The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

This is one of my absolute favorite books. It is also my top pick for book about an athlete. Jessica Carlisle pretty much had an ideal life. Best friend, crush on a cute boy, and a pretty amazing runner. After a successful track meet, Jessica takes the celebratory bus back home.

And ends up in the hospital missing a leg.

A devastating crash leaves Jessica as a below the knee amputee. Jessica is sure her life is over and she will never run again.

Then her friend Fiona shows her a video of runners racing with prosthetic legs. An idea is born. Her track team rallies and raises enough funds (along with help from an anonymous donor) to buy a prosthetic running leg.

She begins to run again, once again taking to the road and trail with her dog Sherlock. Once something she wouldn’t even dare to hope for, she was rebuilding her endurance and her strength.

Throughout these events, Jessica has befriended a fellow student named Rosa. Rosa and Jessica talk about everything. Rosa imagines running as flying. Jessica then realizes it’s her job to make Rosa fly. Not just to give her the gift of running but also to raise awareness of Rosa. Rosa is wheelchair bound, has cerebral palsy and has speech that takes work to hear. Most of Rosa’s classmates ignore Rosa.

Jessica decides she will run in a 10 mile race, all the while pushing Rosa in her wheelchair. She begins to train, using a wheelchair her father built for this purpose placing sandbags in the seat. On the day of the race, pushing Rosa is harder than she ever imagined. But she does it. She runs again and Rosa flies. People start to see Rosa as Rosa not just as her cerebral palsy, her wheelchair, or speech.

Honestly, if the part about Rosa was not included in the book, I don't think I would like it as much. It would a great book, no doubt, but it wouldn't have the same punch and wouldn't stick in my heart as much.

I read Wendelin Van Draanen's book every fall as the weather begins to get colder and excuses to not run seem to grow magically. If Jessica can run again and help Rosa fly, why can’t I just bundle up and go for a run? I have two perfectly working legs. I have no excuses.

Soccerland by Beth Choat

Age Range: Age 12 and up

Flora’s dream is to play for the U.S. in the Olympics. Her mother was a soccer player who planted the seed of this dream in her mind. When her mother died of cancer when Flora was 10, Flora becomes even more determined to continue with soccer. In her small Maine potato farming town, no one else quite understands, not even her teammates.  Flora gets the opportunity to stay at the international Sports Academy (ISA) for three weeks and jumps at it. Going to camp at ISA is equal to a three week tryout for the U.S. U15 team (did I mention that Flora is only 13?). The majority of the book takes place at ISA in Colorado where Flora makes some friends for life, faces her own fears and doubts in the form of chatty teammates, and works hard to please an ice faced British soccer coach (who only refers to soccer as football and calls the field pitch among other British-isms.). Flora ends up not making the team but the coach offers her the chance to live and train at the training grounds year round, ultimately to join the U15 team. She jumps at the chance with the knowledge she is leaving her family (whom she is very close to) behind in Maine.

What made me like this book so much is how Flora stuck with her dream. In some books, the main character gets brought down by reality as they realize their family needs them on the farm, they’re just not  a good enough soccer player, or their grandfather’s heart attack is a reality check of what she is missing at home. ALL these events happen in the book, yet Flora persists. It’s as if her memory of her mom is stronger than all that.

As a former competitive skier and a sports journalist, author Beth Choate has the background to really capture the environment, emotions, and experiences of a competitive athlete. Beth Choate’s website is very thorough, providing answers to all the questions I had while reading (mainly, is ISA real and when can I go?! It sounds like an amazing place just for kids! Unfortunately, Choate made it up). But my favorite quote on the site was in the answer to the question “Did you always write?” She responded: “In a word, no. I am, and always have been, a voracious reader.” Kindergarten connection finger time! Although I do have to admit, I have always loved to write fiction in addition to reading. I just need to become more disciplined!

QB1 by Mike Lupica

Age Range: Ages 10 and up

This book can be best summed up as Friday Night Lights meets the Manning brothers. But that doesn’t do it complete justice.

