The Westing Game

Describe the character growth that occurs in the novel. What was Mr. Westing’s goal in his game? How did the game change the way the characters interacted? How was the game able to change the individual characters themselves?

Teaching Suggestion: Students might consider reviewing the beginning of the novel and the ending before responding to the prompts. Encourage students to take notes on the character growth of each of the characters with the use of a graphic organizer) that provides a section for each character. A flowchart-style organizer might help students not only identify how the character changed, but also why the character changed.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who benefit from the use of strategies for more complex analyses may find it helpful to work in small groups to analyze assigned characters jigsaw style and share character analyses to create an accurate picture of character growth in the novel. Students may benefit from creating a chart to track the different characters they analyzed and shared.