Puzzle Them First!

Motivating Adolescent Readers With Question-Finding

A. Vincent Ciardiello

One of the finest monographs on questioning and motivation that I have read.
— Richard T. Vacca, Professor Emeritus, Kent State University, and IRA past president

Vincent Ciardiello suggests that to truly learn, students should be puzzled about new knowledge. Question-finding, the unique strategy described in this book, fosters this learning by leading adolescent students to probe the multiple meanings of text and ask challenging, open-ended questions. Focus units illustrate how you can use question-finding across the curriculum.

In each chapter, the author encourages you to “pause and ponder” and “ponder and practice” to reinforce and apply the question-finding concepts. Other practical tools include

An annotated list of materials and resources that stimulate question-finding
A sample lesson plan that demonstrates the strategy
A glossary of important concepts and specialized terms that help you understand the question-finding process

Use this resource to motivate and engage your students and help them become independent readers and inquirers.

This book is out of stock at IRA but available from Amazon.

Also of interest:

Adolescent Literacy, Field Tested

Related lesson plans:

MyTube: Changing the World With Video Public Service Announcements