The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Name:
Class Period:
Literature Circles Book Report
6th Grade PAP Literature – Mrs. Todd
This six weeks, you will be responsible for reading The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. A book will be assigned to you, and you will be responsible for bringing
this book to school every day. If you lose the book, you will have to pay for it.
Literature Circle Due Dates & Responsibilities
Dates:
Friday, January 28, 2013
Students will receive books and begin reading every night. Students will read the Introduction and
Chapters 1-6 and complete Short Answer Response #1 this week.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Literature Circle during class. Discuss Short Answer Response #1. Students will read Chapters 7-14 and
complete Short Answer Response #2 this week.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Literature Circle during class. Discuss Short Answer Response #2. Students will read Chapters 15-22 and
complete Short Answer Response #3 this week.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Literature Circle during class. Discuss Short Answer Response #3. Students will read Chapters 23-30 and
complete Short Answer Response #4 this week.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Final Literature circle. Discuss Short Answer Response #4. Test Review
Monday, February 25, 2013
Final Exam
Responsibilities:
Students will read the chapters listed above and be prepared to discuss them during Literature Circles. Each Friday, students are required to
bring: 1. Short Answer Responses. 2. Discussion Responses and questions in order to be able to participate in the Literature Circle. If you do
not have these items, your alternate assignment will be essay questions.
Grades: Completed Short Answer Responses – Homework Grade, Completed Discussion Questions– Test Grade, Final Exam – Test Grade
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Name:
Class Period:
Short Answer Responses #1 – Due Friday, February 1, 2013
Over the next week, you will need to answer any 3 of the following questions in your study guide. You will also need to be prepared
to discuss your responses with your group on Friday.
1. Tell about at least one connection that you made personally with a character in the story. (Do you have a shared interested,
feeling, or experience?) Describe the connection in detail.
2. Which character do you like the least? Explain what it is about that character that makes you dislike him/her.
3. What has surprised you so far? Describe the event in detail.
4. Compare where you live to the setting in the story. Create a double bubble of 3 ways they are alike and 3 ways they are
different.
Be sure to answer the 3 questions you choose completely and in complete sentences.
Discussion Responses
In addition to discussing the journal responses, you will want to find other parts in the book that you want to discuss with your
literature group. As you read, write down parts of the book that you want to discuss along with the page number. Maybe it is
something that confused you. Maybe you want opinions about something that a character said or did. Maybe you have a prediction
about what will happen next, and you wonder what other’s predicted. Maybe you are just curious about someone else’s impression
of something that happened.
1. Write down at least 2 other places in the book that you want to go back to and discuss.
2. Write 3 questions about your assigned chapters for this week.
1 – Level 1 question (Right there questions – you can put your finger on the answer)
1 --Level 2 question (Inference questions –you must use clues from the text + your schema to answer these types of
questions)
1 – Level 3 question (Off-the-page questions – these are questions about life inspired from your reading)
These questions cannot just come from the first assigned chapter for this week.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Name:
Class Period:
Short Answer Responses #2 – Due Friday, February 8, 2013
Over the next week, you will need to answer any 3 of the following questions in your study guide. You will also need to be prepared
to discuss your responses with your group on Friday.
1. Find 3 examples of figurative language that impressed you. Copy them straight from the book. Explain what they mean and
why you think the author chose to use the figurative language during that time.
2. Pick a character that is not one of the main characters. Explain who he/she is and his/her relationship to the main
character(s). Explain why you think the author has included this character in the story.
3. How is the author creating suspense in the rising action of the story? Give at least 2 examples. Make a prediction of what
you think will happen next.
4. If you could change any event that has happened so far, what would it be? Explain why?
Be sure to answer the 3 questions you choose completely and in complete sentences.
Discussion Responses
In addition to discussing the journal responses, you will want to find other parts in the book that you want to discuss with your
literature group. As you read, write down parts of the book that you want to discuss along with the page number. Maybe it is
something that confused you. Maybe you want opinions about something that a character said or did. Maybe you have a prediction
about what will happen next, and you wonder what other’s predicted. Maybe you are just curious about someone else’s impression
of something that happened.
1. Write down at least 2 other places in the book that you want to go back to and discuss.
2. Write 3 questions about your assigned chapters for this week.
1 – Level 1 question (Right there questions – you can put your finger on the answer)
1 --Level 2 question (Inference questions –you must use clues from the text + your schema to answer these types of
questions)
1 – Level 3 question (Off-the-page questions – these are questions about life inspired from your reading)
These questions cannot just come from the first assigned chapter for this week.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Name:
Class Period:
Short Answer Responses #3 – Due Friday, February 15, 2013
Over the next week, you will need to answer any 3 of the following questions in your study guide. You will also need to be prepared
to discuss your responses with your group on Friday.
1. What was a mood (scary, joyful, mysterious, excited, happy, worried, etc.) the author created for you, the reader? How did
the author create the mood? Write 2 specific examples from the book along with the page number.
2. Select a quote from your reading that you liked. What made you pick it? How does it make you pause and think? Would you
want to remember it and use it yourself? Explain why or why not.
3. What theme is portrayed in this story? Draw a circle map of the theme. Give 4 good examples of the theme.
4. Pretend you could put yourself anywhere at all in the story. At what part would you enter the story and why? What would
you do there? Explain your answer in detail.
Be sure to answer the 3 questions you choose completely and in complete sentences.
Discussion Responses
In addition to discussing the journal responses, you will want to find other parts in the book that you want to discuss with your
literature group. As you read, write down parts of the book that you want to discuss along with the page number. Maybe it is
something that confused you. Maybe you want opinions about something that a character said or did. Maybe you have a prediction
about what will happen next, and you wonder what other’s predicted. Maybe you are just curious about someone else’s impression
of something that happened.
3. Write down at least 2 other places in the book that you want to go back to and discuss.
4. Write 3 questions about your assigned chapters for this week.
1 – Level 1 question (Right there questions – you can put your finger on the answer)
1 --Level 2 question (Inference questions –you must use clues from the text + your schema to answer these types of
questions)
1– Level 3 question (Off-the-page questions – these are questions about life inspired from your reading)
These questions cannot just come from the first assigned chapter for this week.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Name:
Class Period:
Short Answer Responses #4 – Due Friday, February 22, 2013
Over the next week, you will need to answer any 3 of the following questions in your study guide. You will also need to be prepared
to discuss your responses with your group on Friday.
1. Tell about at least one connection that you made personally with a character in the story. (Do you have a shared interested,
feeling, or experience?) Describe the connection in detail.
2. Select a quote from your reading that you liked. What made you pick it? How does it make you pause and think? Would you
want to remember it and use it yourself? Explain why or why not.
3. If you could change any event that happened, what would it be? Explain why?
4. If you could write an alternate end to the story, what would you write?
Discussion Responses
In addition to discussing the journal responses, you will want to find other parts in the book that you want to discuss with your
literature group. As you read, write down parts of the book that you want to discuss along with the page number. Maybe it is
something that confused you. Maybe you want opinions about something that a character said or did. Maybe you have a prediction
about what will happen next, and you wonder what other’s predicted. Maybe you are just curious about someone else’s impression
of something that happened.
5. Write down at least 2 other places in the book that you want to go back to and discuss.
6. Write 3 questions about your assigned chapters for this week.
1 – Level 1 question (Right there questions – you can put your finger on the answer)
1 --Level 2 question (Inference questions –you must use clues from the text + your schema to answer these types of
questions)
1 – Level 3 question (Off-the-page questions – these are questions about life inspired from your reading)
These questions cannot just come from the first assigned chapter for this week.