Holes
Chapter 38 — Teaching Companion
Louis Sachar · Trailblazers 4th–6th
Coaching, not a script — and not an answer key: every question here has more than one defensible answer.
This chapter's big question
Stanley is sure he cannot climb the mountain and will find no water there, yet he keeps climbing until he falls into mud. What led him to the water: his effort, or his luck?
The tension Stanley goes on with one step at a time, even after his reasoning tells him the climb is hopeless, but the water is found only when his feet slip out from under him.
Today's focus
Notice what keeps Stanley climbing after he stops believing in the climb.
Two core ideas
- Stanley carries Zero up the mountain one step at a time, and says his strength seems to come from inside and from outside.
- Stanley is sure there is no water on the rock, yet water is found when he falls into the gully.
The shape at a glance
Stanley lifts Zero onto his shoulder and climbs, leaving the shovel and jars behind. The mountain flattens, a huge cliff rises, and he knows he cannot climb it. He slips and falls into a muddy gully, realizes mud means water, and digs. He finds a tiny pool, wets Zero's face and finds an onion, which he splits with Zero as a hot fudge sundae.
A way in
Start with the line "He never made it." Ask what Stanley wanted, and what happens next.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the lift, the climb, the smell, the cliff, the fall, the mud, the hole and the onion.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: one for the small step a person focuses on, and one for the huge task they ignore.
Debate Take sides: did effort or luck lead Stanley to the water? Each side uses at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why the author has Stanley fail to reach the Thumb before he finds the water.
Easier Read the fall and the discovery of the mud aloud together and talk through discussion questions 4 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's thinking and his body disagree, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- The chapter says Stanley's strength comes from deep inside him and also seems to come from the outside. Where might the outside strength be coming from?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to name a source for strength that Stanley himself cannot explain, and to rest the guess on the chapter.
One reading
It comes from the mountain: he has focused on it for so long that it seems to pull him.
it was as if the rock had absorbed his energy and now acted like a kind of giant magnet pulling him toward it
Another reading
It comes from Zero: Stanley will not put him down, even when he leaves everything else behind.
He left the shovel and sack of jars behind as he continued up the mountain.
Stanley took hold of Zero’s forearms and pulled him upright.
Listen for
- Names a source and points to a line.
- Notices the words "seemed to" and "as if" in the passage.
If stuck
- What has Stanley been looking at for so long?
- What does Stanley leave behind, and what does he keep?
- What does the chapter compare the rock to?
A strong answer The chapter says the rock acted like a giant magnet, and Stanley has stared at Big Thumb for so long that this fits. But he also leaves the shovel and the jars and keeps carrying Zero, which suggests Zero is part of what keeps him going. A strong answer picks a source, rests it on one of these lines, and notices that the chapter says only that it seemed this way.
- Around Stanley, the smell is “the bitter smell of despair.” Why might the author give a smell that name?Tone
What it asks It asks what the name for the smell does to the mood, and whether it is in the air or in Stanley.
One reading
It is Stanley's own despair, spread over everything he sees and smells.
And he knew he’d never be able to climb it.
It was the bitter smell of despair.
Another reading
It is a real smell that the author uses to make the place feel hopeless.
After a while he became aware of a foul odor.
it seemed to be in the air, hanging heavy all around him
Listen for
- Says what mood the name creates.
- Notices that the chapter does not say what causes the smell.
If stuck
- Where does Stanley first think the smell comes from?
- What does Stanley realize about the climb just before the name?
- How does the smell change as he goes?
A strong answer The smell is first foul and then bitter, and the author names it despair at the moment Stanley knows he cannot climb the rock. That can read as his feeling spreading over the place, or as a real smell that makes the place feel hopeless. A strong answer says what the name does to the mood, and does not claim to know what causes the smell.
- Stanley knows he will find no water, yet he continues toward the Thumb. Is that brave, or foolish?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh going on against his own good reasons to stop, with a friend on his shoulder.
One reading
It is brave: he goes on with Zero on his shoulder when he has every reason to give up.
Still, he continued toward it. If nothing else, he wanted to at least reach the Thumb.
He concentrated on one step at a time
Another reading
It is foolish: he has reasoned that there is no water, so every step spends strength he cannot spare.
How could there be water at the top of a giant rock?
Zero’s legs dangled in front of him.
Listen for
- Weighs both sides, not only the one the student likes.
- Notices that Stanley carries Zero all the while.
If stuck
- What does Stanley say would happen if he reached the top?
- What is he carrying?
- What does he say he wants, if nothing else?
A strong answer Stanley has good reasons to stop: he thinks a giant rock cannot hold water, and every step costs strength. But he goes on, with Zero on his shoulder, wanting at least to reach the Thumb. A strong answer takes a side, uses lines from both, and says what the other side gets right.
