The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“A Guide for New Ghosts”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of Diana’s and Georgie’s differing characterizations by creating a handbook about being a ghost that takes into account both of their perspectives.

When Diana and Georgie suddenly wake up as ghosts, they have no guide to the “rules” for their new existence. Imagine that as they learn the rules, they create a written guide for themselves. Create Diana and Georgie’s handbook for being a ghost at Oak Hill Manor.

Create Your Handbook

Your handbook or guide should include an illustrated entry for each of the 5 rules that the children develop over the course of the novel.

• Each entry should be divided into 2 sections, 1 written from Diana’s perspective and 1 written from Georgie’s perspective, making it clear how their characterizations and outlooks differ.
• Your handbook, therefore, will include 5 total entries, each made up of 2 sections; include 1 illustration per section.

Share and Offer Feedback

Read through 2 guidebooks created by peers. For each, create a feedback sheet that shares your thoughts on the following points:

1) Does this guidebook meet all of the assignment criteria? Why or why not?

2) How does this guidebook characterize Diana? Can you think of any evidence that might change this guidebook’s characterization of Diana?

3) How does this guidebook characterize Georgie? Can you think of any evidence that might change this guidebook’s characterization of Georgie?

Teaching Suggestion: This activity can be completed individually, with a partner, or in a small group. Students can create their handbooks on paper or as a computer document. Depending on how much prior practice students have with characterization, a brief review of the elements of characterization (perhaps using Lissa’s character to model how to collect evidence regarding a character’s personality and outlook) may be beneficial. If time permits, after students provide feedback on one another’s work, they might correct any issues that have been identified by their peers before submitting their work.

Differentiation Suggestion: If students are working on paper, students with aphantasia may need reference pictures in order to create illustrations. If students are working on the activity individually, students with visual limitations may not be able to complete the assignment as written; the illustration requirement might be eliminated for these students. Students with attentional or reading fluency learning differences may benefit from time with a partner or small group for the purpose of evidence-gathering.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The setting of the old Willis house is an important part of the novel’s atmosphere.

• What specific contribution does this setting make to the novel’s atmosphere? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and discuss at least 3 examples of language and plot detail that support your interpretation.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how this setting contributes to the book’s larger thematic concern with Forgiveness and Making Peace With the Past.

2. The Old Willis Place is narrated in the first-person point of view.

• How does using a first-person narrator allow Hahn to create suspense around Diana’s and Georgie’s real identities? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least 3 examples of how Hahn uses this perspective to create suspense related to siblings’ identities.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how this perspective relates to one or more of the book’s larger thematic concerns: The Importance of Friendship, Sibling Loyalty, and Forgiveness and Making Peace With the Past.

3. The book that Diana reads over and over to Georgie is Clematis by Bertha Browning Cobb, and her favorite book is Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight.

• What do these two stories have in common, and how do they help to characterize Diana? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least 3 examples of Diana’s words and actions that show your interpretation of her characterization is correct.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how the plots of these two books relate to the plot of The Old Willis Place.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Ghost stories are often a way to discuss the ways in which unresolved issues from the past come back to “haunt” us—not just personal issues, but cultural issues, too. When were Diana and Georgie alive? How were children treated differently in that time, compared to how they are treated today? What does their family’s socioeconomic situation have to do with how they died? Write an essay analyzing how The Old Willis Place uses the idea of ghosts to comment on the ways that less powerful people—like children and those whose income is below the poverty line—should be treated. Show how this is related to the novel’s thematic interest in Forgiveness and Making Peace With the Past. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

2. One of the primary topics in this story is the relationship between Georgie and Diana. Why is their relationship so important to them? What changes occur in this relationship as the novel progresses? What lessons do Diana and Georgie learn because of the stresses their relationship faces in this story? Write an essay analyzing the relationship between Georgie and Diana. Show how their relationship supports the novel’s thematic interest in The Importance of Friendship and Sibling Loyalty. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

3. The characters in The Old Willis Place keep many secrets. Which secrets are about more serious matters and have the potential to cause real problems? How do secrets impact the relationships between characters? Overall, what messages about keeping secrets does this novel convey through its characters and its plot? Write an essay analyzing the novel’s messages about secrets. Comment on the relationship of secrets to the novel’s larger themes: The Importance of Friendship, Sibling Loyalty, and Forgiveness and Making Peace With the Past. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. From whose perspective is this story told?

A) Lissa’s

B) Georgie’s

C) Diana’s

D) Lillian’s

2. Which of these is NOT a rule that Georgie and Diana have made for themselves?

A) They cannot show themselves to living people.

B) They cannot go beyond the gate.

C) They cannot steal anything from living people.

D) They cannot go near the house.

3. Which of the following is a clue that Diana and Georgie are ghosts?

A) Their interest in Lissa’s bike

B) Their ages being 8 and 12

C) Their love for stories

D) Their names being Diana and Georgie

4. What causes the most damage to Georgie and Diana’s relationship?

A) Miscommunication and silence

B) Stealing and greed

C) Teasing and name-calling

D) Lies and broken promises

5. Which is the most accurate characterization of Lissa?

A) Curious and adventurous but somewhat reckless and self-centered

B) Empathetic and charming but somewhat inattentive and shallow

C) Intellectual and witty but somewhat uncaring and cold

D) Hard working and ambitious but somewhat greedy and single-minded

6. What device does Hahn use to reveal a perspective other than the narrator’s perspective?

A) Letters

B) A diary

C) Song lyrics

D) A painting

7. Which emotion is most responsible for tying the ghosts to the old Willis place?

A) Greed

B) Love

C) Anger

D) Fear

8. In what way does Mr. Morrison change over the course of the novel?

A) He realizes that isolation is bad for Lissa and learns to prioritize her needs.

B) He starts taking more responsibility for himself and his relationships with others.

C) He gradually comes to terms with the death of his wife and its impact on Lissa.

D) He learns to take himself less seriously and laugh at his own mistakes.

9. Which of the novel’s symbols is often mentioned when Diana is about to make a potentially dangerous decision?

A) The book Lassie Come Home

B) The teddy bear

C) The gate

D) The albino deer

10. Which of the novel’s symbols is used to represent the struggle between Georgie and Lissa?

A) The teddy bear

B) The albino deer

C) The book Lassie Come Home

D) The gate

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. How are Georgie and Diana similar to the animals on the Willis estate?

2. What is the fifth rule that Diana realizes she and Georgie must follow, and how does it relate to the resolution of the book’s plot?