Jake Cullen comes from a family of football and a legend of quarterbacks. His brother graduated the year before and now plays for a D1 college and his father is a former NFL player. Jake, as a high school freshman and younger brother, has to prove his own worth and abilities as a quarterback. He begins as a third string and through the book works his way up to first string quarterback leading the team to a state championship. As a freshman.

Okay I’m not going to lie. This does strike me as a little idealistic and unrealistic. I almost wish Jake had stepped out of his father and brothers shadow not as a triplicate version but as his own person. Yes, Jake is described as being bright and intelligent, using his mind as much as his body playing quarterback unlike his father and brother, but otherwise they all follow the same trajectory of success at a young age.

Anyway, ramble aside, Lupica does do an amazing job at capturing the aura and technicalities of football. This book could and will draw in football players and athletes who might be reluctant readers (and those who aren’t!) especially for middle school students. I work with several boys who play football and also struggle with reading. This is definitely a book I will be recommending to them. I think what I like best about Mike Lupica’s books (as well as Tim Green’s books – and Matt Christopher books – but sadly I feel like kids don’t read his books as much anymore) are that they not only capture the sport in detail - they also capture the real life human interactions.

There are strong friendships, rivalries among team mates and classmates, as well as the mixed bag of family dynamics. In this case Jake Cullen has two friends who he can turn to, a mother who roots for him and understands his views on life, a teammate rivaling for the quarterback spot, and a father who puts the older brother before Jake. The main character is usually a strong protagonist standing up to wrong doing is occurring (n this case a dual issue of the rival team mate and Jake’s own father) and taking the best path (not fighting the teammate but using words and walking away to keep the team together). But these books are still able to show how these characters struggle with their emotions and making hard decisions, making it seem more realistic. They’re not just goody two shoes who know the “right” way and always feel the “right” feelings. This book (as well as Lupica’s other books) show the real, grittier side of life and even with that side of life, you can still make good choices.

Hat’s off to a Connecticut author who makes sports come alive!

Book Amnesia, Part 2

I recently blogged about my book amnesia and some of the strategies I was going to try. Since this happens to be a snow day where reading is a wonderful snowed in activity, I decided to update. I’ve definitely been reading less and I’ve been reading slower. Instead of staying up until 11 to finish a book, I turn off the light at 9:30 and reassure myself that a book thief will not come during the night. This also makes getting up in the morning easier, by the way!
The log of books I LOVE?

Not so much. When I was in college I took a fictional reading class. What could be better than reading books for credit? Except we didn’t just read them, we analyzed them. We critiqued them. We took all the symbolisms out of them and debated what the different colors in the kitchen meant. By the end, I was cursed! I couldn’t pick up a book to read on my own without reflecting on and analyzing characters motivations, author’s choice for setting and all those grand things. After a few months, this instinct (thankfully) faded. I was back to enjoying books for being books. Do I still sometimes wonder these things or make connections in the stories I read? Of course, but it no longer feels like a chore.

 That’s what creating a list of books I LOVE became. One more thing to do. It might have been easier if I make it less important: just an excel spreadsheet with the date, author and title. And if I want to know more or refresh my mind I can look up the book and read a summary. I know, I know, the lazy man’s way out. But for me reading is a way to relax, it’s for pleasure. If I start assigning work to it, I just ignore the work because I know that’s just the crazy me talking. But there are some books I do want to share on this blog so maybe I’ll limit my analysis and work to books I really, really love that could also be used in the classroom. And then I’ll just post a summary of them to this blog (it will also help me to get back to blogging about great books!).

On a totally unrelated note, I think this snow day is making me a little stir crazy. Being inside all day is not my normal M.O. (I love running [even in the snow!] and being active). I read a lot, tried not to eat too much, and…painted my nails: Barbie pink with sparkles. I’m sure I’ll be cringing tomorrow when I actually go into public with them…but for now they are 10 bright spots in a white snowy world!

Can you read TOO much?

Recently I was talking with the Reading Specialist about books we thought would be good picks for our 8th grade reading class. As we browsed through the lists of award winning books and came up with our own titles of books we read, a reoccurring event would happen. “Oh! How about The Compound! Did you read that?” I would nod, “Yes! I loved that book. That would be a good pick for the girls since there is a strong female protagonist.” “Isn’t the main character a boy?” the reading specialist replied. Hm. But isn’t there a strong female character too?

