From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler/The Westing Game by E. L. Konigsburg/Ellen Raskin

In From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a Newbery Award–winning book, two suburban runaways (Claudia, tired of being unappreciated and bored, and her younger brother Jamie) hide in the elegant New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their search for the identity of a Renaissance statue leads them to Mrs. Frankweiler, the story’s narrator, who helps Claudia discover the statue’s identity and determine her own identity and worth.

In this Newbery Award–winning book, the story centers on the game outlined in the will of millionaire Sam Westing. Sixteen heirs of diverse backgrounds, who are moved into a new luxury apartment building, meet for the reading of Westing’s will. The heirs are paired and given clues to a puzzle they must solve, apparently to win the inheritance. Identities shift; clues are added, and suspicion increases that Westing was murdered by one of his heirs. The Westing Game lines lead to self-discovery and the pursuit of goals and dreams.

About the Series:

Novel/Drama curriculum units contain complete lesson plans with preliminary and follow-up work, teacher notes with plot summary, background, and rationale, ready-to-use worksheets, and suggested answers for student questions. These study guides encourage the development of thinking, reading, speaking, research, and writing skills as well as critical thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.