Engaging,
Stimulating, Compelling, Serious and Funny
Holes
by Louis Sachar
Published
by Frances Foster Books Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Copyright
1998
1999 Newbery Medal
“A
smart jigsaw puzzle of a novel, tough, truehearted and ultimately tender” –New
York Times
This story written by Louis Sachar, helps readers connect with the main
character Stanley Yelnats who feels he has no friends and his life is cursed.
Children can relate with the feeling of being left out at sometime in their
life. Stanley
Yelnats is forced to dig holes at Camp Green Lake detention center for stealing
a pair of sneakers. While at Camp Green Lake he discovers news friends, dangers
and also secrets from his families past. Camp Green Lake has been dried out for
over a hundred years and for punishment the campers have all dig one hole a
day. In this funny and emotional story we learn how Stanley can grow up, face
his punishment and in the end seek redemption.
Description: Realistic
Fiction
Suggested
Delivery: Independent Read
Reading
Level: Lexile Framework- 660L, Grade 5+
Electronic
Resources:
This is
the authors website which provides a summary of the book and a question and
answer section where Louis Sachar answers questions about his book. It also
provides facts about the book and the awards that the book has won.
SparkNotes
is a great site for students because it features information such as the plot
overview, character list, themes, symbols and also a summary and analysis of
each chapter. This would be very helpful for students who are doing a report on
this book.
This is
a fun exciting game where students can test their knowledge about the book
Holes. To get farther in the game they will need to answer questions about the
book to help guide them.
Key
Vocabulary: Stifling, Desolate, Scarcity, Penetrating, Gurgling, Precipice
Teaching
Suggestions:
1. Have
the students reconstruct the plot by creating a timeline of events.
2. Use
this text in Social Studies to show the importance of history in everyday life.
3. Use
this text in reading and language arts by having the students write a short
story on the benefits of friendship.
Comprehension
Strategies:
Pre-reading- Before reading the text introduce the
unfamiliar key words that need to be taught. This will help the students learn
the new words and be able to comprehend the text when they read the story. Introduce the words by asking the students if they have an idea of what the word means and continue the lesson by defining the words on the board.
During
Reading- Have the students all participate in a fishbowl discussion. This
will help the students with their literal compression and they are also able to
make text to text and text to self connections. Some suggested discussions
questions are:
1. Why
is the book called Holes?
2. How
does digging Holes help Stanley survive?
3. Who
are the important characters in the book?
4.
Explain an example of irony that is portrayed in this book?
Post-
Reading- Have the students view the film Holes and then as a group
activity compare and contrast the film and book by using a Venn diagram. This
will help students with their inferential comprehension by having them use
reasoning and drawing the conclusions about the relationships between the film
and movie.
Writing
Activity- Have the students each pretend to be a camper at Camp Green
Lake. Have them write home a letter to their parents. Make sure they answer
questions such as,
1.
What
you like and dislike about the camp
2.
The
emotions you are feeling
3.
Anything
you want to tell your family
Sachar, Louis. Holes.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. Print.
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