James A. Nottingham Books

Jumpstart meaningful learning for students with new Learning Challenge lessons Twenty new lessons, created to accompany The Learning Challenge, provide teachers with everything needed to run thoughtful, dialogue-driven challenges for elementary school students. Each compelling and developmentally-appropriate lesson invites young students to think, to be reasonable, to make moral decisions, and to understand another person’s point of view—all critical skills in today’s complex world. Detailed lesson plans help teachers facilitate rigorous discussion around topics of current importance and include activities and techniques that encourage students into the “Learning Pit” to explore ideas and uncertainties with others through dialogue.

Fans of the The Learning Challenge who want ready-to-use lessons for their secondary ELA classrooms need not look any further. This book provides teachers with everything they need to run dialogue-driven challenges so that students engage more deeply and develop literary skills critical to ELA standards. Students will analyze texts in lessons grounded in cognitive conflicts such as 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?)

This book is an accessible guide to helping boost your child's language, curiosity, and problem-solving abilities outside of the classroom. Packed full of learning activities for children and teaching advice for parents, this book is specifically designed to support parents engaging your children in thought-provoking conversations and problem-solving strategies. Divided into two parts, the authors first guide readers through "Learning Pit" theory, then present a range of lesson suggestions and useful resources for parents to draw on. This book will give you: Ideas for learning with friends and family Tools to ensure your children make the most of the feedback Resource cards and practical suggestions with each activity Confidence in your ability to impact your child's learning The perfect resource for parents supporting learning outside of school, School's Out, Learning's In will help you to boost your child's language, curiosity, and problem-solving abilities.