Unit: Reading Comprehension

Spark interest in The Westing Game, establish reading and vocabulary expectations, and introduce critical thinking applications.

establish the plot of the Westing Game, introduce sequence mapping, continue use of QAR and vocabulary development

students use strategies of scanning, paraphrasing, and inferring to characterize target characters

Students read and demonstrate comprehension of Chapters 10-14, in which the Game appears to get violent.

Students use “hints” in the text to reconstruct the chronology of a story that involves non-sequential scenes

Students read and demonstrate comprehension of Chapters 15-25, in which character think they find answers to the mystery.

Students differentiate strong from weak evidence and evaluate the strength of cases against characters

Students make a speech in front of the class introducing their character and arguing for their innocence in the Westing murder

Students measure predictions and hypotheses against what ultimately happens in the book, get closure with the story

For classes in which the maturity, behavior or reading level is not sufficient for the Westing Game, or if you need an alternative for a few students that is still high- interest, here is another book.