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Holes
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
When Stanley says Zero has to go back and Zero says he would rather die out here, whose choice should win: the friend who wants to save him, or the boy who must live with it?
The tension Stanley came to rescue Zero and is sure Zero must go back, while Zero, who has shared his last jar and will not budge, says he would sooner die than return.
Notice what each boy wants, and who is deciding what happens next.
Stanley finds Zero alive under the upside-down boat. Zero shows him sixteen jars of sploosh, breaks one open with the shovel, and shares it. They talk about Barf Bag and the name on the boat. Zero is seized by pain, and Stanley says he is taking him back, but Zero will not go. The chapter ends as Stanley asks Zero to look at the mountain.
Start with the line "I’m not going back." Ask what Stanley hears in it, and what he says in answer.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the hand, the boat, the sploosh, Barf Bag, the letters, the pain, the argument and the mountain.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: one short sentence about being stuck, and one longer sentence that says what someone came to do and what happened instead.
Debate Take sides: should Stanley take Zero back, or leave the choice to Zero? Each side uses at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why the author ends with Stanley pointing at the mountain instead of settling the argument.
Easier Read the argument aloud together and talk through discussion questions 2 and 3 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 or Zero says what he wants and what he is afraid of, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Zero says, “Sometimes you just have to …” and smashes a jar on the shovel blade. What does that moment tell us about Zero?Character
What it asks It asks what a quick, rough move with a jar shows about the boy who has been living under the boat.
He is resourceful: when the lid will not move, he finds a way and does not give up.
then he hit the jar against the blade of the shovel, breaking the top of the jar clean off
I found sixteen jars.
He is desperate: he licks every drop and cannot waste any.
He quickly brought the jar to his mouth and licked the sploosh off the jagged edges before it spilled.
Zero picked up the cracked lid and licked the sploosh off that as well.
A strong answer Zero cannot open the jar, so he breaks the top off against the shovel, and then licks the sploosh from the edges and from the cracked lid. That can show he is clever, since he finds a way, or desperate, since he cannot spare a drop. A strong answer uses what he does and says which word fits better, or both.
2. Stanley came to rescue Zero, yet Zero is the one with the jars. What does that reversal show about the two boys?Theme
What it asks It asks the student to compare what each boy brings: Stanley's plan and empty canteen, Zero's jars and hole under the boat.
It shows Zero is tougher than he looks: he has found his own water and kept himself alive.
It was a miracle he was still alive
They were buried under the boat.
It shows Stanley's rescue still matters: he brings company and a plan, even without water.
“I tried to bring you the whole water truck, but,” he smiled sheepishly, “I drove it into a hole.”
“Look, I got a plan so you won’t get in trouble,” Stanley assured him.
A strong answer Stanley arrives with an empty canteen and a story about driving a truck into a hole. Zero has found sixteen jars and a cooler place under the boat. So the rescue turns into sharing. A strong answer says what each boy gives the other, and whether Stanley's rescue counts for less or only differently.
3. Zero says, “Then I’ll die out here.” Does he mean it? What in the chapter makes you think so?Inference
What it asks It asks how seriously to take Zero's words, using what he says and does in this scene.
He means it: he says no every time and never gives a reason to go back.
“I’m not going back.”
Zero said nothing.
He says it out of weariness and may not mean it: he is weak and has just been sick.
His voice was weak and raspy.
Zero suddenly groaned. He grabbed his stomach and bent over.
A strong answer Zero says he will not go back more than once, and when Stanley says he has nowhere else to go, he answers that he will die out here. That sounds serious. But he is weak, raspy and in pain, so the words could also come from tiredness. A strong answer says which reading it prefers and what in the scene supports it.
4. While Stanley worries about getting him back, Zero asks what “Mar-ya Luh-oh-oo” means. Why might the author put that scene here?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what a reading moment adds in the middle of an argument about life and death.
It shows that the lessons mattered: Zero is sounding out letters on his own.
Zero concentrated hard. “Mar ya, Luh oh oo.”
“Mary Lou,” Zero repeated, studying the letters.
It is a pause before the harder argument, and a small bit of ease between the two boys.
Stanley smiled. “Mary Lou. It’s the name of the boat.”
Zero suddenly groaned.
A strong answer Zero sounds out the letters one at a time, studies them, and even asks about the letter y, so it shows he has learned. The scene also gives the boys a quiet moment, and the groan right after breaks it. A strong answer says what the reading adds to the chapter and why it comes here.
5. Zero groans and curls up in pain, and Stanley says, “I’m taking you back.” How much should Zero's pain change what Stanley does?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh whether a sudden pain changes what one friend may do for another.
It changes a lot: Stanley sees that Zero is in real trouble and needs help.
Stanley watched helplessly. He wondered if it was the sploosh.
“I’m taking you back,” said Stanley.
It changes little: Stanley had already decided, and the pain passes.
“Now I have to take you back,” he said.
Zero stopped moaning, and his body slowly unbent.
A strong answer Stanley said he had to take Zero back before the pain began, so his plan was already made. The groaning shows how weak Zero is, and Stanley wonders if the sploosh did it. But the pain passes and Zero sits up. A strong answer says how much the pain should matter, and what it leaves unsettled between the boys.
1. Stanley says he has a plan so Zero will not get in trouble. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how sure he is that it will work.
What it asks It asks the student to judge Stanley's confidence from his own words and from what he says the Warden wants.
He has a reason to hope: the Warden cares a great deal about where the tube was found.
the Warden went crazy making us dig where she thought X-Ray found it
He is not sure: he says "I think" twice and does not say what she will do.
I think if I tell the Warden where I really found it, I think she’ll let us off.
A strong answer Stanley reminds Zero that the Warden went crazy making them dig where she thought X-Ray found the tube, so telling her the true place may matter to her. But he says I think twice, which shows he is hoping more than knowing. A strong answer weighs his reason against his wording, with two pieces of evidence.
2. Stanley squeezes through the hole under the boat and says he never would have fit before. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how Stanley has changed.
What it asks It asks the student to name how Stanley has changed and which change matters more: his body or what he will do.
The biggest change is in his body: he is thinner and stronger than when he arrived.
He never would have fit when he first came to Camp Green Lake.
He’d lost a lot of weight.
The biggest change is in what he will risk for someone else.
I tried to bring you the whole water truck
He had come to rescue Zero
A strong answer Stanley is thinner than when he came, which is why he can squeeze through the hole under the boat. He has also come out into the lake to rescue Zero, even driving a truck into a hole to try. A strong answer picks the change that matters most, body or courage, and uses one piece of evidence for it and one for the other.
3. Zero says Barf Bag stepped on a rattlesnake on purpose. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what that tells us about how Zero sees the camp.
What it asks It asks what a story about hurting yourself on purpose shows about how Zero sees where he has been.
He sees the camp as a place people would rather be hurt than stay.
“He did it on purpose,” said Zero.
“He took off his shoe and sock first.”
He sees it as a place he is done with, and is speaking for himself too.
“I’m not digging any more holes,” said Zero.
“I’m not going back,” said Zero.
A strong answer Stanley thinks Barf Bag did not hear the rattle, but Zero says he did it on purpose and took off his shoe and sock first. That shows Zero thinks someone could want out so badly that he would be hurt to leave. His words about holes and not going back fit with it. A strong answer uses two pieces of evidence and says what the story shows about Zero.