NATIIAIìI LEf¡Y'S
STORIES WIÎH HOTES - 13
VOTUME XIII
an NL Asoociateo, fnc. book
Nathan Levy's
STORIES WITH HOLES
Vot" Xilt
a collection of original
thinking activities for
improving inquiry.
Copyright 1993 N.L. Associates, lnc. Publishers
All rights reserved. No part ot,lhis book may be
reproduced in any manner whatever, including
informalion storage or'relrieval,, in whole or in
part (except.for brief quotalions in crilical
articles or reviews), wilhoul wrilten permission
from the publisher. For information, write to:
N.L. Associates,.lnc,
PO Box 1199
Hightstown¡ NJ 08520
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number
89-92 1 95
lsBN # 't-878347-27-6.
Printed in the United States of America
PREFACE -
by Nathan
Levy
This book is the result of, several years'
accumulation by the author of ideas leading to
puzzling stories'that lend,themselves to what I call
thinking games. The "games" have become the
means for thousands of people to carry on a totally
enjoyable process of engaging critical and
imqginative thinking. The original STORIES W|TH
HOLES is a collection of.stor¡esjthat has,been
gathered from various sourc€s. To the best of my
knowledge,' NATHAN IEVY'S STORIES WITH
HOTES are, original. Wherever I travel I,share some
of the stories with my training groups. Teachers,
parents and children enjoy the stor¡es,irnmensely.
I have been asked many times for a collection of
the stories. My STORIES TO STRETCH MTNDS
VOLS. l-lV were the result of those requests by
teachers who have found the games.to be
fascinating and rewarding, educationa!. experi€nces.
I have created th€ NATHAN LEVY'S STORIES
WITH HOLES series to keep u¡r with the demand.
Since the present collection can in no way be
considered exhaustive, I encourage the reader to
send me others that you may know or create
yourself, so that future editions can be added to
the collection.
INTRODUCTION
The objectives of using NATHAN LEVY'S STORIES
WITH HOLES include the following:
* to provide for growth in imaginat¡on and
intuitive functioning
* to encourage divergent thinking
* to give experiences that display the fun of
working cooperatively, rather than competitively,
on a common problem
t to increase cognitive skills of
resolving discrepancies through successful
exper¡ences
* to provide enjoyable changes-of-pace for
task-oriented learning environments
This is a structured activity. lt ¡s designed to
ensure involvement on the part of each participant,
and to promote feelings of group and individual
success.
The games are designed to accommodate all age
levels. 'Children" from ages 8-88 will benefit from
using these stories.
The time a game takes will vary. Usually 3 to 20
minutes is taken, but some stor¡es can take hours.
Teachers often open or close a class period with a
game, or use one whenever a change of pace (i.e.
from either a quiet seat-work or physically active
set) ¡s required.
Children, lower grades through high school, tend to
regard these thinking games as play instead of
work. lt is one of the few activities I know of that
"hooks" almost anyone into creative use of their
intelligence, i.e. learning, almost in spite of
themselves. NATHAN LEVY'S STORIES WITH
HOLES are for all groups -- regardless of age,
background or achievern€nt level.
*rPlease note that I have revised the above
introduction and the following rnethodology as they
appeared in the original collection of STORIES
WITH HOLES. The revision were based on my
current workshop experiences with children and
adults.
N.L.
METHODOLOGY
At least the f¡rst time a group plays, it will be
necessary to begin by announcing something like
the following: "l am going to tell you a story with
a hole in it -- I mean that an important part of the
story is missing. Listen carefully so you can find
the missing part, for the story may not seem to
n'lake much sense to you at first...'
(At this point you tell the story once, pause, then
tell ¡t exactly the same way again. Then say...)
"You can ask questions that can be answered
either with a "yes" or with a "no'. I can only
answer "yes', "no", "does not compute", or ,'is
not relevant". lf I answer "does not compute,',
that means that the question you asked cannot
receivq a straight "yesn or "no" w¡thout throwing
you off the track. "
Allow for questions about the process if there are
any, but usually ¡t ¡s best simply to jump into the
game by having the questioning start. The process
becomes clear as the game progresses. Once a
group has played the game, the full directions given
above for playing the game are unnecessary.
