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Holes
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Stanley pours out a full canteen because he fears what Mr. Sir may have put in it. When you cannot tell whether a kindness is a trap, is it wiser to trust it or refuse it?
The tension Stanley is so thirsty he can hardly stand it, and the canteen is full, yet Mr. Sir has poured out his water before and smiles as he hands it back.
Notice what Stanley does with the full canteen, and what he cannot know about it.
Stanley digs, rations his water, and takes mockery from the other boys for letting Zero dig some of his hole. Mr. Sir hands back a full canteen and Stanley, afraid of it, pours it out. The chapter ends with Zero writing his name and telling Stanley his real name.
Start with the full canteen. Ask what Stanley can see and what he can only guess.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the water, the boys' mocking, Mr. Sir at the truck, the poured-out canteen, and Zero's name.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: one short sentence of feeling, then one longer sentence that guesses.
Debate Take sides: was it wiser to drink or to pour out the water? Each side uses at least one quote, and says what the chapter does not tell us.
Purpose Close by asking why the author lets us see Stanley's guess but never shows what Mr. Sir did.
Easier Read the truck scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 5 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 Stanley guesses what someone else thinks, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Mr. Sir fills the canteen, takes it out of sight, and hands it back full. What do you think he did in the truck?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to make a guess about what the chapter leaves unseen, and to say what in the scene supports it.
He did something to the water, since he has poured it out before and now hides what he does.
Every time Mr. Sir delivered water, he poured Stanley’s straight onto the ground.
went around the side of the truck and into the cab, where he couldn’t be seen
He did nothing to it; the chapter only shows a full canteen and a man who fills it.
To his surprise, Mr. Sir held the canteen under the stream of water and filled it.
It was still full.
A strong answer Mr. Sir has poured Stanley's water out every time before, then goes where he cannot be seen and brings it back full. That makes a trick easy to imagine. But the chapter never shows him doing anything to it, and a full canteen is also just a full canteen. A strong answer picks a guess, says what it rests on, and admits what the chapter leaves out.
2. The other boys say Stanley sits around while Zero digs his hole. Stanley says he is saving his strength to teach Zero. Whose side seems fairer to you?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh a complaint about fairness against a reason that is hard for the others to see.
The boys have a point: Stanley rests while they work, and Zero digs part of his hole.
the other boys didn’t like to see Stanley sitting around while they were working
It must be nice to have your own personal slave.
Stanley has the fairer case: he is teaching Zero, and he already took the blame for the seeds.
he needed to save his energy so he could teach Zero how to read
he was the one who took the blame for the sunflower seeds
A strong answer The boys see Stanley sitting while others dig, and that looks unfair to them. Stanley sees a trade: Zero digs and Stanley teaches, and Stanley already took the blame for the seeds. A strong answer decides, gives a reason, and says what the other side gets right: the boys can only see the sitting, not the lessons.
3. Stanley feels sad that “a hundred times zero was still nothing,” but Zero smiles at his own name. How do they see the same page differently?Theme
What it asks It asks the student to compare how two people read one moment, and to decide whether writing a name is a small thing or a large one.
Zero's view is truer: being able to write his name is something real, and his smile shows it.
His smile was too big for his face.
Zero wrote the letters as Stanley said them.
Stanley's view is truer: a name written over and over is still only a name for a boy who has nothing.
In a way, it made him sad. He couldn’t help but think that a hundred times zero was still nothing.
A strong answer Zero sees his own name in his own writing and his smile is too big for his face. Stanley sees the same word written again and again and thinks of a hundred times zero still being nothing. Both are true to what each one feels. A strong answer weighs them and says why a skill can feel large to the one who learns it and small to the one who watches.
4. Why might the author end the chapter with Zero saying that his real name is Hector Zeroni?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the last lines add: a closer bond between the two boys, or a reminder of how little Stanley knows about Zero.
It shows trust: right after learning to write his name, Zero shares his real one.
After Stanley taught Zero the final six letters of the alphabet, he taught him to write his name.
“My real name is Hector.”
It shows how little Stanley knew, and that Zero's name was given to him by others.
He had never really been sure.
Everyone’s always called me Zero, even before I came here.
A strong answer The chapter closes right after Zero writes his name, and Zero answers with his real one, Hector Zeroni. That can read as trust. It can also show that Stanley had never really been sure, and that everyone has always called him Zero. A strong answer says what the ending gives the reader that the rest of the chapter did not, without claiming more about Zero than these lines say.
5. Stanley says, “Thank you, Mr. Sir,” as the canteen is handed back. Why might he thank a man who has poured his water onto the ground?Character
What it asks It asks why a boy thanks a man who has treated him badly, and whether the thanks is hope, caution or both.
It is caution: Stanley stays polite to keep himself safe from a man with power over his water.
Stanley hoped he wouldn’t dump it out.
Mr. Sir smiled at him.
It is hope: the canteen is full and he wants to believe Mr. Sir has changed.
To his surprise, Mr. Sir held the canteen under the stream of water and filled it.
It was still full.
A strong answer Stanley handed over the canteen hoping it would not be poured out, and he gets it back full. Thanks is the natural thing to say when you are surprised and relieved, and it also keeps a man like Mr. Sir calm. A strong answer says which feeling seems to lead and shows that Stanley's fear comes only afterward.
1. Stanley hopes the Warden is watching so she will know something about Zero. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how Stanley sees Zero.
What it asks It asks the student to say what Stanley thinks of Zero, using what he does and what he hopes.
He sees a capable learner whom everyone else has misjudged.
Zero was a quick learner
so she’d know that Zero wasn’t as stupid as everyone thought
He sees a friend he is looking after, and is proud of his progress.
he needed to save his energy so he could teach Zero how to read
Stanley watched him write it over and over again.
A strong answer Stanley sees Zero as a quick learner, and he hopes the Warden will see that Zero is not as stupid as everyone thought. He also acts like a teacher and a friend: he saves his energy to teach him and watches him write his name. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence about what Stanley thinks and one about what he does.
2. Three days have passed since the Warden scratched Mr. Sir. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how Mr. Sir treats Stanley's water during these days.
What it asks It asks what Mr. Sir's behavior shows, and whether today's full canteen fits the pattern or breaks it.
He is cruel as before: he empties Stanley's water every time he can.
Every time Mr. Sir delivered water, he poured Stanley’s straight onto the ground.
He had to drink sparingly
Today he acts differently, in a way that is harder to read.
To his surprise, Mr. Sir held the canteen under the stream of water and filled it.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked. “Drink up.”
A strong answer For three days Mr. Sir has poured Stanley's water onto the ground, so Stanley has to ration what he has. Today he fills the canteen and tells Stanley to drink up, which does not match the pattern. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence from the earlier days and one from today, and does not claim to know Mr. Sir's reason.
3. Mr. Pendanski gives Stanley a little extra water. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he seems to know and how he acts on it.
What it asks It asks what Mr. Pendanski understands about Mr. Sir and what he does in response.
He is kind to Stanley: he knows what is happening and quietly gives him more.
Mr. Pendanski was obviously aware of what Mr. Sir was doing, because he always gave Stanley a little extra.
then let Stanley take a long drink, then top it off for him
He helps, but only in a small way; nothing here shows him stopping Mr. Sir.
Mr. Pendanski delivered the water more often than Mr. Sir.
A strong answer Mr. Pendanski knows what Mr. Sir is doing, and he gives Stanley a little extra every time, even letting him drink before topping it off. That is real help. The chapter does not show him stopping Mr. Sir, so a strong answer says how much he helps and where the chapter stops.