Nixon’s story includes plenty of excellent vocabulary terms in each chapter, ranging from potentially unfamiliar mansion-themed nouns such as “turrets,” “tureen” and “sconces” (chapters one and two), to vivid verbs such as “scowled,” “dwell” and “tousle” (chapters three, six and seven). Students should attempt to define each term based on their context in the chapters and the sentences. They can be encouraged to work together in their efforts to decipher each term’s meaning. At the end of a particular chapter or group of chapters, students can take a vocabulary quiz or write a short passage using key vocabulary terms. This can test their understanding of each term’s definition and proper usage.
Though “The House on Hackman’s Hill” is a fairly straightforward mystery story, there are many challenging passages that teachers can point students toward to test their reading comprehension. For example, in the second chapter, Mr. Karsten has a somewhat veiled conversation with Jeff and Debbie that is filled with subtext and foreshadowing about the mummy and the mansion. Students can spend time analyzing passages such as this one in an effort to “decode” the subtextual meaning and expand their reading comprehension. They can write brief summaries of the passages before answering analysis questions such as “What is Mr. Karsten saying to the cousins on the surface?” and “What is Mr. Karsten hinting at in his conversation with the cousins?”
Nixon’s story evokes plenty of strong emotions, from terror and suspense when the cousins encounter a scary part of the mansion to anger and frustration when the cousins disagree with another character or with each other to happiness and relief when they survive yet another challenge. Students can take on the persona of either cousin or some other character in the story, then explore and reflect upon how they might react if they were in a similar situation. Students can start out writing from the perspective of their chosen character before going on to have mock conversations with other students/characters. At the end of the dramatic play exercise, students can reflect upon their feelings throughout the lesson and apply their reflection to their understanding of the story.
As with any story, Nixon’s “House on Hackman’s Hill” requires readers to engage in multiple types of decoding and analysis techniques as they read. Consequently, students could be encouraged to participate in literature or discussion circles in which several different modes of comprehension or analysis are practiced at the same time. One group of students could spend the first part of a lesson defining key terms from chapter nine such as “dilapidated,” “winced” and “tattered,” while a second group could discuss a chapter nine plot point such as the list of items Jeff and Debbie discuss before going to the mansion. A third group could analyze and evaluate the themes of chapter nine such as cooperation and preparation. After a certain period of time, members from each group could transfer to a new group and share their work with their new group. The end result is a multifaceted analysis of chapter nine involving comprehension, understanding, analysis and interpretation.