From this point on, answer only in one of the four
designated ways. Following is an example of a
computed story taken from STORIES WITH HOLES,
and how it might be played:
Storv: A man lives on the twentieth floor of an
apartment building. Every time he leaves, he rides
a self-service elevator from the twentieth floor to
the street; but every time he returns, hs rides the
same self-service elevator only to the fifteenth
floor, where he leaves the elevator and walks up
the remaining five flights of stairs. (Repeat, then
ask who knows the answer already; if any do, ask
them to observe and not g¡ve away the answer.l
O,uestion: Does the elevator go all the way up?
Answer: Yes.
O:
A:
O:
A:
O:
Does he want the exercise?
No.
Does it have something to do with the
elevator not working right?
No.
Does he have a girlfriend on the 15th floor
he stops to see?
A: ltüo.
O: Does the nran have something different
about him?
A: Yes.
O: ls he a robber?
A: No.
O: ls he a rcal man?
A: Yes.
O: A tall man?
A:
No.
O: ls his size irnportant?
A: Yes.
O: I knowl He's a midget, and he can,t reach
A:
the button to push itl
Rightl
At this point, make certa¡n that all the part¡cipants
understand the answor and why it is the corrã"t
questions like:
I
When do you see yourself having to use the kind
of thinking you use in this game?
Usually, a group of youngsters will be eager to try
a second gamo right away. Genetally, it is best to
less -- too soon for the groqp
to "get into it.")
Some important points to remernber:
1. lmmediately
- and before
in the group
the
lias
of each story - ask if anyone
knows the
answer. Tell these people to refrain from
questioning, and observe.
2. Use the "does not compute" response
whenever a single work or phrase in a question
makes it so that neither a "yes" or "nol answer is
possible. Examples from the story above:
t
Why does the man live on the twentieth floor?
("Why' questions -- or lwhere, who, when, what,
which" -- cannot be answered "yes" or "no").
o
"Does the elevator operator rnake the rnan get
off at the fifteenthT" (No mention was made of an
operator.l
t
"ls the man over 5O?" (ln this case, answer is
irrelevant; you could answer "yes",or rno" hsre,
but, in an effort to steer the group away from
pr€occupation with age, "it is not relevant" is
better.)
Teach the group that "does not compute" and "it is
not relevant" are designed to help the questioners,
not to confuse them.
3.
ln an effort to be a "helpful computer", |ou
may use body English. For instance, ¡f someone
asks something that is not correct, but is in an
¡mportant category for the solution (i.e. "ls the man
too tall?"l answer "No-o-o-o, but...l" while
beckoning with your hands to show the group is
"getting warm". Any such non-verbal helps by you
will serve to show the class you want them to g€t
the answer, and are not deliberately frustrating
their efforts. Smiles, widened yes, leaning forward
-- all say the same thing, and keep motivation high.
(lt is no fun to play a computer gam€ with a smug
computor, who exudes an air of "Nyan-nyan. lhave-the-answer-and-you-don't", or "Thatrs a
dumb question."l
4.
Don't let a game lag. lf a game goes past 10 or
12 minutes, some people begin to lose interest. At
this point, several options afo opon:
a. Stop being the computer, and review the
important clues the group has already found -perhaps including a suggostion for where to focus
quest¡ons (i.e. "Okay, we'v€ establ¡shed that it
isn't the fault of the elevator, of the building or any
other person; what do we know about the man
himself?")
b. lnvite any who said at the beginning they
already know the answsr, to ask "leading
questions" that hint at the answer -- without
actually giving the final solution away.
c: Ctose the gamq for ts€ prqsent. There is
absolutely nothing harmfut in r""ring ttãóu!¿"
unsolved. The group can return to ¡t anoit
wlren interest and.energy arc high. Some,iràãnt,
"it¡r",
may protest, but do not give the answer.
The
experience of non-closure has some valuable
learning in itself; but more importantly,
oÃã" ,
group has expended considerable .nrrgy
* tn"
game, the victory should be an earnedîn;. Although there may be somo unusual
circumstances under which you would give
the
group the answer,. I have found ¡t best
ñot to Jo .o
(even if some are beg
¡s not
to 'take the answer a
u can
always r.trrn tà ¡t .t
important is that they (th
e
feeling of "we-did-¡tlt.