 Next book: “You know, I think the book Saving Armpit would be a good pick.” “What was it about?” The reading specialist asked. “Oh, hmm, well there was a girl, and she had this special power, and … actually that might be another book I read…Maybe Powerless?”

 This happened for so many books that we talked about! I had definitely read them, I remember the general gist or feeling from the story (i.e. a tale of survival, adventure, saving a town) but I couldn’t recall any of the actual plot, the main characters, or the settings of the story in a clear way. It worried me. After this conversation I walked away sure I had some kind of book amnesia. I was also worried: Do I read too many books? This is not something I would consider possible. A good book is like a bowl of ice cream minus the calories.

Yet, in the last four days, I finished reading Soccerland, Swagger, The Mediator Book 2, and Creamy v. Crunchy. I’m also in the middle of reading World Peace and other Fourth Grade Achievements and How My Summer Went Up In Flames. Next on my To Read list (as in I’ll read them within the next week): The Mediator Book 3, The Calder Games, Wild Cards, and Words Their Way.

I read five books in four days. I would say this is about average for me. Sometimes I read more (In the summer, it bumps up to about three books a day) and sometimes less (during busy times, maybe one book over three days). But I can tell you what these books were all about! Soccerland = Amazing! Is there a sequel?; Swagger = Sad, Not the kind of book I usually read or want to read; The Mediator = Slow at first but about 1/3 of the way in I was hooked (hence wanting to read the third book); and Creamy v. Crunchy was pretty good for a research book. It was about the history of peanut butter (and totally made me want to go eat my all natural organic peanut butter more than normal). Although (reader confession!) I did skip some pages in this last book.

I have a gist for the guts of the book. But do I actually remember the plot? Let’s take Soccerland as an example: It’s about a girl who dreams of playing for the US in the Olympics. Her mom died of cancer when she was 10 and her mom was also soccer player. She lives with her French-Canadian family in Maine where they own a potato farm. The majority of the book takes place at a US training camp where she spends two weeks essentially trying out for the US U15 soccer team. She ends up not making the team but the coach offers her the chance to live at the training grounds to train year round to ultimately be able to join U15. She jumps at the chance with the knowledge she is leaving her family (whom she is very close to) behind in Maine.

Phew. Okay that was actually seemed like a decent summary. Except, I don’t remember the girl’s name. And I didn’t capture all the parts that made it so amazing (such as all the inter- and intrapersonal details that made the book seem real, interesting, and inspiring) that are why I would recommend it.  And I read this book TWO days ago. As time goes on, I know that I’ll forget more. I’ll forget she has a cousin who she fights with like a brother. I’ll forget her grandpa had a heart attack (or is it a concussion?). I’ll forget her roommates name (Samantha). I’ll forget she lives in Maine and goes to train in Colorado (I think?).

I think my issue with reading books is that I devour them like I devour a bowl of ice cream when I have yet to eat dinner. Yum, slurp, gulp, gone. I don’t savor books. I don’t save books to read them later. I don’t reread books as much as I could (or should). I just think the more books I read, the better it is, except that it leads to long term book amnesia.

Four prong attack:

1) Read less. As oxymoronic as this sounds coming from someone who LOVES books like she loves ice cream, I think the less I read, the more I’ll remember. Chances are I’ll also read slower, because since I have less to read, I’ll be less likely to speed read and I’ll skim less (something I realize I totally do). I’ll want the pages to last longer.

2) Read more difficult books. I do wonder if the books I read aren’t challenging enough? Most of the books I read are young adult with a couple adult chick lit books and research books thrown in. They’re not particularly challenging to read. Give me an in-depth research article and it will take me several days (even weeks) and several read-throughs before I understand what I’m reading. I’ve tried to read Anna Karenina TWICE and both times I get about halfway through before I stop reading. The weird thing is I still remember scenes and ideas from this book even though last time I read it was three summers ago. Reading it was slow and I had to reread when I picked it up again. I couldn’t just skim the paragraph where I left off and then keep reading.

