copyright 1999, Sirpa Grierson
Novel Information and Resources:
Cooperative Children's Book Center
Cooperative Children's Book Center. U of Wisconsin-Madison. 1 Sept. 2000 http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/wisauth/raskin/intro.htm.
Contains the history of her manuscript for Westing Game, a copy of the original, and a audiotape of her voice.Children's Literature Review
Ellen Raskin. Children's Literature Review 12. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1987.
Reviews from the author and others on her works. Also contains her Newbery Award acceptance speech. The full text is not contained here, only the reviews pertaining to the Westing Game.Global Book Club
Global Book Club. http://www.ncsu.edu/globalbookclub/westing.html.
Three activities are decribed for middle school students to supplement the reading of The Westing Game.Read and Feed
Read and Feed. Spencer-Owen Community School Corporation. 29 Nov. 1999 http://www.socs.k12.in.us/schools/ovms/read_and_feed/westing_game.html
Contains an idea supplementary to the reading of The Westing Game.Lesson Plan
Thornton, Brian. Lesson Plan. 2000 http://nt.net/~torino/wgame.html
A Student Study guide posted by a Canadian teacher. Useful questions to be used in a classroom.Tried*N*True
Tried*N*True. Public Schools of North Carolina. 14 April 1997 http://www.teachers-connect.net/TNT/mlp0031.htm
Contains an interdisciplinary activity teaching students how to use logic to solve problems. It is geared towards High School students who are in Geometry.Reading Activities (compiled by Genevieve Olsen)
|Pre Reading | During Reading | After Reading |1. Dahl, Roald. “Lamb to the Slaughter.” The Best of Roald Dahl. New York: Vintage Books. 1978. pp. 108-116
This is a darkly hilarious short story. It’s a good pre-reading activity to help the students get into the murder mystery mode.2. Jordan, Cathleen, Ed. Fun and Games at the Whacks Museum and Other Horror Stories. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 1994
This book is a collection of short stories from the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and the Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Some of these are funny and some are scary. It would be fun to read some stories as a class and have the students predict the outcomes.3. “How to Host a Teen Mystery: Barbecue with the Vampire.” Decipher games
Teenage students love these games. Decipher has made several muder mystery games; I just picked one appropriate for the age. There are many different ways that the teacher can adjust to play the game with the entire class.4. “Raskin, Ellen.” Britannica Student Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service. 19 Feb. 2005
http://www.britannican.com/ebi/article?todId=9313143
This is an encyclopedia article on Ellen Raskin. Hopefully, students will enjoy The Westing Game enough to try some of her other books. There are also some interesting parallels between her life and the life of Angela Wexler.5. Afcionado, Inc. “Chess Mentor.” February 2005. 19 February 2005
http://www.chess.com
Chess plays a major role in The Westing Game. This site is good for all ages and levels. You do need to download “Chess Mentor,” but teaching the students the basic rules of chess will help them understand the book better.6. Anonymous. “JLS Library Resources” May 2001. Jane Lathrop Standard Middle School. 19 February 2005
http://www.jls.palo-alto.ca.us/staff/cdavis/public/jlslibrary/resources/
These sites were written by students, but are really good lists. They have all kinds of different genres. This could be a good source for supplemental reading either for mysteries or Newbery winners.7. Kruse, Ginny Moore. “Ellen Raskin: Notable Wisconsin Author.” 2000. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 19 February 2005
http://www.soemadison.wisc.edu/ccbc/authors/raskin/main.htm
This is an excellent site about Ellen Raskin. It talks about her writing style and that she considered herself an artist, first and foremost.8. Book Help Web. “Newbery Medal.” Consumer Help Web. 19 February 2005 http://www.bookhelpweb.com/awards/newbery/newbery.htm
This is a simple, but interesting article about what makes a Newbery Medal winner good. What are the judges looking for and, for the aspiring writers, how they can apply.19. Yahoo! Education. “Lake Michigan.” 2005. Columbia Encyclopedia 6th Edition, Columbia University Press. 23 February 2005 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry?id=31370
The Westing Game takes place right off of Lake Michigan. The setting is important since the weather affects much of the unfolding action. Also to add to a discussion, Yahoo has several pictures of Lake Michigan at http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=lake+Michigan&sm=Yahoo%21+search&fr+FP-tab-img-t-1&toggle=1&ei=UTF-8.1. Global Book Club: A Collaborative Reading Experience for Middle School Students. “October Mystery The Westing Game.” 19 February 2005 http://www.ncsu.edu/globalbookclub/westing.html
