Text Discussion: The Invention of Science

Students engage in discussion

Close Reading Text

Students will use close-reading strategies to examine a secondary source on the Scientific Revolution.  The text is an introduction to David Wotton's The Invention of Science (2015).  The text emphasizes the significance of the Scientific Revolution by making claims about how much life changed during the time.

Given a brief introduction, students will annotate the text with questions, comments, and reflections.

Discussion Guidelines

Teachers will walk students through the expectations of a seminar-style discussion.  Students should be divided into groups of six to eight.  Within each group, students are to be divided in half.  Half of the group will form an inner circle who will actively participate in the discussion using the text.  The second half of the group will be closely observing the discussion to provide feedback on speaking and listening skills.

Teachers should share the discussion guidelines with all students before breaking the class into groups.

Discussion Observation Form

Before beginning the discussion, the teacher should preview the observation form.  Discussion participants will learn what skills are focus areas, and discussion observers will discover how to record and share feedback on the discussion.