Kindly note:
This is an ESL friendly class, CEFR  level — B1-B2 (intermediate).
Please feel free to write me via Outschool email with questions.
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Long-considered a modern masterpiece, The Phantom Tollbooth is one of the best-selling and most beloved books in publishing history,  enthralling millions of learners with clever quips and hilarity while igniting a true and abiding love of learning.   "As Pilgrim's Progress is concerned with the awakening of the sluggardly spirit, The Phantom Tollbooth is concerned with the awakening of the lazy mind." said Emily Maxwell in The New Yorker. Learning the skills of speech and debate, while understanding great books, continues with Spar Lit Jr. 8: Understanding Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth With Speech and Debate.

The Phantom Tollbooth is the story of Milo, a regular kid who is just bored.  Bored with school, bored with games, bored with friends bored with EVERYTHING. And then Milo  receives a mysterious gift: a giant box containing a magic tollbooth that somehow transports him to The Kingdom of Wisdom whereupon he will be called upon to master a series of increasingly complex challenges.  Often compared to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Phantom Tollbooth is filled with puns and wordplay, excitement, imagination and out and out joy. 

The Phantom Tollbooth is a book that challenges the reader's critical thinking skills and offers the opportunity for keen-eyed observation and in depth thinking.   And it's truly, deeply funny!

Each class in The Phantom Tollbooth will feature an introduction with lessons in both observation literacy  to give students the opportunity to further sharpen their critical thinking skills. Optional writing assignments will be provided after each class as well to give learners the opportunity both to enhance oral speaking abilities and explore creative writing.

The Phantom Tollbooth is the 8th in my own series of  Spar Lit Jr. Outschool classes, following my own Spar Lit Jr:  Understanding Literature Through Speech and Debate (A Wrinkle in Time) and Spar Lit Jr. 2: Understanding Literature Through Debate --A Long Way From Chicago and Spar Lit Jr. 3: Understanding The Westing Game Debate and Spar Lit Jr. 4: Understanding From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Through Debate, and Spar Lit Jr. 5: Understanding Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer Through Debate,  Spar Lit Jr. 6: Understanding Harriet the Spy Through Speech and Debate, and Spar Lit Jr. 7: Understanding Linda Sue Park's A Single Shard Through Debate. These classes, merging literary discussion and debate, can be taken in any order. 

Both first-time students and learners who have taken any of my previous  Spar Lit Jr. classes ( A Wrinkle in Time, A Long Way from Chicago, The Westing Game, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Chasing Vermeer, Harriet the Spy, A Single Shard)  are welcome in this class. No previous experience with Spar debate is necessary. 

Our classes will focus on blending the acknowledged technique of Spar debating with understanding literature through debate and discussion.  Spar means “SPontaneous ARgumentation” a quicktime technique that is used to prepare students for formal debate.  Our class will use  Spar debating the key points of literature to explore the bestselling The Phantom Tollbooth.

The result?  Students will learn to take a position on key issues involving intriguing and provocative literary questions, while gaining a nuanced and thorough understanding both sides of every issue. All students will gain an enhanced exploration of literature while expanding debate techniques. 

This class has been purposely limited to six students to maximize the participation of every learner.  

Moreover, optional writing assignments will be provided after each class as well to give learners the opportunity both to enhance oral speaking abilities and explore creative writing and further enhance their critical thinking skills. These assignments range from creative writing to assertion essay writing, mapmaking to design and puzzles. The teacher will provide a personalized response to all finished work. 

Our 6-session class will run as follows:
Week 1: Chapters 1 - 4
Week 2: Chapters 5-7
Week 3: Chapters 8-`10
Week 4: Chapters 11-13
Week 5: Chapters 14-17
Week 6:  Chapters 18-20

Spar is quick debate! With debaters given the Pro or Con position, a short Spar debate can illuminate ideas and provide for more nuanced critical thinking. 

Each class will run as follows:

5 minutes of general introduction

30 minutes of interactive  discussion on the chapter or pages set for the class

20 minutes of ongoing Spar pro/con debate involving key literary questions from the weekly reading


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How does Spar debating work?

10 MINUTE MINI DEBATES!

Students face off in pairs to debate a Pro/Con question involving the specific reading from literature for the day.

COIN FLIP TO DETERMINE PRO/CON (position 1 or position 2)

2 minutes

Both students have 1 minute to brainstorm ideas for their position (evidence/arguments)

1 minute
Pro student gives a 1 minute opening statement to make their case (Con student listens quietly and takes notes)

1 minute
Con student gives a 1 minute opening statement to make their case (Pro student listens quietly and take notes)

30 seconds
Both students think!

2 to 3 minutes
Mini crossfire discussion where both students can ask each other questions about opposing statements.

30 seconds
Both students think again to prepare their closing statements

30 second
Con student gives a 30 second closing statement (Pro student listens quietly)

30 second
Pro student gives a 1 minute closing statement (Con student listens quietly)

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Our sessions will run as follows:

No previous experience with speech and debate or Spar debating required, However,  this class also provides an excellent outlet for speech and debate students interested in enhancing their ability to communicate their ideas with clarity and style that will be useful in classrooms and in ongoing discussions everywhere.