roles like attorneys, witnesses, and jury members
The power of the mock trial lies in its ability to make abstract literary themes tangible. It’s one thing to read about justice in a novel; it’s another to argue it in court, and possibly absolve a group of middle school students from guilt! Moreover, students get to continue practicing citing and analyzing evidence which is paramount, not only for state testing, but helping students understand the justice system, laws, and democratic principles.
From left to right: The bailiff, standing with the orange “security” vest; two prosecution attorneys, one cannot be seen in the picture; defensive attorney, standing with the black and white cardigan; witness, seated at the tall desk; second defensive attorney, seating with navy blue shirt; jury, seated towards the back of the classroom.
Prosecution and defense present closing arguments. This is their final opportunity to convince the jury that their side provided the most accurate testimonies and evidence.
The jury steps in the hallway to make a decision, then two students from the jury deliver the verdict. They also explain how they reached their decision. If time permits, students, along with the teacher, may ask questions to challenge ideas presented during the trial.
Literature Circles: Building Community Through Reading
Literature circles give students ownership of their learning. In small groups, students read and discuss a text, taking on rotating roles such as discussion director, vocabulary enricher, artist and connector.
This model:
-Increases student engagement by offering choice and autonomy
-Strengthens reading comprehension through peer discussion
-Encourages students to take responsibility for their contributions
By allowing students to select texts that resonate with them, literature circles not only boost literacy skills–they help cultivate lifelong readers.
Making It Work in Your Classroom
Incorporating these strategies doesn’t require an overhaul of your curriculum. Instead, think of them as extensions–ways to deepen learning around your existing units. Here are a few tips to get started:
-Start small: Implement a Socratic Seminar after a short story, or run a one-day mini mock trial. I also begin the school year with a Socratic Seminar on an article related to cell phones and students’ mental health. Beginning the year with relatable texts and engaging activities, sets the tone for the school year. It's interesting to see how many times students will ask “can we do that thing again that we did the first week of school?”. Moreover, it is a great way to learn about your students. Things such as vocabulary usage, academic language, confidence or the lack thereof, and comprehension of the text are revealed. The “first week seminar” can serve as a diagnostic for speaking and listening standards.
-Create structure: Provide clear roles, rubrics, and expectations to guide student work. Good classroom management is essential for the aforementioned extension activities. During Socratic Seminars, the outer circle only responds for feedback, during the allotted time. Students are not allowed to get up and move around during the seminar as it can be distracting. During mock trials, the jury simply listens and takes notes. Furthermore, attorneys and witnesses have to refrain from being argumentative. Strategic roles should be differentiated for literature circles; when presenting findings, you want to choose students who are articulate and open to speaking in front of the class. However, by 3rd quarter, you want to allow others to get experience with speaking. In that, the time keeper should not be keeping time for the duration of the year; progressively adding roles to the time keepers job helps with accountability.
-Encourage reflection: Ask students to journal or debrief after each activity to reinforce metacognitive growth. Reflections are super beneficial for teachers to inform their instruction and teaching practices. In addition, when taking time to read students' reflections and implementing their suggestions, choose wisely, it builds trust within the classroom community.
-Celebrate process over perfection: Focus on the development of thinking and communication skills rather than “right” answers. Students are not going to master the standards or skills from these extension activities immediately. Trust the process and give students accolades for being able to critically think and collaborate with their peers.
Conclusion
The extended ELA curriculum isn’t about doing more–it’s more about doing better. By integrating strategies like Socratic Seminars, mock trials, literature circles, teachers can create learning experiences that are intellectually rigorous, emotionally resonant, and deeply human. These are the kinds of lessons students remember–not just because they meet standards, but because they change the way students see literature, each other, and themselves.
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