3) Be Picky. I need to read books that are of a worthy caliber. I admit sometimes I read books that are not so great. The writing isn’t strong or the characters are cliché.  Yet, I keep reading. It’s guilt! I picked out this book – now it’s my obligation to finish it! (Similar to when I bought cherry amaretto ice cream. I felt bad that I never tried it. I bought it and tried it. It was disgusting. Yet I ate the whole thing. I bought it! I had to eat it!).

4) Keep a log of the books I LOVE. Include the genre, main characters, the conflict, setting (time and place), plot and resolution. I expect my reading kiddos to be able to tell me these attributes about stories they read. Why shouldn’t I? I would also add for my teacher-y purposes reading level, age level appropriateness, and main use for instruction/in classroom. I designated LOVE because honestly I will still read books that I’m not a die-hard fan. Even with the five books I read this long weekend, I would just include Soccerland in my log.

I know this will definitely be an interesting journey as right now all I want to do is snuggle in bed and finish How My Summer Went Up In Flames (and I’m only about a fourth of the way through the book). Yet I’ll resist. Somehow. Perhaps with a time limit or a page limit. I’ll definitely update about how this progresses!

Here’s to savoring books!

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring

 

(Greenberg, J., Jordan, S., & Floca, B. (2010). Ballet for Martha: making Appalachian Spring. New York: RB/Flash Point.)

Summary: Greenberg and Jordan write based on the true story of the creation of Appalachian Spring. Accompanied by Floca’s illustrations, the authors give the reader a behind the scenes view of the collaboration that occurred between Martha Graham’s vision, Aaron Copeland’s compositions, and Isamu Noguchi’s set along with the dancers’ clear dedication and rigorous practice. They paint a story that captures the attention of dancers and non-dancers alike.

 

Reading Level: Lexile AD710L / Ages 5 to 8

Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud/Shared Reading

Electronic Resources:

1.      Appalachian Spring Video

2.      Authors Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan’s Website

Teaching Suggestions:

Key Vocabulary:

1.      Composer

2.      Choreographer

3.      Transforms 

4.      Unusual

5.      Severe

   Reading Strategies:

          Before: Briefly introduce the idea of a ballet or a play. What goes into the creation of a     performance such as these? Who is involved? What makes the play a success?

            During: Have students come up with questions about productions and dance that they will write down while listening to the story.    

            After: The students will turn to a partner and share their questions. The students will attempt to answer each other’s questions. After a bit of time, the students will share the questions with the rest of the class. The questions will be written on a large sheet of   paper.

   Writing Activity:

            The students will pick one of the questions and research by asking an expert and looking up online.  The students will construct a short paragraph which answers their question. These answers will be shared with the rest of the class and posted for all to read.

 Sandra Jordan 

  



Jan Greenberg



 

Dear Blue Sky / Shooting the Moon

 

I recently started reading Dear Blue Sky and I realized the parallels to Shooting the Moon are incredible. I read Shooting the Moon several years ago and a student of mine is currently reading it.  In both books, the main character is a girl whose brother has gone off to war, supported by the father. Both books also have a character with a disability, in Shooting the Moon, a neighbor, and in Dear Blue Sky, her brother. Another key similarity is that both main characters perspectives on the war evolves throughout the book. In Shooting the Moon, Jamie’s brother is in Vietnam and he sends her rolls of film instead of letters. Through developing them, she is able to see into the reality of the Vietnam War. In Cassie’s story, she read an Iraqi girls blog and sees how the war affect the Iraqi population.  Both are using technology of the day to see the true story of the war. Both books could be used together, or separately to highlight the effect war has on families back home.

Dear Blue Sky:
(Sullivan, M. (2012). Dear Blue Sky. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books. )

 Reading Level: Ages 10 and up

Suggesting Reading Style: Small Group or Partners

Technology Resources:  A Prezi created about Dear Blue Sky, sharing highlights about the author, reviews, and the book itself.

Shooting the Moon:

(Dowell, F. O. (2008). Shooting the moon. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.)

 Reading Level: Lexile 890L/ Ages 10 and up

Suggesting Reading Style: Small Group or Partners

Technology Resources:The official website of Frances O'Roarke Dowell offers readers information about her books, a bio, and a journal written by the author.

