Holes Study Guide

Holes Study Guide

Stanley's family never has any luck, and they jokingly blame it on his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather. Accused and convicted of a crime he did not commit, Stanley Yelnats is sentenced and sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp. But there is no lake at Camp Green Lake; only a dried-up Texas lake bed. Every morning, the boys at Camp Green Lake are sent out to the lake bed where they are made to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet wide. "You're digging to build character," the counselors tell Stanley, but it soon becomes clear that he and the other boys at Camp Green Lake are being made to look for something - something that the camp's warden wants.

The warden's secret, the history of Green Lake, the Wild West, and Stanley's own family history all fit together like pieces of a puzzle as choices made in the past continue to have an effect on the present. Soon, Stanley's very life depends on his own choices and events that happened over 100 years ago!

Through Louis Sachar's clever yarn and tall tale, students will learn:

About the Author: Learn about Louis Sachar.

Vocabulary words used throughout the novel, utilizing a variety of activities to stimulate retention and growth.

Literary Techniques: Protagonist, characterization, irony, palindrome, grammar, flashback, foreshadow, repetition, personification, in context, dictionary, simile, metaphor, symbol, synonym, antonym, poetic justice, dynamic, static, linear, non-linear, motif.

Moral Lessons and Character Values: Hope, God's plans, fatalism, self-determination, first impressions, gossip, encouragement, consequences.

Activities and Writing Assignments: Family history, prisons, math, class discussions, Pig Latin, research, Civil Rights, onions, inventions, crossword, writing, physical education, science, art.

Suggestions for Further Reading:  We include a wonderful reading list of more books by the same author(s) and other books that tie in with, or are similar to, Holes by Louis Sachar.

All of the unit lessons are written from a Christian worldview! 

• Age Level = 9-14
• Book Author = Andrew Clausen
• Book Material = Paperback
• Book Publisher = Progeny Press
• Copyright = c2002
• Grade Level = 5-8
• Condition = New