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Holes
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Stanley dreads reaching Big Thumb, then decides weeds and bugs mean water is near. Is he reasoning from what he sees, or choosing what he needs to believe?
The tension Stanley's only hope is Big Thumb and he fears finding it empty, while the weeds, the bugs and the thorns give him real things to reason from and a reason to hope.
Notice what Stanley sees on the mountain, and what he adds because he hopes.
Stanley and Zero reach the base of the mountain and climb in zigzags through weeds and thorns as the light goes. Gnats swarm them, Zero is sick and keeps going, and Stanley notices that there were no weeds on the lake. He says there must be water near. Zero gives the thumbs-up sign, falls, and does not answer.
Start with the line "Now that they really were almost there, it scared him." Ask why being close could be frightening.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the base of the mountain, the climb, the gnats, the spelling, the weeds and bugs, and Zero's fall.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes three sentences in the same pattern: a fear, what the person's only hope was, and what would be lost.
Debate Take sides: is Stanley reasoning from what he sees, or choosing what he needs to believe? Each side uses at least one quote.
Purpose Close by asking why the author puts the weeds and bugs between Stanley's fear and Zero's fall.
Easier Read the first page aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 2 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 uses a sign to guess what comes next, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Why might getting close to Big Thumb scare Stanley more than being far from it?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to work out why nearness is frightening: the hope may be tested, or the climb may be too hard.
Up close, the hope can be tested, and he fears it will fail.
Big Thumb was his only hope.
If there was no water, no refuge, then they’d have nothing, not even hope.
Up close, he sees how hard the climb is and how little daylight and strength are left.
Besides, he knew they didn’t have much daylight left.
It became too steep to go straight up.
A strong answer While Big Thumb is far away, it is still a hope that has not been tested. Now they really are almost there, and if there is no water they would have nothing, not even hope. The climb is also getting harder, with little daylight left. A strong answer says which fear weighs more, and uses one of Stanley's own lines.
2. Zero says, “If a gnat lands on me, it will knock me over.” What does that joke tell us about him?Character
What it asks It asks what a weak boy's joke shows: humor that keeps him going, or a plain statement of how weak he is.
It shows his spirit: he can still joke when he is this tired.
Zero pointed thumbs up.
A wide smile spread across Zero’s sick and weary face as well.
It shows how weak he is: the joke is also true.
Neither Stanley nor Zero had the strength to try to swat at them.
His frail body shook violently
A strong answer Zero answers Stanley's question with a thumbs-up and a joke, which shows he is keeping his spirits up. But the joke is also true: neither boy has the strength to swat a gnat. A strong answer says which side of Zero the joke shows more, and uses two lines.
3. The gnats leave the boys and prefer what Zero has thrown up. Why might the author include such a gross detail?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the detail does: a bit of dark humor, or a reminder of what the sploosh has cost him.
It is dark humor that keeps the scene from being only grim.
The swarm of gnats stayed behind, preferring the contents of Zero’s stomach to the sweat on the boys’ faces.
Stanley laughed.
It is a reminder of the cost: he has emptied out what kept him alive.
he threw up, emptying his stomach of the sploosh
His frail body shook violently
A strong answer The gnats stay behind with Zero's stomach contents, so the boys get a moment of relief and the scene gets a dark joke. But he has just emptied out the sploosh, which is what kept him alive. A strong answer says whether the detail leaves us amused, worried, or both, and why the author chose it.
4. Stanley does not give Zero any more words because he needs to save his strength. Was that a good decision for Zero?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh protecting a friend's strength against what the words mean to him.
It was good: Zero had just been sick and needed every bit of strength.
Stanley didn’t give him any more words, thinking that he needed to save his strength.
He leaned on his knees and took several deep breaths.
It was not what Zero wanted: the words had cheered him, and he finishes the word himself.
A wide smile spread across Zero’s sick and weary face as well.
But about ten or fifteen minutes later, Zero said, “Lunch.”
A strong answer Stanley is trying to protect Zero, who has just been sick and is weak. But the words made Zero smile, and ten or fifteen minutes later he says Lunch on his own, finishing the word that made him sick. A strong answer takes a side and says whether it is kinder to protect a friend's strength or to leave the choice to him.
5. The chapter begins with Stanley's “We’re almost there” and ends with Zero silent. How does the mood change between them?Plot structure
What it asks It asks the student to follow the mood from the first line to the last and say what turns it.
It moves from hope to fear: the more they climb, the more it is at risk.
“We’re almost there,” said Stanley.
Zero said nothing.
It stays hopeful in Stanley's voice even at the end, since he keeps calling Zero on.
“We’re getting close.”
“They’re making it right now.”
A strong answer The chapter opens with Stanley saying they are almost there and ends with Zero saying nothing. In between there are jokes, spelling and the first sign of water, but also sickness and a fall. A strong answer names where the mood turns and whether Stanley's words at the end sound like hope or like fear.
1. Stanley says, “There’s got to be water around somewhere.” Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he has seen that leads him to say so.
What it asks It asks the student to name what Stanley has actually noticed, and how much of it he is relying on.
He has noticed a real pattern: the weeds grow thicker as they climb, and there were none on the lake.
As they got higher, the weeds got thicker.
There hadn’t been any weeds on the lake.
He is leaning on what he needs: the bugs appear and his hope fills in the rest.
As the sky darkened, bugs began appearing above the weed patches.
We must be getting close.
A strong answer Stanley notices that there were no weeds on the lake and that the weeds get thicker the higher they climb. He also sees bugs. From that he says there is water around somewhere. A strong answer says how much those sights show, and how much Stanley is adding because he wants it to be true.
2. The slope gets steeper and the weeds grow thornier. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how the climb is wearing the boys down.
What it asks It asks the student to sort what the mountain does to them from what their own bodies can no longer do.
The mountain makes it harder: it is steep and full of thorns.
It became too steep to go straight up.
Many had thorns, and they had to be careful walking through them.
Their own bodies fail them: they cannot even fight off small things.
Neither Stanley nor Zero had the strength to try to swat at them.
He was afraid they’d never get started again.
A strong answer The mountain is steeper and thornier, so they must zigzag and go carefully. Their bodies are also giving out: neither has the strength to swat a gnat, and Stanley fears they would never get started again if they stopped. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence about the mountain and one about the boys.
3. Zero falls and will not get up, and Stanley tells him the sundae is being made right now. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Stanley is trying to do.
What it asks It asks what Stanley is trying to accomplish with a joke while his friend lies silent.
He is trying to get Zero moving by using what has worked before: words, jokes and hope.
“C’mon, Zero,” he urged. “We’re getting close.”
“I’ve already ordered your hot fudge sundae,” he said.
He is trying to wake him and is afraid: he shakes him and calls him by his real name.
Stanley shook him.
C’mon, Hector.
A strong answer Stanley tells Zero they are getting close and that the sundae is being made right now, using the jokes and hope that worked earlier. He also shakes Zero and calls him Hector, which sounds more worried. A strong answer says what Stanley is trying to do and what the shaking and the name show about how he feels.