Chapter 3

Holes

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

Despite their awful luck, they always remained hopeful. As Stanley’s father liked to say, “I learn from failure.”

Read the passage aloud. Why might the author put the father's own words right after the word hopeful?

Discussion

Narration Tell back what happens on the bus and what Stanley remembers on the way: his family's joke, his father's inventions, and what his mother says about the first Stanley Yelnats.

1. The chapter keeps leaving the bus to tell about Stanley's family, then coming back. Why might the author build the chapter that way?Plot structure

2. The family blames Stanley's “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.” What do you hear in that long name: a joke, a complaint, or something else?Tone

3. When Stanley or his father feels so discouraged that they start to believe in the curse, Stanley's mother says the first Stanley Yelnats made a fortune. Why might she leave out how he lost it?Inference

4. Stanley's father works on his inventions for years, never has any luck, and says “I learn from failure.” Is his hope wise, foolish, or both?Character

5. A line from the father's song, “If only, if only,” comes back later on a line of its own. Why might the author bring it back there?Author's choice

Make a Connection Tell about a family joke or saying that helps people through hard times. What does it help them do?

Vocabulary

Crossword

1		2

	3

	4




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		6	7

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Across

Across 1. In spite of; even with.
Across 3. Completely ruined, as hopes can be.
Across 4. Failed to do something; left it out.
Across 6. A spell or wish meant to bring bad luck or harm.
Across 8. Not guilty of a crime.

Down

Down 1. Having lost hope or courage.
Down 2. Not giving up, even when something is hard.
Down 5. Expecting that good things will happen.
Down 7. So hot and airless it is hard to breathe.

The words in the chapter

despite Despite their awful luck
hopeful Despite their awful luck, they always remained hopeful.
perseverance Stanley’s father was smart and had a lot of perseverance.
discouraged whenever Stanley or his father became so discouraged that they actually started to believe in the curse
crushed then it wouldn’t hurt so much every time their hopes were crushed

curse and she put a curse on him and all his descendants
neglected At such times she neglected to mention the bad luck that befell the first Stanley Yelnats.
stifling the hot, heavy air was almost as stifling as the handcuffs
innocent He was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted.

Critical thinking

1. Mrs. Bell used Stanley's weight as a ratio example without seeing the embarrassment it caused. Using two pieces of evidence, explain whether she should be blamed.

2. Stanley tries to pretend he is going to Camp Fun and Games. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what that pretending does for him.

3. At the end Stanley sees no lake and hardly anything green. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how he might take it, given how his family handles bad news.