- “He never made it.” sits alone as a short paragraph. Why might the author give it a line of its own?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what a very short paragraph does to the sentence before it, and to what comes after.
One reading
It is a blow: the goal he held so long fails in four words.
If nothing else, he wanted to at least reach the Thumb.
He never made it.
Another reading
It is a turn: the failing sets up the fall that brings him to the mud.
His feet slipped out from under him.
You need water to make mud!
Listen for
- Notices how short the line is next to the lines around it.
- Says what the reader feels in the pause.
If stuck
- What did Stanley want at least to do?
- What happens in the very next lines?
- How does a short line change how you read it aloud?
A strong answer The line is four words, plain and final, right after Stanley says he wants at least to reach the Thumb. It can feel like a blow. But the very next sentence has him fall into the gully, so it is also a turn. A strong answer says what the pause does to the reader and why the author sets it apart.
- Lying face down, Stanley is not sure he will even try to get up, and then thinks, “You need water to make mud!” What changes in him?Character
What it asks It asks what turns a boy who may give up into one who crawls, and whether the cause is hope or thinking.
One reading
Hope returns: the thought gives him something to hope for.
he didn’t know if he’d ever get up again
You need water to make mud!
Another reading
He starts reasoning again: he acts on a fact and follows it, step by step.
He crawled along the gully in the direction that seemed the muddiest.
The ground became gloppier.
Listen for
- Says what the thought gives him, hope or a reason to act.
- Notices what he does right after thinking it.
If stuck
- What is Stanley wondering as he lies in the ditch?
- What does he think of in the middle of that sentence?
- Which direction does he crawl?
A strong answer Stanley is face down and does not know if he will even try to get up. Then a single thought about mud and water changes everything, and he crawls toward the muddiest ground. A strong answer says whether the change is hope or reasoning, and uses what he does right after the thought.
Critical thinking
- Stanley finds water in the dark by touch. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how he becomes sure it is there.
What it asks It asks the student to follow how Stanley tests a guess when he cannot see, and how his certainty grows.
One reading
He feels it with his body: his fingers and his tongue tell him.
He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it—first with his fingers, then with his tongue.
He stuck his head in the hole and licked the dirt.
Another reading
He watches what the hole does as he digs: it keeps filling.
He dug deeper, and as he did so, more water seemed to fill the hole.
There was enough water for him to scoop out with his hands and drop on Zero’s face.
Listen for
- Two different pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says how he checks without light.
If stuck
- Can Stanley see the water?
- What does the hole do as he digs deeper?
A strong answer Stanley cannot see the water, but he feels a tiny pool at the bottom of the hole and licks the dirt to be sure. As he digs deeper, more water seems to fill the hole until there is enough to scoop. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence about how he feels it and one about how the hole fills.
- Stanley splits the onion with Zero. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Stanley does for Zero in this chapter.
What it asks It asks the student to gather what Stanley gives Zero, and to say whether it is protection, sharing or both.
One reading
He protects Zero: he carries him and drags him close to the water.
He stood up, lifting Zero’s worn-out body off the ground.
Stanley dragged Zero closer to the hole.
Another reading
He shares with Zero: the water and the onion go to both of them.
let it pour out of his hands into Zero’s mouth
He only ate half. He gave the other half to Zero.
Listen for
- Two different pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what Stanley gives up for Zero.
If stuck
- How does Stanley get Zero up the mountain?
- What does he do with the onion?
A strong answer Stanley lifts Zero onto his shoulder and carries him, then drags him close to the hole and pours water into his mouth. He also eats only half the onion and gives the other half to Zero. A strong answer says whether this is protecting or sharing, and uses two pieces of evidence.
- Big Thumb looks different as Stanley gets close. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what has changed.
What it asks It asks what the rock looks like up close and what that does to its meaning.
One reading
It has grown larger and harder: a cliff too tall to climb.
a huge stone precipice rose up ahead of him
It seemed to grow bigger with each step he took.
Another reading
It has stopped being a sign: it no longer looks like a thumb.
It no longer resembled a thumb.
Even if he could somehow climb Big Thumb, he knew he wouldn’t find water.
Listen for
- One piece of evidence about its size and one about what it means.
- Says what Stanley decides after seeing it.
If stuck
- What does the rock look like in the moonlight?
- What does Stanley say it no longer looks like?
A strong answer As Stanley comes closer, the rock grows into a huge stone cliff that seems bigger with each step. It also no longer looks like a thumb, so the shape that kept him going has gone. A strong answer says what changes in Stanley's hope, with one piece of evidence about the size and one about the shape.