5.
Share the cornputer ileaderl role. Once
kids
have learned how the ga
volunteer lead the
os€
from the l¡st in this book
soon as you are convinced they are familia, ,,,rï,,ît
the story, the answer, and the process
strould previousry.have moderedr nave them;;"d the story ro the ctass, change ¡nto ttrá h;ú;d.
computer, and begin taking questions. Be
sur€ to
pass the leadership rore around,
for nruny-*li *ìrh
to take part. (A child-led computer game is an
exceltent smail-group activiry io havã g;¡ng;
¡1"
you are employed qlsewhere in the
c¡aãsroóm.l
game.
i*î¡"t'i""
-
*t
t
Be aware that certain children may use the
leader position for power and act to frustrate the
ctass. From the outset, stress that the role is one
of "helpful computer". (Most important here is
what you model.l
6.
Encourage categorical thinking. When a player
asks a quest¡on beginning "Would ¡t help us to
know..." or "Does it have anything to do with..."
pause in the game and show how the type of
question is uniquely helpful in narrowing down the
range of questions, distilling and focusing the
group's attention, or cutting away large slices of
the topic that are irrelevant. Thus, the question "ls
the man's occupation important?" tends to be more
useful than "ls he a plumber? A teacher?", etc.
7,
that a question is exactly true, or
before responding (one word can
false,
exactly
make the differencel.
Be sure
8.
lntroduce new challenges. After a group has
becoms proficient at questioning, perhaps by
saying that they will be allowed only 20 quest¡ons
a session.
Specia! lhanks for their story ideas to lhe Sth grado
studenls in lhe G/T, program al Dalton Elementary
School in Aurora, CO and lo their teacher Kaf 'Norquist.
Alderson
Bradney
Ary Bush
Cody Þludson
Odinel Melarejo
Chris Ritchie
Kurt
Jacob
Keith Benson
Ryan Brennan
Bobby Hiller
Lisa Dinner
Han ¡¡g
Michael Tullis
The Runners
Through the heat they ran and
ran, day and night for 40 da¡rs
straight-no breaks ;for meals,
drinks or sleep. The only thing
that ,finally stopped them was the
rextreme cold weather that câth€
about.
Answe r:
Noses ran because of allergy season (freeze) finaily stopped tñã allergies. a frost
2
Lori's
Barrel
Lori Sourifman we¡ghed her half
full wooden barrel. lt weighed 60
pounds. Later she noticed
something had been put in it, but
when she weighed ¡t again, it
weighed less that 60 pounds - at
least 10 pounds less.
Answer:
Buckshol had been "pul in', the barrel, creating
several holes through it. Some of the water ¡n itre
barrel came out.
Steve's Shouts
"Hold ¡t! Don't Move!", Steve
shouted as he shot repeatedly at
the crowd. Even though there
were 2 people badly wounded, no
one blamed the shooter.
Answer:
several other choices.
Mark Crescas, the Litile League
pitcher, took his time as he
prepared for the last inning of
the All Star Game. He walked
slowly towards the mound to get
ready to start the last inning.
The mound had disappeared, but
no official stopped the game.
Mark pitched the last iniing.
Answer:
The "mound" in thjs case was a candy
bar Mark was
going to eal afler the game. One of
Mark,s
leammates look il.
Eileen's Sister
Eileen's sister Kim drove her
there, annoying Eileen all the way
- even though Kim was only 10
years old.
Answer:
Eileen's
sister drove her up a walt.
6
John Lonoo's New Suit
Mr. John Longo put on his suit and
left for work. While at work, Mr.
Longo slightly tore his new suit.
His partners in the firm were
very upset at the way John
looked - even though none of thern
cared about fashion.
Answer:
John was a scuba diver. When a rock punctured his
suil, water rushed in and he had to return to the
surface, His partners needed him in the work they
were doing. Therefore, all of lhe divers had to
return to lhe surface with him.
