Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Holes
Please choose one activity to
complete each week and hand
in on a Friday. Your booklets
will be monitored, you can
present your ideas in any way
you choose and merits
awarded for presentation.
Name: ___________________________________________
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Home learning choice 1.
Book covers are very important. They tell us what the book is about and
persuade readers to buy the book.
Here are some previous Holes book covers. What do they have in common?
A book cover will include the author’s name, the title of the book, an illustration
and the name of the publisher.
You are going to create a new book cover for Holes. Your cover must be eyecatching and attractive.
Here are some points you may want to consider when designing your book cover:
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What is your book about?
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Who is it aimed at?
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What is the most important theme of the book?

What would make you want to read the book?
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What style will your book cover be? Serious? A cartoon? A photo?
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
My Book Cover
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Obviously, Camp Green Lake is a dangerous place to be, from what we have seen of
Stanley’s experiences-we have just read all about the deadly yellow-spotted lizard that
lurks there!. Stanley was unaware of Camp Green Lake’s risks and pitfalls before arriving
there-it would have been good for him, and other new campers to know what they need to
be aware of before beginning their imprisonment there.
Home Learning Choice Two:
Can you write an instruction leaflet that warns new campers about the dangers of Camp
Green Lake, warning them of the dangers there?
A good idea would be to use different headings/subtitles in your leaflet to discuss the
different dangers at Camp Green Lake: e.g. ‘People to be aware of’, ‘Dangerous animals at
camp’
You could also include pictures in your leaflet to show new campers what Camp Green Lake
is really like!
Remember, you need to instruct the new campers on the issues they should be aware of
and things they should avoid doing at camp so they don’t get into trouble there.
You can present this in any way you choose!
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Stanley receives harsh treatment during his time at camp. Disgusting food, pointless holedigging, scorching heat, a selfish warden…there is no end to the problems that Stanley and
the other campers face. Surely their treatment cannot be fair?!
Home Learning Choice Three:
Your task is, as Stanley, to write a persuasive speech convincing the other campers that they need to
protest against the injustices of Camp Green Lake to the warden, and demand that conditions at the
camp change for the better.
Firstly, brainstorm ideas:
-
Which problems about the camp are you going to talk about in your speech?
How are you going to get the campers on your side to take action?
What are you going to say to the warden-what changes will you propose to her?
Try to use persuasive devices in your speech to make your argument more effective…
Rule of three:
‘The warden is unfair, cruel
and evil’
Rhetorical questions:
Facts about the camp to back your opinions up:
‘Don’t you think we campers
deserve better?’
‘99% of us don’t have access to water-the only
person who does is the Warden.’
Repeating parts of your argument to make your audience
remember it:
‘We need to change the way we are treated…we need to
change conditions at Camp Green Lake ’
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Stanley’s life isn’t getting any better for him; his best friend has run away from camp, Mr.
Sir is making his life hard, and many of the other campers treat Stanley unfairly.
Stanley has made the decision to run away from camp now…remember what Mr. Sir said
at the beginning of the novel…
“Nobody runs away from here…we’ve got the only water for a hundred miles. You’ll be
buzzard food in three days.”
However, he knows that Zero is out there, needing help!
Home Learning Choice Four:
Write a letter to Stanley, sharing your opinion on whether he is making the
right decision to run away or not. Consider the good and bad points of Stanley
running away and advise him on his future actions.
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Home learning choice 5
Imagine you are Stanley, write a persuasive speech protesting against the
injustices of Camp Green Lake to the Warden. You need to convince her that
conditions at the camp are unacceptable and persuade her to change the camp
for the better.
Firstly, brainstorm your ideas:
-
What problems with the camp are you going to talk about in your speech?
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How do the other campers feel about Camp Green Lake? Include quotes if
you can.
-
What are you going to say to the Warden? What changes will you propose
to her?
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Try to use the following persuasive devices in your speech to make your
argument more effective…
Tripling:
Rhetorical questions:
‘The warden is unfair, cruel and evil’
‘Don’t you think we campers deserve better?’
Facts about the camp to back your opinions
Repeating parts of your argument to make your
up:
audience remember it:
‘99% of us don’t have access to water-the
‘We need to change the way we are treated…we need
only person who does is the Warden.’
to change conditions at Camp Green Lake ’
Write your persuasive speech here.
Write your persuasive speech here:
Use the checklist below to check you have included the necessary points to
create an effective speech.
In my speech I have included:
o each of the ideas from my plan
o tripling
o rhetorical questions
o facts to support my point
o repetition.
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Home Learning Choice 6.
Stanley has run away from Camp Green Lake. Write a letter to Stanley’s mother
as though you are the Warden explaining what has
happened.
What are the key features of a formal letter?
Bullet point the features below.
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Remember, Stanley’s mother is completely unaware of what has happened and
what Camp Green Lake is really like. You will need to inform her how Stanley
escaped. You may also want to add where you believe he is, why you think he
escaped and also, what could have happened to him.
Use the box below to make notes from chapters 31 onwards about Stanley’s
escape. This will provide you with useful information to include in your letter.
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Below is a template of how a formal letter should be set out. Use this template
to set out your formal letter to Stanley’s mother. This task should be completed
in your on the page below.
Remember – you are writing the letter to Stanley’s mother from the Warden.
FORMAL LETTER LAYOUT
1.Your address
2. Full date
3. Their address
4. Subject
Re:____
_____
5. Dear Name,
6. Introductory paragraph ( I would like..)
7. Content of letter
8. Concluding paragraph ( I expect to hear…)
9. Yours Sincerely,
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
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Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Home learning choice 7.
Madame Zeroni taught Elya Yelnats the following song
which was passed down through generations until it
reached Stanley and Zero.
"If only, if only," the woodpecker sighs,
"The bark on the tree was just a little bit softer."
While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,
He cries to the moo-oo-oon, "If only, if only."
The song shows that even wolves and birds wish that life was easier. It is a fitting song
to be sung by the Yelnats and Zeroni families, as they have both had bad luck and hard
lives.
Create your own version of Madame Zeroni’s song about having a hard life and bad luck.
You may want to think about what is usually associated with bad luck? Or what it means
to have a ‘bad life’?
Remember the song has been translated so it does not have to rhyme. 
My version of Madame Zeroni’s song.
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Home learning choice 8.
The ‘Sploosh’ (Kate Barlow the school teacher’s peach jam recipe) has become popular
because of its ability to get rid of strong smells-such as the foot odour of Clyde Livingstone,
the famous basketballer.
You are going to produce a poster to advertise Sploosh!
Think about the following presentational features. How could they be included in
your poster?

