The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin Unit Plan - Novel Study Reading Unit

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin Unit Plan - Novel Study Reading Unit: This all-in-one unit plan provides everything you need to teach The Westing Game in your classroom. With over 280 pages and slides of content, this ready-to-use resource ensures no prep time is required! This unit includes a variety of engaging materials to enhance your students' understanding and appreciation of The Westing Game’s intricate mystery, complex characters, and underlying themes. You’ll find interactive presentation slides, print-ready assignments, social context exploration, thought-provoking reading questions, vocabulary activities, quizzes, video journals, and hands-on interactive class activities. This comprehensive Westing Game unit plan is designed to create a rich learning experience while making lesson planning simple and stress-free for teachers.

Included in The Westing Game Unit Plan:

➡️ The Westing Game Introductory Presentation: Introduce The Westing Game with this interactive PowerPoint presentation. It includes pre-reading discussion questions, an interactive class activity, a biography of Ellen Raskin, historical and social context, and background information on the novel. The presentation sets the stage for the entire unit.

➡️ The Westing Game Summary Cards: These 30 printable summary cards provide an excellent classroom reference for both teachers and students. The cards highlight key plot moments from The Westing Game, and they can be used as a tool for struggling readers, quick plot reference, or for finding text evidence during essay writing.

➡️ The Westing Game Quizzes: These short quizzes are perfect for checking comprehension. Six quizzes, each with six multiple-choice questions and two quotes that require students to explain context are included. Detailed answer keys with explanations are provided for each quiz.

➡️ The Westing Game Vocabulary Booklet and Slides: Help students learn new vocabulary from The Westing Game with this ready-to-use resource. The vocabulary booklet is organized by chapter section, with students reading new words in context and inferring their meanings. They then check definitions to see if they were correct. Presentation slides for easy class review are included.

➡️ The Westing Game - Video Clip Journal Prompts: Encourage students to make connections to The Westing Game with these video journals. Students watch a short video clip that relates to themes, topics, or ideas from the novel. Each video is accompanied by a journal prompt, allowing students to reflect on the video and its connection to the text.

➡️ The Westing Game Figurative Language Assignments: Includes 5 Print-ready assignments that include quotes from the novel that students must label with the correct figure of speech used. The assignments are broken down into chapter sets and include detailed answer keys for easy grading or class review.

➡️ The Westing Game Questions and Answers: This resource includes reading questions organized by chapter sections. These questions cover both comprehension and analysis. Student response sheets and a handout with all the questions are included. A presentation with detailed answers, supported by text evidence, will guide students through each section.

➡️ The Westing Game Analysis Notes: This 49-slide PowerPoint presentation covers the most important literary elements in The Westing Game, such as setting, characterization, theme, conflict, symbolism, characterization, and more. The notes can be used for class discussions or as a guide for students to copy. These detailed notes will enhance students' understanding of the novel.

The Westing Game Unit Plan also includes creative assignments and activities for each reading section. You can learn more about what's included below:

➡️ America the Beautiful Analysis: In The Westing Game, “America the Beautiful” symbolizes themes of identity, patriotism, and the American Dream. Students will analyze the poem’s imagery, meaning, and symbolism while identifying clues that connect to characters, locations, and events in the story. The resource includes a student worksheet, teacher answer key, and a slideshow to guide the activity.

➡️ American Themes Nonfiction Reading Comprehension Article: This article examines key elements of American culture reflected in the novel's themes, including the American Dream, patriotism, Independence Day, Uncle Sam, and the free market system, providing students with valuable insights to consider during their reading.

➡️ The Westing Board Game Project: In this creative final project, students design a game that highlights their understanding of the novel, incorporating characters, conflicts, and plot twists. They will create a game board, character pieces, question cards, challenges, and clear rules. The project includes instructions, brainstorming pages, templates, and a rubric for easy grading.

➡️ The Westing Game Case File: This 46-page collection includes everything students will need to keep track of key details, clues, and developments from the novel. It includes worksheets focused on setting, characters, symbolism, the mystery genre, and more, along with teacher answer keys for easy reference.

➡️ Pre-Reading Character Tracking Activity: Students will randomly select a character to track throughout the novel, providing updates on key developments related to their character as the story progresses.

➡️ Chess One-Pager: Students will learn how to play Samuel Westing's favorite game with this easy-to-follow one-pager!

➡️ The Westing Game Jury Speech: Step into the role of an attorney delivering a closing argument to convince the jury (your classmates) who is responsible for Samuel Westing’s death. Using evidence, motives, and clues from The Westing Game, students will craft a persuasive speech that logically builds their case. This activity includes all necessary instructions, planning pages, and space to draft their final speech.

➡️ Idiom Mystery Phrase Activity: Engage students with idioms used in The Westing Game in a fun, interactive way. By matching key quotes with idioms to their definitions, they will piece together letters to reveal a mystery word.

➡️ Movie Novel Comparison Activity: Lead students through a compare and contrast exercise between The Westing Game and the 1997 film Get a Clue.

➡️ Social Media Profile Assignment: Students will bring a character from The Westing Game to life by creating a social media profile that reflects their life after the novel. Design a profile picture, write an "About" section, and add updates about their character’s career, relationships, and hobbies.

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