HOLES by Louis Sachar

              In books,

              I have traveled,

not only to other worlds,

but into my own.

I have learned who I was and who I wanted to be, what I might aspire to,

and what I might dare to dream about my world and myself...

There was waking, and there was sleeping. And then there were books, a kind of parallel universe in which anything might happen and frequently did, a universe in which I might be a newcomer but was never really a stranger.

My real, true world.

My perfect island.

--Anna Quindlen

Name:_______________________________________

Pre-Reading Activity:

Complete the WEB for HOLES.

Look carefully at the front and the back of the book.

Write down your predictions about the following:

Setting (Time and Place) When and Where do you think this book takes place?___________________________

________________________________________________

Characters (The people, animals, or objects around which the action of the story is centered) Who do you believe the main characters in the book will be?_________________

________________________________________________

Integrating Science and Social Studies

·        Begin with a Web of the Desert 

HOLES, by Louis Sachar, takes place in Texas, the Southwest region of the United States. Most likely, the setting occurs in the Chihuahuan Desert. By researching the regional characteristics of the Chihuahuan Desert as well as the ecosystems of this desert (including the animals and wildlife and the desert plants), we will be gain a better understanding of the ecological setting for our novel. We will explore the Chihuahuan Desert together and focus on the following:

·        Location

·        Size

·        Temperature Range

·        Rainfall

·        Geology

Your focus will be the plant and wildlife of the area, and you will chose a desert “creature” and “plant” to research and explore through non-fiction text and other resources.

Some plants include:

·        Soaptree or Datil Yucca

·        Creosote Bush

·        Prickly-Pear Cactus

·        Mormon Tea

·        Mesquite (Honey Mesquite)

·        Ocotillo

For the plant you choose to research, you will organize the information by the following topics:

For the “creature” you choose to research, you will organize the information by the following topics:

Some “creatures” you may choose to research are:

• Wild Burro
• Scorpion
• Spiders (Black Widow- Desert Tarantula)
• Gila Monster
• Horned Lizards

After you have gathered and organized some really interesting information, you will write two poems: Either a “Who am I?” or “What am I?” poem or a free verse poem about your plant and creature from the Chihuahuan Desert.

Be sure to include descriptive words and phrases in conjunction with interesting facts you discovered! Enjoy!

Refer to our class poem we will write together about the Chihuahaun Desert as well as poetry books for examples of “What am I?” poems.

Helpful Website:

http://www.desertusa.com/du_chihua.html

http://nasa.utep.edu/chih/chihdes.htm

http://www.powerkidslinks.com/lfcfw/desert/

http://www.nps.gov/bibe/natres.htm

www.rosenlinks.com/lee/dese

North Carolina Standard Course of Study

Social Studies – Grade 5

The fifth grade study extends the focus to geographic regions of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Students learn about the people of these nations and the physical environments in which they live. As they examine social, economic, and political institutions, students analyze similarities and

Strands: Individual Development and Identity, Cultures and Diversity, Historical Perspectives, Geographic Relationships, Economics and Development, Global Connections, Technological Influences, Government and Active Citizenship

COMPETENCY GOAL 1: The learner will apply key geographic concepts to the United States and other countries of North America.

Objectives

1.01 Describe the absolute and relative location of major landforms, bodies of water, and natural resources in the United States and other countries of North America.

1.02 Analyze how absolute and relative location influence ways of living in the United States and other countries of North America.

1.03 Compare and contrast the physical and cultural characteristics of regions within the United States, and other countries of North America.

1.06 Explain how people of the United States and other countries of North America adapt to, modify, and use their physical environment.

Science - Grade 5 Fifth grade students focus on evidence, models, and scientific explanations. Evidence consists of observations and data on which to base scientific explanations. Using evidence to understand interactions allows students to predict changes in natural and designed systems. Models are tentative schemes or structures that represent real objects. Models help students understand how things work. Explanations incorporate prior scientific knowledge and new evidence from observations, experiments, or models into consistent, logical statements. As students understand more science concepts and processes, their explanations should become more accurate and logical. Guide student learning to continue to emphasize the unifying concepts previously introduced as well as the introduction at grade five of models. The strands provide a context for teaching the content throughout all goals.

Strands: Nature of Science, Science as Inquiry, Science and Technology, Science in Personal and Social Perspectives.

COMPETENCY GOAL 1: The learner will conduct investigations to build an understanding of the interdependence of plants and animals.

Objectives

1.01 Describe and compare several common ecosystems (communities of organisms and their interaction with the environment).

1.02 Identify and analyze the functions of organisms within the population of the ecosystem:

• Producers.
• Consumers.
• Decomposers.

1.03 Explain why an ecosystem can support a variety of organisms.

1.04 Discuss and determine the role of light, temperature, and soil composition in an ecosystem's capacity to support life.

1.05 Determine the interaction of organisms within an ecosystem.

Author’s Craft

Louis Sachar is a master at using rich descriptive language that enables us to visualize so much of what he writes. Sachar is very deliberate with his choice of words and in doing so, makes use of several literary devices. Find two examples of each device listed below. Then write an explanation of how these add meaning to the story.

Now that you have chosen two examples of similes, please choose one simile and artistically represent this comparison. You may use any artistic medium. The following are options: colored pencils, watercolors, pastels, collage, etc. Enjoy!

Write down what you predict will happen in the next section by responding to the following quote on p. 71:

 “One thing was certain: They weren’t just digging to ‘build character.’ They were definitely looking for something. And whatever they were looking for they were looking in the wrong place.”

A Flashback is a literary device used to convey to the audience something that occurred before the major storyline of the book took place. Give an example of a flashback from HOLES and explain how this technique has been used effectively thus far.

