How to Teach The Westing Game in the Classroom
"The Westing Game," by Ellen Raskin, is a popular novel to teach in elementary and lower middle school classrooms. It is a fun novel with a large cast of characters who all meet together during the reading of Mr. Westing's will. They are given clues to figure out a mystery surrounding his will. The "contestants" pair up to solve the mystery and find out who is the Westing heir. "The Westing Game" won the Newberry Award in 1979, and it is still being read and enjoyed by children, teachers, and parents today.
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Things You'll Need
- Reading response journal (notebook)
- Pencil
- "The Westing Game"
- Sentence strips or posterboard cut into strips
- Chart paper
- Markers
Instructions
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How to Teach "The Westing Game" in the Classroom
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Supply one book, "The Westing Game," for each student, or read one copy aloud during oral reading time.
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Assign students the task of writing down character names in their reading response journals, as Ellen Raskin introduces each person. Next to each character name, students should write the character's career, anything special about him or her, and the name of his or her partner. Since there are so many characters in "The Westing Game," it is important to keep track of them with a list.
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Read small sections of the book at a time. Students can either read it on their own silently, listen to you read and follow along in their books, or read in small groups of students. After each section, ask students to write in their reading response journals about the important events and any clues given that the characters are trying to figure out. Then you should discuss with students the section that they read and the notes that they took.
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Ask students to predict at various times throughout the novel whom they think the Westing heir is. They should not just blindly guess, but should provide reasons why they believe that a certain character is the heir. Their reasons can be quotes or events from "The Westing Game." Ask students to hand in these predictions on sheets of notebook paper, listing their reasons. You can hold on to these papers and see how predictions change throughout the novel and why. On a piece of chart paper, keep track of the character whom students believe is the heir.
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Finish reading the book, while giving students the opportunity to write about characters, clues, and events in their reading response journals. Before reading the end of the book, ask students to give one last prediction. When students finish the book, you can do a project such as dressing up like "The Westing Game" characters, having a finale party, or creating an idea for a sequel to "The Westing Game."
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Tips & Warnings
Give students Post-It notes while they are reading silently to themselves. Students can write down questions on the text or about vocabulary that challenges them. When they are finished reading, discuss these notes with individual students. Or you can use the notes to plan future lessons.
