Socratic Smackdown

Every week or so, history students in middle and high school at K12 International Academy can attend a fun activity: the Socratic Smackdown. The Socratic Smackdown comes in a classconnect hosted by your history course’s teacher. Participants look at a certain topic featured in a history book. They then create an “argument” in which they try to prove certain points on the topic. For example, do you think Zheng He was a thoroughly brave explorer of the Indian Ocean? Why or why not? There are several strategies: -Agree: agree with another person’s point. This gives you 1 point. -Disagree: disagree with another person’s point. This gives you 1 point. -Question: ask a question to learn from another person. This gives you 1 point, -Devil’s Advocate: pose a question or situation that’s counter to another person’s point. This gives you 2 points. -Add Evidence: use evidence from text in the history book or other sources. This gives you 2 points. There are also some things you shouldn’t do: -Interrupt: interrupt someone. This takes away 1 point. -Distract: distract participants from topics (Zheng He did this and that...anyone want to watch Star Wars or something?). This takes away 1 point. -Insult: insult someone. This takes away 1 point. Now that you are familiar with the rules and details about Socratic Smackdown, you can attend one of the meetings. Check the classconnect schedules, and you’re ready to go! Trust me, it’s fun; you’ll want to do it!

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