Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The Westing Game

Use The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin to turn your read aloud or small group work into a time to improve comprehension and talk about the text in purposeful ways.

A modern classic and the winner of the Newberry Medal, The Westing Game is an excellent novel to introduce readers to the mystery genre. The story is clever enough that readers will have to pay careful attention and so engaging they will not want to put it down. Readers will learn to set a purpose for reading and understand how the chapters in a mystery novel fit together. The Book Club lesson plans draw student attention to the overall structure of clues and the author's use of suspense and foreshadowing. Students will also learn to develop a list of suspects and find evidence to support their solution to the mystery.

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with The Westing Game in the drop down below.

Instructional Overview

The first page of Book Club for The Westing Game Instructional Overview

Instructional Overview

The instructional overview includes instructional background for mysteries, instructional objectives for each of the Book Club meetings, and a list of the materials and preparation necessary to the The Westing Game Book Club.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Management Resources

The first page of Book Club for The Westing Game Management Resources

Management Resources

The management resources include a Book Club Calendar, conversation prompts, Student Self-Evaluation forms, Reading Response Board (with optional Common Core alignment), and an Expectations for Book Club anchor chart.

Meeting 1

Escape into the mystery genre with The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. This Book Club focuses on understanding the text structure of mysteries so that students can find clues, examine suspects, and successfully solve the puzzle.

Meeting 2

In order to solve the mystery in The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, readers will have to identify and track the clues the author presents. The use of a graphic organizer will help students stay focused on clues as they read.

Meeting 3

One of the key features of a mystery like Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game is suspense for the reader. This meeting focuses on examining how the author creates suspense through applying pressure, creating complications, and being unpredictable.

Meeting 4

Foreshadowing is another technique often used in the mystery genre. Author Ellen Raskin uses foreshadowing in The Westing Game to hint at things that will become important to the story later on. Paying close attention to these clues will help readers be able to solve the puzzle.

Meeting 5

When trying to solve the puzzle in The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, it is important to notice who the possible suspects are. Keeping a list of the characters that have the means and opportunity to commit the crime will help readers stay focused.

Meeting 6

This final The Westing Game Book Club meeting shows students how to use the important details of the story to solve the puzzle. Can you correctly guess, "who done it?"

Vocabulary Connections with The Westing Game

The first page of Vocabulary Connections with The Westing Game

Vocabulary Connections with The Westing Game

This set of vocabulary development resources for The Westing Game highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book.  Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Focus Assessment and Rubric

The first page of Book Club for The Westing Game Focus Assessment and Rubric

Focus Assessment and Rubric

Use this six-question assessment to determine whether or not students understand the key concepts associated with mystery genre.

Running Record with The Westing Game

Thumbnail for Running Record with The Westing Game

Running Record with The Westing Game

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with The Westing Game. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.

Management Resources - Spanish

The first page of Book Club for The Westing Game Management Resources

Management Resources - Spanish

The management resources include a Book Club Calendar, conversation prompts, Student Self-Evaluation forms, Reading Response Board (with optional Common Core alignment), and an Expectations for Book Club anchor chart.

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About the Book

The cover for the book The Westing Game
Title: The Westing Game
Author: Ellen Raskin
Genre: Mystery
Themes: Award Winners
ISBN: 9780142401200
Publisher's Summary:
A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead…but that won’t stop him from playing one last game!
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