Griffins Book Club – ACA grades 3-5
Third Quarter – The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Read the book and choose one essential question to answer (below) by submitting a project to your homeroom teacher
by Thursday, March 2nd, 2017. Some possible project ideas are:
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Create a multimedia presentation (e.g., video,
Powerpoint, Prezi, slideshow, etc.)
Write a series of journal entries or essay from a
particular point of view
Construct a diorama
Illustrate a comic book or book jacket
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Research an outside topic that is connected to
a theme in the book
Design a poster or advertisement
Create an mock interview of a character in the
book
Demonstrate your understanding using
multiple Thinking Maps
The focus of the Griffin’s Book Club is answering an Essential Question, not necessarily designing or creating the prettiest
project. Projects that do not answer an essential question will be returned to the student with feedback to be
resubmitted by Monday, March 6th, 2017. All students that submitted a project that answered an essential question will
be invited to a celebration a week or so after the due date.
Students who complete all 4 Griffins Book Club projects this year will be invited to compete in the Griffin Book Club
championship in May 2017.
Essential Questions
1. The Westing Game was originally titled Eight Imperfect Pairs of Heirs. Think of each group of partners
in the novel. How is each pair imperfect? How does everyone benefit from their relationship with
their partner?
2. Which of the heirs did you find to be the most trustworthy? Which did you find to be the most
suspicious? Explain your reasoning.
3. Disguise is a main theme of the Westing Game, and things are not always what they seem. What is the
importance of this in the novel? Which characters have something to hide and what are they hiding?
Why do they feel it's necessary to hide?
4. Think about the three main families in the novel: the Wexlers, the Hoos, and the Theodorakis families.
Though each family looks like a happy family from the outside, they all actually have serious problems.
What are the problems of each family?
5. Setting plays an important role in The Westing Game. The main setting for the novel is the Sunset
Towers apartment building. How does the setting affect the book? How would the story change if it
was set elsewhere?
6. Grace Wexler, James Shin Hoo, and Judge Ford all have some kind of prejudice. How is each character
prejudiced? How do their attitudes change by the end of the novel?
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
5206 S. Bowen Road • Arlington, Texas 76017
817.987.1819 • fax 817.200.6541 • www.acaedu.net