Bold titles and font

Colour
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Images/Pictures
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Famous People
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Persuasive Language

Use of text

Slogan
Look at these posters for the iPod, Coca Cola and Odor Eaters. How have the
techniques listed above have been used? How could you include these features
in your own advertisement?
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
My Sploosh Advertisement.
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Or you could create an advert for ‘Sploosh’ to help the product become sold worldwide and be an
international success! You should include some of the techniques that successful adverts do to sell
their product:

A catchy slogan: ‘Have a break, have a kit-kat’; ‘Beans means Heinz’

Describing what the product does: ‘Eliminates every germ there is!’

Exaggerating how good it is: ‘100% of Sploosh testers said that Sploosh eliminated their
foot odour!! Wow!’

Using interesting adjectives to describe the product: ‘ Try our tempting, juicy and
delicious Big Mac’

Chatty tone, talking to your audience: ‘How do you eat your crème egg?’
How many of these can you use in your own Sploosh advert?
Year 6 Home Learning Booklet.
Imagine Stanley and Zero have gone back to camp one last time and managed to unearth
the warden’s big secret-a treasure chest. However, before they have chance to open it and
discover its remains the warden interrupts…
TASK:
Your task is to imagine and predict what happens next for Stanley, Zero and the treasure-write the
next chapter of ‘Holes’ to inform the reader of what happens!
Louis Sachar, the author of ‘Holes’, has his own style of writing. In the bulletpoints below are some
of the things he does in his chapters of ‘Holes’ to make his writing interesting. Can you copy some of
his techniques in your own chapter of ‘Holes’ to make it interesting for your reader?
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Including narrative links/similarities between the plots
Withholding information from the reader
Short sentences to create tension for the reader
Describing the setting in detail, and character’s feelings
Switching between the different narratives/stories
Chapters ending with a mystery, or cliffhanger
Repetition of words or phrases through the chapter
REMEMBER:
Sachar’s chapters in ‘Holes’ are only a few page long at most-so don’t worry
about yours being too long either, as long as you reveal the secret of the
treasure as well as Stanley and Zero’s fate!