Jake and Lily

(Spinelli, J. (2012). Jake and Lily. New York: Balzer + Bray)

Summary: Like Flipped (by  Wendelin Van Draanenas), Jake and Lily shows two sides of the same story. Written by Jerry Spinelli (the wonderful author of Stargirl. Love, Stargirl and Eggs), he describes twins, Jake and Lily Wambold summer vacation. The twins share a deep connection and memories but as they enter adolescence, Jake begins hanging out with who Lily views as the neighborhood bully, Bump and his group of friends. Although it appears Jake is more mature and Lily is struggling behind, both characters by the end of the book have learned lessons about who they are as people, separate and together as twins.

Reading Level: Ages 8 -10; Lexile 480L

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read

 Technology Resources:
1. In this Youtube video, Meet the Author, Jerry Spinelli talks about his books and his experience winning the Newbery Medal for Maniac Magee.

2. This book, Jake and Lily, is also available as an audio book.


 

Jerry Spinelli


 

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again

(Boyce, F., & Berger, J. (2012). Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flies again. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press. )

Summary: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again is a stay-up-late-to-finish-reading-it page turner. Besides the fantastic British lexicon and the interesting illustrations that are sprinkled throughout the text, the characters are well developed (Lucy!) and interesting. This book details the Tootings vacation adventures and begins with the father recently losing his job. He takes to using his creativity to fixing things around the house (toys that play with you, motion sensor front doors that turn on the teapot) to mixed results. The ultimate project for him, and his family, is the restoration of a camper van. Once they begin traveling, they discover their van has some interesting abilities.  This book is a supplement to the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming and is inspired by the author's childhood experience watching the movie.

Reading Level: Ages: 8 to 10, Lexile 710L

  

Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud/Independent Read

Technology Resources:

1. The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again Book Trailer is narrated by the author, Frank Cottrell Boyce.

2. The Candlwick Site for this book offers a plethora of resources for teachers and students.

3. Ian Fleming's website highlights his books and includes a page on the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, including information about the sequel to Flies Again, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time, published in 2012.

 

Frank Cottrell Boyce



Ida B : --and her plans to maximize fun, avoid disaster, and (possibly) save the world

(Hannigan, Katherine. Ida B: --and her plans to maximize fun, avoid disaster, and (possibly) save the world. China: Greenwillow Books, 2004. Print.)

Summary:  Ida B is the only child of Ida and Evan Applewood. She is homeschooled and feels most at home exploring the woods around her house, nature and her apple trees, not in a classroom with other students and no control or knowledge of her plans for the day. When her mother becomes sick with cancer, her father has to sell part of the land she treasures so much and her mother no longer has the energy to teach Ida B. She is sent to school, where in Ms. Washington’s class she is the angriest and meanest student they have ever seen. Through tutoring another student in math, running races, reading aloud, and being asked everyday if there is anything she want to talk about by the persistent Mrs. Washington, Ida B. slowly breaks out of her shell. But what happens when she’s mean to the most popular girl in school who just happens to be moving onto Ida B’s old land?

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Key words/phrases:

1.      Cancer

2.      Nature

3.      Homeschool

4.      Family

5.      Friendship

Suggested Delivery: Individual, but other students are reading the book at the same time.

Electronic Resources:

1. "Resources for Educators, Kids, and Just About Anybody” is a page by the author which provides additional resources such as websites, books, and movies which supplement the book Ida B.
2. “What You Can Do” provides over twenty tips that the reader can live out in relation to the environment and sustainability that relate to the book Ida B.

Teaching Suggestions:

   Key Vocabulary:  Nugget, muster, will, mildly, propulsion, ambush

   Reading strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before:  Students will read the book jacket, read the back of the book as well as the inside flap and pose open ended questions about the book that they think will be answered when reading the book.

         During: Students select a passage that they find challenging, interesting, or confusing while they read reading and write an response to the passage, including questions and opinions. They then share their response to the text with a partner after the partner has read up to that point. The partner will then write a response offering further insights or questions that they too have.