This is a site designed by experienced middle school teachers. It gives some good activities for studying the novel using writing and art.2. Thornton, Brian. “The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin, Student Study Guide.” 2000. Capo Creations. 19 February 2005
http://nt.net/%7Etorino/wgame/html
This is a great site. It goes through every chapter and asks critical questions. It also includes a good list of vocabulary from the novel.3. Gallt, Kelley and Sharon McLaren and Kelly Gilbery. “The Westing Heirs.” River View Elementary School. 19 February 2005 http://library.thinkquest.org/CRO214945/basics/book_main.html
This is my absolute favorite site about The Westing Game. It was designed by fourth graders. It covers each character in depth. There are several fun mystery activities. It is one of the most comprehensive sites I went to.4. Ford, Terry. “Quizzes for Children: K-12: Ellen Raskin.” 2004. FunTrivia.com 19 February 2005 http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/for_children/kid_lit_authors_l_-_z/Ellen_raskin.html
This site has four ready-made quizzes for The Westing Game. They are challenging, but they’re good thinking questions.5. “The Stock Market Game.” Foundation for Investor Education. 19 February 2005 http://www.smgww.org/index/html
Several teachers like to do some kind of stock market game while teaching The Westing Game. The stock market is an important part of Turtle’s and Sam Westing’s game. This site goes right along with the stock market. The teacher just has to rebister his or her class.6. Semler, Mark. “Gregg Shorthand Pitman Shorthand Speedwriting Shorthand.” February 2005. 22 February 2005
http://www.geocities.com/shorthandshorthandshorthand/
Most computer-oriented middle school students will not be familiar with shorthand. This is a site that gives examples and lessons of different styles of shorthand.7. Google Images. Google.com. 23 February 2005 http://images.google.com/images?q=USA=Bicentennial=1976&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search
Ellen Raskin said that one of her inspirations to write The Westing Game was the 1976 USA Bicentennial. I had a hard time finding a site about that, but there are 82 beautiful pictures from the time. They would be great decorations as students study the novel.8. Biggs, Ken. “Famous Texans: Howard Hughes.” Lone Star Internet. 23 February 2005 http://www.famoustexans.com/howardhughes.htm
The other event connected to writing The Westing Game was the death of the mysterious, eccentric millionaire, Howard Hughes. He also had a will worth $2 million and many relatives trying to be his heir. This is a great biography for middle school students to read.9. Bates, Katherine Lee. “America, The Beautiful.” 2005. Scoutsongs.com and dreamhost.com. 23 February 2005
http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/americathebeautiful/html
This site has all eight verses of “America, The Beautiful.” This song plays a crucial role in the will. Students could try and find clues in the song.10. Yahoo! Education. “Immigration.” 2005. Columbia Encyclopedia 6th Edition, Columbia University Press. 23 February 2005 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry?id=23275
Sam Westing is an immigrant and so are some of the heirs or the heir’s parents. This site gives simple information on immigration to the United States. There are also images of immigrants at http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=immigrants&sm=Yahoo%21+Search&fr=FP-tab-img-t-1&tiggke=1&ei+UTF-81. The Westing Game or Get A Clue! Dir. Terrence H. Winkless. Perf. Ashley Peldon, Ray Walston, Shane West. Ensemble Film. 1997. 95 min.
This movie is based on The Westing Game, but fairly loosely. It would be good to have the students compare and contrast the movie and the book.2. The Westing Game. Videocassette. AIMS Multimedia. Chatsworth, CA. 31 min.
This is a very short version of The Westing Game so it is pretty simplified. It’s animated, like a storybook. It may help certain students understand the book better.3. Olson, Marilynn Strasser. Ellen Raskin. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991.
This book is fabulous! Not only does it have a biography, but it has a chapter about The Westing Game exclusively. It points out several connections in the novel that make it even more interesting.4. “The Westing Game.” Spencer-Owen Community School Corporation. http://www.socs.k12/in/us/schools/ovms/read_and_feed/westing_game.html
This is a site with an idea for a “Westing Game” Party. It’s very creative with games, food, decorations, and costumes. It would be a great event for students to look forward to.
Return to Raskin's Page
Reading Resources and Unit Guide for this Novel