7
Jason and The Train
Jason held up the train. The
sheriff and his deputies quietly
observed Jason's actions. Jason's
actions went unpunished.
Answe¡:
Jason's aunl married the sheriff and he held up the
train on her wedding dress as she went down the
a
is le.
Laura loved to pick wild flowers.
One day she wandered too tar
into the forest. She saw a great
big beautiful dandelion. Laura
knew she could not make herself
pick this one.
Answer:
This was a real dandy lion
-
escaped from the zoo.
Caroly0 the Loyal Subfecr
Carolyn the,loyal subfect was glven the
opportunlly to walk ln.the .royal,garden
befors dlnner. As lt got dark, Carolyn
rushed to , tell , her ,parents about , comlng
acrogs the Prlnce ,durlng her ouilng.
'When her,parents,asked Garolyn ll she
had bowed to ithe , pilneer Carolyn ,looked
'surprlsed,. laughgd .and .sald, .,Of . course
not." Her,parents¡ also loyal subfects of
the klng,' dld not punlsh Gerolyn ln
England.
l¡¡t¡l
¡
"prlncr':'øtolln:lrw wtrl :thr lool .pflnlt1trrlr by lhr Prlncr:ln thr wlntrr rnor çTb rrrly
drrlnr¡¡
lrllr.you ll Ir wlntar, rhtch ¡h'ould brá
ùo lh. pomlblllty.'ot,¡now ¡nd lool .prlnlr'!).
Thr,
Carolyn the loyal subject was given the
opportunity to walk in the royal garden
before dinner. As ¡t got dark, Carolyn
rushed to tell her parents about coming
across the Prince during her outing.
When her parents asked Carolyn if she
had bowed to the prince, Carolyn looked
surprised, laughed and said, "Of course
not." Her parents, also loyal subjects of
the king, d¡d not punish Carolyn in
England.
An
swe¡:
lo
Jeff,s Arrest
Jeff was arrested and fined
simply because he spilled a
case of strawberry jelly on the
street.
Answer:
Jeff caused a traffic jam.
11
Mary Kotz reached down and
touched the casile's antique keys,
even though a sign said, "DO NOT
TOUCH!" The security guards
came running, along with many
others. Mary continued to touón
the keys. No one dared stop her.
Answer:
Mary was a concert pianist and owner of lhe antique
piano. The security guards simpty let the ¡¡nes oi'
people enter lhe concerl hall al curtain l¡me to
hear her play.
12
The Hot, Day
On an extremely hot day, Rob
entered the large building. As the
buildingts owner, ât first Rob was
happy when he saw 40 people and
80 heads. Then he really got
angry. He should only have seen
79 heads.
Answer:
Rob was the owner of a bar. The g0 heads were
lhe
people's heads plus the beer heads. The
ornn", gåiangry because the bartender should not have bãen
drinking on the job. There should naue Ueen ônlf
79 heads because there should nol have been
a båer
by the bartender.
13
Joe Montana made a beautiful
touchdown! The crowd roared and
cheered when it was made. The
game plan was followed and all
rules abided by, but still no
po¡nts were allowed.
Answe¡:
Joe Montana was the name of an aslronaut.
space shullle had touched down.
H¡s
1
4
Sam The Killer
After spending most of his life
behind bars, Sam was finally set
free. He killed and killed and
killed again. The authorities
observed hi¡n when they could,
but took no action because they
were happy!
An
swer:
Sam the panther had been ln capitivity since he was
a small cub. Once set free in the wild, Sám kllled
his prey to surv¡ve. The wildlife authorities
watched him to be sure he would survive in the
wild, and were happy when he did.
ls
Ryan's Change
of Heart
Last year when Ryan saw the
huge giant coming toward him, hê
was not afraid. This year, when
Ryan saw the huge giant coming
toward him, hê started to run
away - even though he still was
not
af raid.
Answer:
The giant was a member of the Giant's football team
- which Ryan played for last year. This year, Ryan
was on a differenl team. The huge Giant coming
Towards Ryan was lrying to tackle him.
16
Jennifer's Bovfriend
Jennifer's boyfriend had a new
sports car and was to pick her up
after work to show ¡t to her. She
waited and waited. Suddenly ¡t
started to rain. She had no
umbrella, no raincoat, no hat.
