Westing Game ideas

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Home : 2006 : October : 17

Westing Game ideas
By katabanata

I used this website to find some of the lesson plans and ideas that I currently use for The Westing Game. I start the unit by introducing the mystery genre and teaching them the vocabulary (red herring, sleuth, etc.). You
can find some great picture books to read as an intro. also.

I have the kids pick the names of the characters out of a hat, and then have them draw the person using the description in the book. There are 16 characters involved in the will, but there are also many minor characters, and I want each kid to be able to pick a name. Since there is barely a description of the minor

characters, I have the kids that choose these characters draw based on what they imagine the character to look like. I hang these pictures up on the board (suspect chart) and we take notes and write down the clues for each character, and talk about their relationships to each other as well. The drawings and the notes help the kids keep track of all the characters.

This is a great book to have the kids make predictions with. It can definitely be done after every few chapters also.

There are a few websites that are good also. This book can be confusing for some kids to read on their own. I'm thinking of doing it as a read-aloud and doing small reading groups with other mystery novels. Do you have any recommendations of mysteries?