Socratic Seminar

Seventh and eighth grade AVID students participated in two Socratic Seminars recently. Students used Hamilton: An American Musical's "Cabinet Battle #1" and "Cabinet Battle #2" for topics. Students discussed issues brought up over 200 years ago in Washington's cabinet. These included: Should the U.S. help the French, create the National Bank and the beginnings of tension between the North and the South.

To prepare for the Socratic Seminar, students marked the text, answered questions, created a pro/con chart, and formulated discussion questions, among other activities.  A Socratic Seminar then took place where students engaged in discussion by asking and answering questions and citing specific passages in the text. All five aspects of WICOR were utilized!  AVID students had such a great time, they requested another seminar the following week, which was carried out!

Stanford University Virtual Tour

On Friday, seventh and eighth grade AVID students took a virtual tour of Stanford University. Using iPods and the Google Expeditions App, students landed 400 miles away to the Stanford campus where they explored Larkin Hall, saw the Stanford Band in action, took a peek inside the Land Reading Room, and viewed the Arrilaga Family Dining Commons. Can't wait to see where we go next!