Vocabulary
• Genre – a category in which a work of literature is
classified
• Elements of Plot- exposition, rising action, climax,
falling action, and resolution: The series of events in a
story.
• Characterization- the way a writer creates and
develops characters
• Point of View- how a writer chooses to narrate a story
• Beneficial- helpful and good for you
• Variable- Able to be changed, unusual
• Maximum- the highest quantity
• Minimum - the lowest quantity
Holes
Setting / Draw it!
A "setting" is where something is or where something happens. To
describe the setting can also include the time of day, the moods of
any people there, and any other details that would help you
understand what is happening.
• Holes opens with a description of the setting of most of this story.
• Draw this setting. Be sure to include each thing on this list, and as
many details from the chapter as you can find (be creative about
showing what it is like there):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
log cabin
hammock
"lake”
scorpions
rattlesnake
lizard
holes
Holes: Inferences
• To infer something (or, make an infer-ence) is
to figure something out, or at least make a
guess about something. For example, if
someone bursts into tears and leaves the
room, you could infer that something has
upset them. You might even know what it is.
• A good inference is not a wild guess. It's based
on evidence. Tears are evidence that someone
is upset.
Holes: Inferences
• If you knew only the name, you might infer that a
place called "Camp Green Lake" would have a
lake, green plants, and lots of fun things to do.
However, the first chapter gives you plenty of
evidence to help you infer that Camp Green Lake
is not a fun place.
• Questions:
• What are three reasons you could infer that
"Camp Green Lake" isn't fun for the campers?
• What is one reason you can infer that the Warden
is not nice to the campers?
Comprehension ?s Chapters 1-2
1. Explain the irony in the name Camp Green Lake.
2. Why will campers sometimes permit themselves to be bitten
by a rattlesnake or a scorpion?
3. What is the significance of the phrase, "The Warden owns
the shade"?
4. Why does the narrator suggest that if someone is bitten by a
yellow-spotted lizard they might as well lie in the hammock.
5. Why did Camp Green Lake always manage to find campers
despite the appalling conditions?
6. What choices did the judge give Stanley?
Holes by Louis Sachar
Chapters Two and Three
Theme
THEMES
• A theme is "a subject or topic of discourse or
artistic representation" (Merriam Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary, tenth ed.); in other words, a
theme is a big idea worth thinking and talking
about.
• In Holes, one theme is something called
perseverance. Perseverance means continuing to
try, even though what you're trying is hard, things
get in the way, or it's discouraging, or all three.
Holes: Themes
• It takes perseverance to run a marathon -- not just the day
you run in it, but all those days before that when you are
running to get ready. Lots of people say they're going to run
in a marathon but never end up even at the starting line.
• Thomas Edison is famous for his perseverance. He had to
try thousands of different things before he found one that
worked. One of his most famous quotes is
• "Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine
percent perspiration. Accordingly, a 'genius' is often merely
a talented person who has done all of his or her
homework."
• Notice that he puts "genius" in quotes, because it's what
you're calling someone (whether really a genius or not).
Holes: Themes
Questions:
1. For the picture below, describe how the
person needed to have perseverance to do
what he or she is doing.
Holes: Themes
Questions:
2. In one of Aesop's Fables, _The Tortoise and
the Hare_, how does perseverance help the
winner of that race?
Holes: Theme
3. How do you know Stanley's father has
perseverance?
Chapters 4 and 5
Quote Analysis
An author can describe important events in a
story by telling you about them: He checked
Stanley's backpack and allowed him to keep it.
Then he led Stanley outside into the blazing heat
(p.14).
Sometimes what a character says (and how he
says it) is just as important as what happens. It
can tell us what the person talking is like, and
what has happened in the past or will happen in
the future.
Chapters 4 and 5
Quote Analysis
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•
•
•
•
You can learn a lot from a quote by explaining it in four parts, called a
"quote analysis:"
Write the quote and the page it comes from. Put it in quotation marks.
Explain who said those words, and to whom they were talking.
Paraphrase the quote.
That means put it in different words that mean the same thing. Don't
use quotation marks because quotation marks mean you are writing
exactly the words that were said.
Explain what this quote tells you about this character or the plot of the
story. What kind of person would say these things? Why would they
say it? What would they have to know, or be thinking about, to say it?
Holes Chapters 3 and 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Why did Stanley have a box of stationery?
How do we know that Stanley was very unhappy at home?
How did Mrs. Bell inadvertently embarrass Stanley?
Briefly explain the curse of the one-legged Gypsy.
Why did Stanley's apartment smell of burning rubber and foot odor?
What did everyone in the family like about Stanley Yelnat's name?
Explain the abundance of sunflower seeds on the floor by the desk.
How did the guard wish to be addressed by Stanley?
Explain how the laundry was done.
What instructions did the guard give to Stanley concerning digging?
According to Mr. Sir why did none of the campers attempt to escape despite the
fact that there were no fences or guard towers?
Chapters 4 and 5
Quote Analysis
Example:
Quote: “If it makes you feel better to call me Mom,
Theodore, go ahead and call me Mom.”
Characters: Mr. Pendanski says this to one of the boys.
Paraphrase: If you want to call me Mom, it's okay with
me.
What does it tell you? Mr. Pendanski wants them to feel
comfortable with him. He doesn't want to scare them.
Chapters 4 and 5
Quote Analysis
Your Turn!
• Mr. Sir is a different kind of person than Mr.
Pendanski. Analyze this quote from him:
"Whenever you speak to me, you must call me by
my name. Is that clear?" (p. 13)
• Write the quote:
Who does he say it to, and when and where?
Paraphrase the quote:
What does it say about Mr. Sir?
Tall Tales:
In some ways, the story _Holes_ is like a tall tale.
In "tall tales," things are extreme. Good is
very, very good and bad is very, very bad.
Things don't change -- a rule is a rule.
• What is "the one rule" at Camp Green Lake?
• Who is probably a very, very bad character?
Holes: Flashbacks
Flashbacks
Many books tell a story by starting at the beginning, telling you what
happened, and ending at the end.
Holes does not do this. We find out why Stanley is at Camp Green Lake
after he gets there, and little by little we find out more about what
happened.
Holes also has something called flashbacks. In the middle of the story,
FLASH! we are zapped back in time and we find out about things
that happened a long time ago that are important to Stanley, even
though he doesn't know it. We don't really know how they will be
important -- but we can make inferences about them.
Whenever there are extra blank lines on the page, ask yourself
"why??" Usually the setting is changing to a different time or place,
or a lot of time passes by. Sometimes the pause is because
something very important has happened or been said.
Holes Chapter 7: Flashbacks
In chapter 7, what is the first sentence of the
"flashback to his grandfather's time?
What is the setting (time and place)?
Find the country Latvia on the maps below; it is
abbreviated as "Lat." in the second map
because it is small, and close to some other
countries.
Holes
• Find the country Latvia
on the maps below; it is
abbreviated as "Lat." in
the second map
because it is small, and
close to some other
countries.
Holes
• Find a map of the
world. Where is Latvia
on it?
Holes: Flashbacks
• Here is a new
"character" -- an
animal. Why is a pig
important to this
flashback story?
Theme: Perseverance
Madame Zeroni gives Elya advice about the
girl he loves. She tells him to do something.
Why is Elya going to need perseverance to
do as Madame Zeroni asks?