When her boyfriend finally came,
i 5 minutes later, she got into the
car perf ectly dry.
Answer;
Jennifer had waited inside the building.
17
Michaells Slide
Michael slid into home base. The
catcher d¡d not have the ball. The
umpire did not signal Michael
safe.
An
swer:
Michael was coming up
home base.
to bat, slipped and slid
into
18a
Al the policeman found Dana dead
in the middle of the isolated
highway. No signs of ph¡rsical
harm were visible, and no
evidence of anything or anyone
was around. Within a few
minutes, it was obvious that Evan
Milman was the culprit who left
Dana for dead.
An swe
¡:
The palrolman came upon Evan Milman,s abandoned
car (which Evan had named Dana) slalled because of
a dead battery. When Al the policeman looke.d in the
glove compartment, he found lhe regislralion wilh
Evan's name and address.
1e
The Elderly pilato Couple
The Pilatos, âñ elderly man and
woman, had been behind bars
most of their adult lives. At last,
they were freed. Though they
were innocent of any crime, no
one felt sorry for the time the
Pilato's were behind bars - Dor
could Mr. Pilato sue any law
enf orcement agency f or f alse
arrest.
Answer:
The Pilatos were two ¡elired bartenders.
20
Glenn Was Strong and Healthy
Glenn, a strong, healthy, young
man, was complaining. None of
the other young men had offered
to stand on the crowded bus so
the little old lady with her arms
full of packages could sit. Self
rightous Glenn, did not offer his
seat, even though he was as
healthy as the other young meR
who stayed seated. Why?
Answer:
Glenn was
lhe bus
driver.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NATHAN IEVY
Nathan LeVy is a well known educator,
public speaker and author. He has toun¿eá'
private summer and Saturd"y
gifted and tatented chitdren ãnä t"ln"g"i"in
Princeton, New Jersey. ln addition, mr]lÀn/
nr.gll" direcfly with teachers, parents, and
children to enhance. creativity in tris role
as
a public school principal.
Nathan is the author of several volumes
of Nathan Levy,s STORTES WTH HOLES,
the originator of rhe STORTES Tó
STRETCH MINDS series. His classic poem,
THERE ARE THOSE, is now available'in
back. His collaborative effort on the WXöfap"rÄm I
series is another example of Nathan,s continual
striving to initiate thiniing in chirdren and ãJùt".
His books and worksho
provoking ideas and act
to broaden the creative t
him in high demand as a
national level. His projects have been featured
in
radio interviews and on television specials.
Mr. Levy resides in princeton, New jersey.
He can be reached af N.L. Associates,
PO Box llgg, Hightstown, NJ Og52O, for
further
informafion about his workshops
and/or publications.
progr".;;;;
T:!ls
;;
N.L. Associates, lnc. publishers
PO Box 1199
Hightstown, ?{J 0BS2O
Nathan Levy, aulhor of the Stories With Holes
series and There Are Those, and other nationally
known authors and speakers can help your school
or organization achieve positive results with
children. We can work with you to provide a
complete inservice package or have one of our
presenlers lead one of several informative,
Prrctlcrl rcllyltl.. lor ttrchlng gltt.d chlldr.n.
lnt.grrtlng thlnklng lnto th. cl¡t¡room,
Trrchlng ¡lltrd chlldrcn ln lh. r.gul¡r cl¡r¡room.
Ct.¡tlng b¡ttrr r¡¡dcr¡ rnd lhlnl.r.,
ActlvltlÚ, tlt¡trgl.¡ ¡nd ¡nrt¡rl¡l¡ to t.¡ch thlnklne ,
Urlng Storl.r wlth Hol.¡ tnd oth.r thlnlln¡ ectlvlthr.
Pr'.nllng,
How to cr.rt. orlglntl unlt¡ of rludy.
Bulldlng ..lh.t..m - Actlvlll.. th¡t work.
Thr prlnclprl lr .n .duc¡tlonrl l.tdrr.
Glfi.d rnd sp.chl Educrllon rnd m¡ny mor..
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