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Holes
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
In front of the boys Stanley insists his name is Caveman, yet he reads his mother's letter only after they leave. Is he hiding who he is, or choosing which part of himself to show where?
The tension Stanley answers Mr. Pendanski with the name the boys gave him and pockets the letter from home, then reads it alone and keeps a nursery rhyme to himself.
Notice which name Stanley uses, which he lets stand, and what he keeps to himself.
Stanley enters the Wreck Room, where X-Ray is full of life and Zigzag asks for quiet. The next day the Warden watches the dig and loses patience, and Stanley thinks about telling her where the tube was really found. That evening Mr. Pendanski brings a letter from Stanley's mother. Stanley reads it alone, and Zero's question about a nursery rhyme ends the chapter.
Start with the moment Mr. Pendanski says the envelope does not say Caveman anywhere. Ask the student which name Stanley seems to need most, and where.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the Wreck Room, the Warden at the dig, Stanley's thoughts about the tube, the letter, and the talk with Zero.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: a short plain action, then a longer sentence about something the character would have felt if he had done otherwise.
Debate Take sides on the big question: is Stanley hiding who he is, or choosing which part of himself to show where? Each side must use one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why an author might end a long day of digging on a small moment about a nursery rhyme.
Easier Read the letter scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 2 and 4 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place where a character keeps something back, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Zigzag says “keep it down” because he is trying to watch TV, but the screen is busted. Why might he say that?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to work out what Zigzag means when his words and what he is watching do not match.
He is warning X-Ray to be careful what he says, since someone might be listening.
“Hey, keep it down, will you,” groaned Zigzag. “I’m trying to watch TV.”
He had looked for a hidden camera in the shower.
He is simply tired and wants some quiet, and anything will do as an excuse.
The other bodies in the room were little more than bags of flesh and bones, dumped across broken chairs and couches.
who was staring very intently at the busted television screen
A strong answer Zigzag complains about the noise but is staring at a screen that does not work, so his reason cannot be the whole story. He may be warning X-Ray to be careful, since Stanley has been looking for a hidden camera. Or he may only want quiet after a hard day. A strong answer picks a reading, points to the broken screen, and says what it cannot know.
2. Mr. Pendanski points out that the envelope “doesn’t say Caveman anywhere.” What do you think he is trying to do?Character
What it asks It asks what Mr. Pendanski is after when he sets the name on the envelope against the name the boys use.
He is keeping Stanley tied to his real name and his family, which the letter comes from.
“Well, I have a letter here for someone named Stanley Yelnats,” said Mr. Pendanski.
It was from his mother.
He is making a point at the boys' expense, cutting down a nickname he does not like.
“His name’s Caveman,” said X-Ray.
“It doesn’t say Caveman anywhere.”
A strong answer Mr. Pendanski keeps calling him Stanley even after X-Ray corrects him, and then points out that the envelope does not say Caveman. That can be read as a reminder of who Stanley is outside the camp, or as a small push against the boys' nickname. A strong answer picks what it thinks Mr. Pendanski wants and points to his words.
3. Stanley can't think of a way to tell the Warden where the tube was really found without getting into trouble. Should he tell her anyway?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh telling the truth against the trouble it might bring to Stanley and X-Ray.
He should tell her: the boys are digging in the wrong place and working harder for it.
He was careful not to dump any of it in the hole where the gold tube was actually found.
They didn’t quit digging until after every other group had finished.
He should wait: telling could bring trouble to him and to X-Ray, and the Warden is short of patience.
without getting himself or X-Ray into trouble. It didn’t seem possible.
By lunchtime the Warden was beginning to lose her patience.
A strong answer The boys are digging in the wrong place and paying for it with a long day, which is a reason to tell. But Stanley cannot find a way to tell without trouble for himself and X-Ray, and the Warden is losing patience. A strong answer picks a side, names what the student values most, and says what the other side would say.
4. Stanley's mother jokes about the little old lady who lived in a shoe. What do you hear in her voice in the letter?Tone
What it asks It asks the student to hear whether the mother sounds cheerful, brave, worried, or a mixture.
