Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
‘Holes’
These are the skills you will develop as you work through this unit;
Speaking and Listening
Answer questions and take part in class discussions
Reading aloud for an audience
– to improve your clarity, tone and pitch
Be a supportive and interested listener for others
Role play in character
Read parts of the story to your partner. To help each other become more fluent readers and understand more difficult words
Reading
Read carefully for meaning
‘See’ images from the text in your mind – understand the setting and imagine what the characters are like from Louis Sachar’s descriptions
Make comments on the characters and their motivations
Speculate about why certain events happen
Imagine what it feels like to be a character in this story
Re-read for analysis and for discussion
Learn new vocabulary
Look at the way Louis Sachar, a good writer, can keep his readers interested, from the way he describes characters and events
Extract information by scanning the text quickly
Writing
Improve your technical abilities using accurate, spelling and punctuation in everything that you do
Write from several different character’s points of view, which may mean changing perspective, i.e. from the third to the first person
Write a timed piece accurately
Write to keep your audience interested and amused
Change the way information is presented e.g. from written to graphical form
Letter writing in informal register
Ordering and sequencing information
Writing a media text – newspaper journalism
Writing a diary empathising with a character’s situation
Write formally
– e.g. an obituary
Writing persuasively
Extended writing where you are able to show you can plan and re- draft your writing
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Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
Task: Silent reading
Read Chapters 1 – 3
What have you learned about Stanley Yelnats?
Draw a picture of Stanley scanning these chapters for relevant information.
Imagine how he is dressed - does his family have a lot of money?
Label your drawing using the correct information from the text.
Task: Discussion and explanation
Discuss why Stanley in the film is different from the character described in the book.
Explain which version of Stanley is more sympathetic
Task: timed writing for an audience (20 mins)
Write about the sneakers incident from anoth er person’s point of view
Your teacher will allocate you a character from:
the arresting policeman
a passer-by
the charity shopkeeper
Clyde Livingstone
the judge
You will have to change from the third person to the first person
You will need to describe not only what this person saw but how they felt
You must make this piece interesting and lively because you will read it out to the rest of the group
All writing in your books should have accurate spelling and punctuation
Should have a heading and date
Should look neat and be easy to read
2 10/04/20

Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
Read Chapters 4-8
Task: Present some of this information graphically
Draw a family tree of the Yelnats family – you can leave some space to add more information later
If you have time you could make a family tree of your own family – how far can you go back?
You may need to simplify your tree and ‘trim’ some of the branches
Short writing task (10 minutes)
Do you enjoy stories about your older relations?
Write down a favourite family story – you may be asked to present it to the rest of your group
Review your ideas about how stories should be told to keep an audience
Interested.
Task: Nicknames
Why do the boys refuse to let Dr. Pendanski use their real names?
Find all the boys nicknames and make a chart: Imagine why the boys were given their nicknames
Real Name Nickname Reason for Nickname
You will need to expand this, when you copy into your book, to fit all the names in!
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Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
Task: Allocate suitable nicknames to your six favourite people
– explain why you have chosen these new names and why they are appropriate
The story is becoming more exciting with lots of flashbacks. A very interesting character is Madame Zeroni. Find the worksheet on Madame Zeroni (at the back of this pack)
When you have chosen one of her amazing stories to write You will need to think very carefully about how you are going to plan and write this imaginative piece. Here are some tips for extended writing
Make a plan
It could be a spider diagram that shows characters and events
It could be a list of what you need to include in each paragraph
First paragraph
You will need to think carefully about how you might start your creative writing.
A rhetorical question?
A flashback?
A conversation that includes a secret?
The first few sentences should really grab the reader’s attention , so you need to think how you can do this. Try several and select which one you like best.
Have you planned to write in paragraphs? Extended writing must be in paragraphs.
Have you thought about using some more adventurous vocabulary . If you have a Thesaurus use it!
To make your story believable and interesting you may need to add detailed description of settings or character (like Louis Sachar)
Revise similes and metaphors – did you notice any from what you have read so far?
Try to use unusual imagery , for example, as cold as ice, is predictable and will not get your reader excited. Maybe ‘as cold as corpse’ could make more of an impression, in the right place, as it might suggest what is going to happen to one if your characters.
How will you end this yarn?
4 10/04/20

Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
Read up to Chapter 12.
Task: Letter writing: Stanley’s letter to his Mom
Look at the worksheet on Letters (back of booklet)
You will need to revise how to set out a letter (and maybe address an envelope).
Think about the right register
– formal or informal?
Think about the tone
Think about writing as Stanley – is that the first or third person?
Do letters need a date?
Revise writing skills – spelling, punctuation, neatness are important
Your plan has already been given to you. Do you want to add anything else?
Time to review what you think about the characters you have met so far
Select one of these speaking and listening tasks to do in a group:
Imagine the conversation some of the boys would have in the ‘wreck room’ reflecting on their day present this to the rest of the group in character
Imagine the conversation some of the staff, like the cooks, have about The
Warden and the boys
– some could be sympathetic ,some might enjoy serving horrible food
Imagine a conversation where some of the boys talk about what they did to get sent to Camp Green Lake
Imagine a conversation where the boys think about ways they might escape
5 10/04/20

Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
Task; Writing about character.
Who is your favourite character so far ?
Re-read parts of the book. Find some quotes from the text to show how
Louis Sachar has built up a very interesting picture of one person from the things that are said, or from what your character does.
Remember to use
“ ” marks when you are copying a writer’s words.
Explain why the words you have copied are well chosen.
Task A Rule book for Camp Green Lake or an informative poster , outlining rules the Warden might display in the dining room.
You will need to plan how this would be set out
You may need to re-read the information given earlier
Think about writing in the imperative !
6 10/04/20

Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
Task: Film Trailer storyboard.
Find your worksheet - Film Trailer Storyboard
Discuss what a film trailer is and its purpose
Find five important images from the film of ‘Holes’ to put in your scene frame
The images should reflect something important about Stanle y’s story.
The commentary should be written for a voiceover , so will need to be persuasive and informative . Film trailers are about marketing a product.
Task: Acrostic Poem about Stanley.
E
Y
T
A
N
L
S
Use phrases instead of single words. Try to show what is important to
Stanley and how he has changed since he came to Camp Green Lake.
Y
E
L
N
A
T
S
Character focus:
Kate Barlow and Sam
A very important theme of racism is introduced with Kate and Sam’s story.
Discuss how attitudes have changed since the nineteenth century. Do you think Louis Sachar approaches this difficult topic well?
Would Sam have been killed if he was not black?
How has Louis Sachar made Sam such a likeable character?
Do you refer the film or the text version?
What has been left out of the film?
7 10/04/20

Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
Task: Writing Informally and empathetically
When you have read all of Kate’s story find the worksheet ‘Kate’s Diary’
Discuss what skills you need in order to write as another person
Remember:
!st or 3 rd person?
Formal or informal register
Tone- angry or bitter or sad or a mixture of all three?
Task Writing Formally and balancing opinion
Discuss what an obituary is.
Find the worksheet (Kissin’ Kate’s Obituary)
The worksheet allows you to plan an obituary, making sure you do not leave out any important details . The tone is formal .
When you have planned your obituary you will need to write it out properly.
Perhaps you could set it out with a border (as some are in local newspapers).
Don’t forget to include tributes from people she helped
Comments also from the families of those she killed?
You are aiming for a balanced account of a human life.
Read on.
Perhaps you could read to a partner trying to make it interesting and fluent
8 10/04/20

Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
Character Focus
Zero
Find the worksheet ‘If Zero could write’
Zero is a very sympathetic character in the film. Why do you believe that particular actor was chosen?
Does Louis Sachar make Zero equally sympathetic in the book?
Remember you are asked to write about Zero not as Zero.
Revise the use of quotations
It would be good if you could find a quotation from the novel to show where you obtained your information about Zero.
Remember to use
Task: Using formal language
A very exciting episode is when Stanley steals Mr. Sir’s Water Truck in order to rescue Zero. Mr. Sir would have to fill out an official form, called an
Incident Report.
Many people have to fill in these kinds of forms as part of their job.
Find the ‘Incident Report’ from your worksheets
Make sure you keep it neat and use the appropriate language.
You are filling it in as Mr. Sir
Do you want to make sure you blame others and avoid the blame yourself?
Task: understanding character
After you have co mpleted this task find the ‘Characters’ worksheet. Answer the nine questions giving your opinion on Mr. Sir.
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Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
Read to the end of the novel
Task: Filling in the gaps.
You are going to think about what the other characters may be doing or saying while Stanley and Zero are on the mountain.
Do they believe Stanley and Zero are still alive?
Have they changed their opinion of Stanley and Zero?
Who is digging their holes?
How is the warden behaving?
Has anyone else tried to escape?
PresentationTask: In a group write what their imagined conversation would be - each person taking a different character either from:
Tent D or
The Warden, Dr. Pendanski, Mr. Sir
Revise:
Writing for an audience
– lively, entertaining
Writing in character
Speaking your part clearly
Supporting others by listening quietly and responding well
10 10/04/20

Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
Overview
Look at the worksheet ‘Filling in the Holes’
What are the final connections between the characters ? Using flashbacks
Louis Sachar has interwoven several different storylines and brought them all together at the end to a resolution.
See if you can make the links from Elya Yelnats in Latvia to Stanley Yelnats
IV and Hector Zeroni who met at Camp Green Lake.
Review
Write a short review of ‘Holes’ that could be posted on the internet. Readers often review books to help other people who may be unsure whether they would enjoy a particular book or not.
In your review you will need to consider who Louis Sachar has written this novel for:
Everyone? or
Ages 8 –12? or
Other teenagers?
What genre or kind of book is it?
Action adventure?
Story of a misunderstood boy?
Family saga?
Something else
– maybe a mixture of genres?
Film and book together
Does the film appeal to a more specific target audience?
What has been changed to make the film appeal to its target audience?
11 10/04/20

Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
12 10/04/20

Exploring texts ‘Holes’ Louis Sachar
13 10/04/20