I'm Diggin' this Treasure!

Title: Holes

Author: Louis Sachar

Copyright: 1998

Publisher: Dell Yearling

Guided Reading Level: W

Genre: Fiction

This book has won:
The John Newbery Medal

Summary: Imagine being arrested for a crime you did not commit! This amazing Newbery Award novel written Louis Sachar encompasses the life of Stanley Yelnats - a young boy wrongly accused of stealing a pair of shoes to be donated to a children's orphanage. Stanley ends up having to go to Camp Green Lake - a camp for "bad boys" - as his punishment. Poor Stanley knew this was coming, because his family was cursed generations before he was born because his Great Grandfather stole a pig. At Camp Green Lake, Stanley and his newfound peers are obligated to dig holes to "build character". Stanley and his friends end up finding some treasures in the holes, and each treasure holds a story - which builds up to an enticingly compelling story! 

The novel is divided up into three sections, and there are fifty chapters within the novel. Each section is thoughtfully put together to create a compelling story about the many adventures Stanley, and Stanley's relatives and peers encounter. The sections all become cohesive at the end and readers will be left cheering!

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read

Key Vocabulary:

• Desolate
• Evict
• Excavate
• Parch
• Preposterous 
• Sheepishly
• Ward

Electronic Resources:

• Students might enjoy this fun trivia game.

• For students who might need to hear audio along with reading the text - this read-aloud series is wonderful. Rose Howard does a wonderful job reading the book - with a great voice full of enthusiasm. Enjoy!

Increasing Comprehension Skills:

Before Independent Read:

• Have this list of words ready for students who choose to read Holes as their independent read ready. Make sure this book matches their reading level. Give students a crossword puzzle. 

• Have students who choose this book to write in their reading journals about the cover of the novel. Have them brainstorm a list of ideas about what the book is about and make inferences. There are many key images (like the holes and the shovel on the cover of the book). 

During Independent Read:

• Make sure students come up with a Text to Text connection, a Text to Self connection, and a Text to World connection for each section of the book. They can write as many as they want, but they should have at least one of each type for each of the three sections. They need to write these connections down in their reading journals, and write a brief summary about each connection. These connections will help students really relate to the characters in this enticing novel.

• Give the students the suggested vocabulary list, and have them create a word journal for each word as they encounter the word. The word journal should look something like this:

After Book is finished:

• Give students the option to come up with a either creative journal entry using at least three of the vocabulary words about whatever they would like to write about, or a journal entry in the perspective of someone in a camp like Camp Green Lake. 

• After the book is completed, use questioning skills for their journals to see where exactly your students thrive in understanding the text. Check up on students during their independent read time - and make sure the students are coming up with questions. Use these different types of questions as a model:

- Answered Questions

- Questions regarding Background Knowledge

- Discussion Questions

- Research Questions

- Confused Questions 

 (**usually inferences is on this list above, however, since the book is finish the type of questioning is not needed)

Writing Activity:
Have students who chose this novel as their read aloud to write a diary from the perspective of one character throughout the novel. I would suggest either Stanley, or Zero - as they are the most relatable. The diary entries should have around four entries, because the book may take a while to complete. The entries should be related to information in the book. This will help with summarization skills! Students will love this activity.

Tiffany Tidbit - This book is such a treasure. The heart Stanley has throughout the entire novel is what drew me into the novel. Sachar has a compelling writing style, and it is because of this that I could not stop turning the page after reading the very first page.  The mystery behind all of the different items being found in the holes by Stanley and his friends will make readers not want to put this clever novel down - as each item has an interesting story behind it.  I loved this novel - and I hope you do too! :)