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?

After Ever After

(Sonnenblick, Jordan. After ever after . New York: Scholastic Press, 2010. Print.)

Summary: In the sequel to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Jeffrey is an eighth grader in remission. In the aftereffects of treatment, Jeffrey struggles with school (especially math), and to walk without limping (but finds great joy in riding his bike). His parents are worried about him and his older brother, Steven, Jeffrey's main support system and confidant, has taken off to Africa to "find himself"  while drumming. Jeffrey is also dealing with his best friend, Tad, who is hatching a secretive plan while hiding a life changing secret from Jeffrey and he has met a new girl from California who is, surprisingly to Jeffrey, interested in him.

Reading Level: Ages 11-14, Lexile 940.

Key words/phrases:

    1. Cancer

    2. Best Friends

    3. Academic Struggles – Middle School

    4. Overcoming Physical Challenges

    5. Death of a friend

Suggested Delivery: Small Group: Independent read / small group

Electronic Resources:

    1. Scholastic After Ever After Video Booktalk is a video which could be used before students read tghe book to see if they might be interested in reading it.

2. Kids Health For Kids What is Cancer? is a website whihc provides information on cancer aimed at kids which would help the student gain a better understanding of the experience Jeffrey is going through. It would also give additional information to students who are interested in learning more about cancer.

Teaching Suggestions:

   1. Key Vocabulary: Remission, lymphocyte lymphoma, radiation, chemotherapy,

   2. Reading Strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before: Begin by giving a book talk summarizing the prequel, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. Explain who Jeffrey is, who the other characters are that are related to After Ever After (his parents, brother Steven, Stevens teachers) and the key events that happen to Jeffery in this story. Then have students make individual KWL charts filling in what they know about Jeffrey, his experience with cancer, and cancer in general, and what they want to find out about Jeffrey and his life by reading the book.

         During: After each chapter, or couple of chapters, have students fill out the What They Learned column and write answers to the areas or questions they had in their Want to Learn column.
        After: Students in a small group can discuss the events that Jeffrey went through, how Jeffrey dealt with Tad's death, how they felt when Tad died, and how they would have dealt with the death of Tad. Have student check if everything from their Want to Learn column was brought up and answered in the book. If it was not, discuss why the author may have decided not to mention a topic or only focused on certain areas. Compare to the areas the author did focus on and discuss why.  Have students discuss how they feel about the events of the story as they unfolded and the ending. Is this a hopeful story or a sad story?  

   3. Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension: Have students create a Voki (http://www.voki.com) as one of the main characters (Jeffrey, Tad, Lindsey, for example). The students Voki would create a reading hook written from their chosen characters point of view. Before they create the Voki, they should write out what their Voki is going to say using a graphic organizer. Their summary should include the who, what, where, when, and why of the story as well as a final hook statement which would draw in other reader. All Voki's should be previewed by the teacher before publishing. The other students can then watch the Voki to see if they want to read the book.

Kira-Kira

(Kadohata, C. (2004). Kira-kira . New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.)

Summary: Kira-Kira, meaning glittery in Japanese, is how Katie’s sister Lynn views the world. Lynn helps Katie deal with their family’s move from Iowa to rural Georgia, where their parents work overtime to be able to support the family and fulfill Lynn’s dream of owning a house. Lynn helps Katie transition and deal with the changes that came with living in a community with few Japanese. When Lynn falls sick and their parents are working overtime, Katie becomes the one to encourage the Kira-Kira outlook of seeing the beautiful in the ordinary.

Reading Level: Ages 9-12, Lexile 740L

Key words/phrases:

    1. Japanese-Americans

    2. Sisters

    3. Death

    4. Injustice

    5. Rural Georgia 1950s

Suggested Delivery: Individual

Electronic Resources:  

1.   Japanese American National Museum provides students with cultural background on Japanese Americans throughout United States history. Specifically the “Toyo Miyatake Studio / Rafu Shimpo Collection” provides information about Japanese Americans during the 1950s.
2.    Asian Pacific American Historical Timeline Details (1950 to 1959) provides a timeline starting in 1950 of Japanese American history.

Chicken hatchery

Teaching Suggestions:

   Key Vocabulary: Hatchery, Anemia, Sexers, Inoculators, Lymphoma, Union

   Reading Strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before:  Students can read the back cover of the book, and perhaps a summary online (http://www.amazon.com/Kira-Kira-Cynthia-Kadohata/dp/0689856407/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315354768&sr=1-1) and make three predictions about what will happen in the book in their reader’s notebook.

         During: Students can write a brief one to two sentence summary after each chapter to display comprehension of what they have read. The teacher can check in the students reading journal to ensure that the student comprehends the story. If they are not, the teacher can intervene with a reader’s conference to clear up confusion and encourage rereading.

         After: After the student finishes the book, have an informal reader’s conference to discuss it one on one. Analyze their responses to ensure they have reached an understanding of the book and any confusion that may have happened earlier has been cleared up. This is also a good time to go back to the original predictions and see if any of them were correct. During this conference, the teacher could also suggest other books about similar topics that might be of interest to the student. Such books are Weedflower also by Cynthia Kadohata about Japanese Americans; and Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick about siblings with cancer.

  

 Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension: Observe one day with the spirit of kira-kira. Write a poem, story, or journal entry in your writing journal of the things in your life which have kira kira in them that you might not have initially noticed before looking at them with the spirit of kira-kira.


  Cynthia Kadohata