         After: After students have complete the entire book, they will answer the open ended questions that were posed before reading, connecting the text to prior knowledge, sharing feelings and justifying opinions. If there are still questions left over from the during reading activity dialogue, the students can share the passage they analyzed, their opinions and questions, and have the rest of the group add their own insight.



Katherine Hannigan



Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension:

Student will create a wordle. They will first create a paragraph defining the characters, plot, setting, conflict, resolution, and theme. They will type this paragraph then copy and paste it into http://www.wordle.net/create and then create their wordle. The students will analyze their Wordle and see if the most important concepts are the biggest concepts that they want to present in the wordle. If they are not then they can add the words they feel are most important more often to have the world represent their understanding of the book.

There Once Was A Sky Full Of Stars

(Crelin, B. (2003). There once was a sky full of stars. Cambridge, Mass: Sky Pub.)

Summary: This book brings to attention the problem of light pollution through poetry and illustrations. It begins describing how the night used to be without light pollution, continues to describe how light pollution affects the night sky, animals, trees, and humans, and concludes with solutions to the problem.

Reading Level: Ages 4-8

Key words/phrases:

1.      Light Pollution

2.      Humans

3.      Environmental Concerns

4.      Solutions

5.      Night Sky

Suggested Delivery: 3^rd grade read aloud

Electronic Resources:

1. Too Much Light Means Stars Out of Sight by National Geographic Kids provides information on light pollution and additional resources such as games, stories, and photos which the students can use.
2.Bob Crelin's website provides multiple resources.links, and programs which teachers can use in relation to this book and light pollution.

Teaching Suggestions:

Key Vocabulary: Milky Way, Falter, rearranged, universe, belfries, galaxy, light-years.

Reading strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before: Build prior knowledge by introducing the concept o pollution and different types of pollution. Have students brainstorm what they know about pollution in general and light pollution specifically to check background knowledge and to engage the students prior knowledge in preparation for reading this book.

         During: Using the Questioning the Author method, build comprehension of the author’s message while reading. Focus on: “What is the author trying to tell us?” and “Why does the author feel this is important?”

         After: Using the graphic organizers, have students outline the main ideas in the book. The graphic organizer from the following site (http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/resources/PDF/GOOD_TV_K_2_pdf_s/62176_InRCd_83.pdf) can be used three times to graph "Before Light Pollution", "Impact of Light Pollution", and "Solutions".



Bob Crelin



Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension:Have students write letters to a political figure of their choosing promoting light pollution awareness, stating its importance, how it impacts our lives, and suggestions for the government to reduce light pollution.  

Oceans: Dolphins, Sharks, Penguins, and More!

(Rizzo, J., & Earle, S. A. (2010). Oceans: dolphins, sharks, penguins, and more! : meet 60 cool sea creatures and explore their amazing watery world. Washington DC: National Geographic.)

Summary: This National Geographic Kids book presents 60 sea creatures and provides information on their habitat and lifestyle. It provides additional information on extremes in the ocean and tips for protection the ocean, set up in an engaging and eye catching format.

Reading Level: Grades 4-6, Lexile NC1190L

Key words/phrases:

1.      Ocean

2.      Marine Biology

3.      Animals

4.      Informational text

5.      National Geographic

Suggested Delivery: Individual

Electronic Resources:

1. National Geographic The Ocean website provides multitudes of information on the ocean including animals, problems related to the ocean (overfishing, impact of seafood), photo galleries, and quizzes about the ocean.

2.  Oceana website provides information about protecting the world's oceans and provides information on marine wildlife, marine places, and marine science.

Teaching Suggestions:

Key Vocabulary: breeching, acrobats, tentacles, digestive, track, polyp, chromataphores, bulbous

Reading strategies to increase comprehension:

Before: Lead the student in a chapter tour. Begin by looking at the table of content and seeing how the book is divided by animals and “ocean extreme” sections. Analyze the format to find what the green boxes tend to focus on, and what the purpose of the headings, pictures, and bright colors serve. Explore the index and the glossary in the back and model how to use them by asking the student for a search term or having them find a word they don’t know the meaning of.

During: Complete the following graphic organizer for two animals, such as comparing whales and sharks.