She sounds cheerful and proud, trying to keep his spirits up.
I am very proud of you for trying to make the best of a bad situation.
I feel sorry for the little old lady who lived in a shoe. It must have smelled awful!
She sounds worried under the jokes, and does not hide how hard things are at home.
The landlord is threatening to evict us because of the odor.
I know it’s not the same
A strong answer Stanley's mother sounds cheerful: she is proud of him and makes a joke. But she also says the landlord is threatening to evict them, so the joke comes right after bad news. A strong answer says what it hears and notices that both can be true.
5. The chapter ends with Stanley deciding not to recite a nursery rhyme at Camp Green Lake. Why might the author end there?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author closes a hard chapter on a small, quiet moment, and what it shows about Stanley and Zero.
It shows how Stanley keeps home and camp apart, since a rhyme from home feels out of place here.
He would have felt pretty silly reciting nursery rhymes at Camp Green Lake.
It ends on a gentle note, with Zero curious and Stanley surprised, after a chapter of orders and watching.
“How does it go?” asked Zero.
Stanley was amazed.
A strong answer After a chapter of orders, watching and a long day, the ending is small and quiet. Stanley keeps the rhyme to himself because it would feel silly at Camp Green Lake, so the author shows him guarding a piece of home. Zero's question gives the moment a gentle tone. A strong answer says what the ending changes about the chapter and points to the lines.
1. Using two pieces of evidence, explain why everyone works faster after the Warden speaks to Mr. Sir.
What it asks It asks the student to trace how one person's warning passes down to the boys, and what moves them to work.
The boys work faster because Mr. Sir is watching, and they want to avoid him.
After that, everyone worked faster, especially when Mr. Sir was watching them.
Stanley practically ran when he pushed his wheelbarrow.
The pressure begins with the Warden's threat to Mr. Sir, and he passes it down.
“If you can’t get them to work any faster,” she told Mr. Sir, “then you’re going to have to climb down there and dig with them.”
Mr. Sir reminded them that they weren’t Girl Scouts.
A strong answer The Warden tells Mr. Sir that if the boys do not work faster he will have to climb down and dig with them, and after that everyone works faster, especially when he is watching. The pressure starts at the top and is passed down. A strong answer uses one line from the Warden and one from the boys, and says who is most afraid.
2. Stanley guesses the tube was the lid of a fancy gold pen and K B were an author's initials. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how well that guess fits.
What it asks It asks the student to test Stanley's guess against what he remembers, and to see how quickly he doubts it.
The guess fits somewhat: the tube is gold and has initials on it, like a fancy pen.
He thought that it might have been the lid to a fancy gold pen.
K B could have been the initials of a famous author.
The guess does not fit: he cannot think of an author with those letters, and it does not look like a pen.
The only famous authors he could think of were Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, and Mark Twain.
Besides, it didn’t really look like the top of a pen.
A strong answer Stanley builds the guess from two details: the tube is gold and it has two letters, as a pen lid might. But none of the authors he can name has those initials, and he says it does not really look like the top of a pen. A strong answer says how well the guess holds and leaves the question of what the tube is open, because the chapter does not say.
3. X-Ray says Stanley's letter is probably from a girlfriend, and Stanley smiles. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Stanley gets by letting that stand.
What it asks It asks the student to see what Stanley gains by not correcting X-Ray, using what the boys say and what he does with the letter.
He avoids being teased about his mother.
“Who’s it from?” Squid asked. “Your mother ?”
Stanley put it in the big pocket of his pants.
He gets X-Ray's protection, since X-Ray tells the others to give him space.
“If Caveman doesn’t want to read it to us, he doesn’t have to.”
Stanley smiled.
A strong answer Squid guesses it is from Stanley's mother and Armpit wants it read aloud, so Stanley risks teasing. X-Ray steps in and calls it a girlfriend's letter and says Stanley does not have to read it. By letting that stand, Stanley keeps the letter private and keeps X-Ray on his side. A strong answer uses two pieces of evidence and says which gain matters more.