Practical strategies for bringing The Learning Challenge to life in your secondary ELA classroom The Learning Challenge has captured the imaginations of educators, students, and their parents by introducing the idea of  Learning Pit"—a state of cognitive conflict that causes students to think more deeply, critically, and strategically until they discover their "eureka!" moment.  Now, fans of the The Learning Challenge who want practical examples and ready-to-use lessons for their secondary ELA classrooms need not look any further. This book provides teachers with everything they need to run thoughtful, dialogue-driven challenges so that students engage more deeply with the classics and develop literary skills critical to ELA standards. Students will analyze texts in lessons grounded in cognitive conflicts such as We are all responsible for our own actions, and yet we sometimes act because we are following orders or instructions from others (Lesson 1: Who was responsible for the death of William in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?) To be successful you cannot fail, but most successful people have experienced many failures along the way (Lesson 7: Was Jay Gatsby a success?) Love is impossible to define, and yet everyone knows what love is (Lesson 11: Is Romeo really in love?) From detailed lesson plans and activities for running Learning Challenges in the classroom, to full-color activity cards that enhance each lesson, this must-have resource offers relevant and timely instructional strategies on topics that interest and engage secondary students.  

Table of Contents:
List of Figures Index of Concepts Acknowledgements About the Authors About the Contributors The Language of Learning Part I: Setting the Scene Chapter 1: Preparing to Use the Lesson Ideas 1.0 Introduction 1.1 The Learning Challenge 1.2 Learning Intentions 1.3 High-Quality Dialogue 1.4 Exploratory Talk 1.5 Underpinning Values Chapter 2: The Lesson Activities 2.0 Overview 2.1 Mysteries 2.2 Ranking 2.3 Sorting and Classifying With Venn Diagrams 2.4 Opinion Lines 2.5 Opinion Corners 2.6 Fortune Lines 2.7 Living Graphs 2.8 Concept Lines 2.9 Odd One Out 2.10 Concept Target 2.11 Concept Corners 2.12 Concept Map 2.13 Jigsaw Groups Part II: The Lesson Ideas Lesson 1: Who Was Responsible for the Death of William in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein? Lesson 2: Do We Feel Sympathy for Scrooge in Stave 1 of A Christmas Carol? Lesson 3: How Are Dreams Presented in Jane Eyre? Lesson 4: Does Heathcliff Become More or Less Monstrous Over the Course of the Novel Wuthering Heights? Lesson 5: Does Louisa May Alcott’s Novel Little Women Accept or Challenge Gender Stereotypes? Lesson 6: Was Toto Dorothy’s Only True Friend? Lesson 7: Which Is the Most Important Symbol in The Great Gatsby? Lesson 8: Which Example of Foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men Has the Most Impact on the Reader? Lesson 9: Was It Acceptable for Liesel to Steal in The Book Thief? Lesson 10: Was Macbeth Really a Tragic Hero? Lesson 11: Is Romeo Really In Love? Lesson 12: Who Has the Most Power in Romeo and Juliet? Lesson 13: Is Tybalt a Villain or a Victim? Lesson 14: Is Fame Important? Lesson 15: Was Wilfred Owen a Patriot or a Pacifist? Lesson 16: Does the Poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ Show Us How to Make the Right Choice? Lesson 17: Was the Californian Gold Rush of 1848 the Main Cause of Conflict Between Native and European Americans? Lesson 18: Did Anne Frank Experience Happiness? Lesson 19: Why Was Winston Churchill’s Speech Effective? Lesson 20: What Was the Intent of President Reagan’s Speech at Moscow State University in 1988? References Photocopiable Masters Index