	Whales	Sharks
Types
What they eat
Size
Food
Unique Fact

After: Have students share how they completed the graphic organizer. Did they use the table of contents find where their chosen animals were in the book? Did they use the glossary to look up words they didn’t know? Did the headings or green boxes help them find the information more easily?

 

Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension: The students pick one of the “20 Ways You Can Protect the Earth”. The students will explain what the tip means, how it relates to protecting the ocean and how it will impact the animals they learned about.

The Westing Game

(Raskin, E. (1978). The Westing game. New York: Dutton.)



Summary: Upon Samuel W. Westing’s death, a game begins between the sixteen residents of the Sunset Towers. They are paired up and given scraps of appear with words written on them. The pairs work together to decipher their own clues and attempt to gain other people’s clues as well. This story progresses to be about more then just the puzzle itself and the resulting inheritance as family members and neighbors work together and come to conclusions that are larger then the game itself.

Reading Level: Ages 10 -12, Lexile 750L

Key words/phrases:

1.      Mystery

2.      Puzzle

3.      Death

4.      Family

5.      Heirs

Suggested Delivery: Small Group

Electronic Resources:

1.  This Prezi on The Westing Game provides the student with information on this book which might help hook them into reading it.
2. The Westing Game Manuscript provides information of the writing of The Westing Game which would be of interest during or after reading this book to see the process of writing a novel.

Teaching Suggestions:

   Key Vocabulary: mimicked, will, heir, ulcer, embalmed, stock market

Reading strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before: Introduce the book to a small group though a book talk, explaining the characters, the problem, and the basic plot. Outline the characters and give at least one identifying attribute for each character. The chart can serve as a reference for when the students are reading.

As the story is read students can add more derails about the characters.

Main Characters	Description
Sam "Windy" Windkloppel	Samuel W. Westing's birth name
Sam Westing	Self-made millionaire and started Westing Paper Products Corporation
Otis Amber	Delivery boy for Sunset Towers
Flora Miller Baumbach	A dressmaker
Judge Josie-Jo Ford	Judge who resides in Tenant in 4D
George Theodorakis	Owner of the coffee shop in the lobby
Catherine Theodorakis	Runs the coffee shop with her husband George
Theo Theodorakis	older son of George and Catherine , a high school senior who wants to be a writer, friends with Douglas Hoo
Christos "Chris" Theodorakis	Younger son of George and Catherine, he suffers from a neurological disease which confines him to a wheelchair.
Sydelle Pulaski	the secretary to the president of Schultz Sausages
Jake Wexler	a podiatrist who keeps his office on the first floor
Grace Windsor Wexler	a social climber and self-professed decorator
Angela Wexler	Older daughter of Jake and Grace, known for her beauty and her engagement to Denton Deere.
Turtle Wexler	Younger daughter of Jake and Grace, Interested in the stock market.
Denton Deere	A medical intern engaged to Angela Wexler
Barney Northrup	Realtor who convinces most of the residents to move into Sunset Towers
James Shin Hoo	owner of Shin Hoo's Restaurant on the fifth floor
Sun Lin Hoo	James' second wife, she came from China to marry and wishes to return to her homeland. She begins the novel unable to speak English.
Douglas Hoo	son of James and stepson of Sun Lin, he is a talented  high school runner, friends with Theo Theodorakis
Julian R. Eastman	Newly-elected chairman of Westing Paper Products Corporation
Berthe Erica Crow	Tenant in the maid's apartment on the fourth floor
Alexander "Sandy" McSouthers	Doorman at Sunset Towers

         During: Have the students participate in a regular small group literary discussion where they will discuss the text. They will discuss the plot, the events that occurred, the motivations, for the characters actions, and how the characters are all related. This time should also be used by the students to clarify any parts of the text that are confusing, relying on other students interpretations to create clearer meaning.

         After: Discuss with a partner the role Sandy played in the book, especially with solving the puzzle. Also reflect on the character of Sam Westing and how the multiple characters he assumed influenced the events that occurred. Then share their reflections with the whole group.

Ellen Raskin



   Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension: Have students respond to the following writing prompt: What do you think Samuel W. Westing set out to accomplish with the game? Do you think he accomploshed it? Do you think he was happy with the end results?