What kinds of words are most important to teach?

Criteria for Identifying Possible Words (p. 26, 29)

·     How generally useful is the word? Is it a word that students are likely to encounter in other texts? Will it be of use to students in describing their own experiences?

·     How does the word relate to other words, to ideas that students know or have been learning? Does it directly relate to some topic of study in the classroom? Or might it add a dimension to ideas that have been developed?

·        What does the word bring to a text or situation? What role does the word play in communicating the meaning of the context in which it is used? What role do the words play in relation to the mood and plot of the story?

These vocabulary materials are based on: Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction (2002) by Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan, Guilford Press.

Vocabulary

You will complete the following chart and develop kid-friendly definitions for these words. Then you will complete the Literature Circle job of Word Wizard for two of the following words that you choose. Next you will develop a set of 5 daily vocabulary activities to go with the two words you chose. Please reference Vocabulary Instruction and the Literature Circle site on my website for examples of each.

Word Wizard

1.   Write down the word ________, the page ____, and paragraph number _________.

2.   Copy the sentence from the book in which the word appears.

3.               Re-read the sentence in which the word appears.  Think about the word, the sentence, and the story.  Look up the word in the dictionary.  Using the dictionary definition and everything you know about the word, write your kid-friendly definition of the word ___________________________________________

 ___________________________________________.

4.    Write down an explanation telling how this word adds meaning to the story.  What does this word have to do with the story? Think about the characters, plot, setting, theme, etc.

5.   Make your word wizard card.  Be sure to include in LARGE PRINT your word and the page and paragraph number.   On the other side of the card you should draw a picture to represent your word, the word, and the definition of the word.

6.  Complete a set of vocabulary activities that go with your words.

Example of Word Wizard:

1.      stifling p. 6 par. 3

2.     “The bus wasn’t air-conditioned, and the hot, heavy air was almost as stifling as the handcuffs.”

3.     The word stifling means smothering; repressing; you feel like you are suffocating.

4.     This word adds meaning to the story because it describes the setting of the book. The intense heat in the desert climate can feel very stifling. The word "stifling" also foreshadows Stanley’s existence at Camp Green Lake.

5. Word Wizard Card

 Cause and Effect or Effect and Cause

We all experience cause and effect relationships daily, whether we recognize them or not. Actions have consequences; more simply put, there is a reason (cause) behind what happens (effect). The effect is what happened and the cause explains why, or what caused the effect. It is often easier to think about the effect before you think about the cause.

Think about your favorite characters in the story. Then think about their behavior related to main events in the story. Provide two detailed examples to one of the following cause and effect question sets:

OR

Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) of a selection into your own words, including only the main point(s). Summarized ideas are not necessarily presented in the same order as in the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material. Summaries focus on key details, use key words and phrases, and break down the larger ideas. A good strategy for summarizing is to make sure you describe who the article is about, what happened and where and when the events occurred, why the events happened and how the events turned out.

 Green Lake Gazette

    Your task is to write the Green Lake Newspaper that would have come out recounting the horrifying events at the school house and the lake.

    You will need to use the text to assist you in writing the story (p. 107-115). Think about organizing the article with the main ideas and details. Remember to include the townspeople’s attitude at the time.

   You will need a title for your newspaper, a date, a headline for the story, a picture referencing your headline story, and an advertisement that would reflect the time period. In addition, plan an effective method of sharing your newspaper article with a small group.

Final Thoughts: Assessing Comprehension Through

Imaginative Extension Projects

1.  This is a story that deals with many themes or lessons about life: responsibility, friendship, accountability, discovery, learning and reading, just to name a few. Think carefully about these themes. Based on lessons learned from HOLES, write an “If I Were in Charge of the World” Poem modeled after Judith Viorst’s poem (see end of packet for poem). Focus on life lessons that you believe all of the world could benefit from based on the experiences of characters and significant story events from HOLES. This should be detailed and demonstrate considerable thought.

Or Complete a Sketch-to-Stretch for a scene in the book illustrating one of these life lessons. Accompanying your scene should be a descriptive written explanation of your sketch. Please see accompanying article from The Reading Teacher.

2.        You will also complete one of the following extension projects that will demonstrate your comprehension of the book:

·        Open-Mind Portrait- This is a visualization activity in which a character is analyzed in-depth. You will draw an outline of the back of a character’s head which signifies the character’s “open-mind.” Then you will illustrate scenes from the book, objects, emotions, etc. which represent how the character views himself or how other’s view him. The open mind may be divided in half to represent a conflict and resolution, events, characters, or actions you wish to compare and contrast, or the pros and cons of a decision a character has made. You may illustrate the open-mind or make a collage. The front of the open-mind should represent the character’s physical description. You should also include a written explanation of your open-mind portrait.

·        Letter to a Character from either your point of view or another character’s point of view.

·        where i’m from Poem modeled after George Ella Lyon’s Poem (see end of packet for poem)

Please think about the following questions as you complete your extension projects:

·        How does my project demonstrate what I have learned from the book? In what ways did I revisit the book?

·        In what ways did I include information from the book?

·        When someone views my project, what will they learn about the book?

·        How did my extension project help me see connections with other books, my experiences, and/or the curriculum?

Rubric

where i’m from  

I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon tetrachloride,
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.

I’m from fudge and eyeglasses,
     from Imogene and Alafair.
I’m from the know-it-alls

     and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! and Pipe down!
I’m from He restoreth my soul

     with a cottonball lamb
     and ten verses I can say myself.

I’m from Artemus and Billie’s Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather

     lost to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.

Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.

I am from those moments–
snapped before I budded–
leaf-fall from the family tree.

by George Ella Lyon