Holes
Chapter 41 — 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
Zero says he only took what he needed and did not know whose shoes they were. How much should that count in judging what he did?
The tension Zero tells it plainly, with a rule that he and his mother took only what they needed and a reason that old shoes were better to take, while the shoes were behind glass in a display with a sign he could not read.
Today's focus
Notice what Zero says he knew, what he needed, and how he tells the story of the shoes.
Two core ideas
- Zero says he and his mother took only what they needed, and that he did not know taking was stealing or whose shoes they were.
- He tells all this in a calm, plain voice, and the chapter lets the reader weigh it without telling us how.
The shape at a glance
Zero is recovering, and Stanley has dug the water hole deep. The boys wash their socks with water poured from jars. As they talk, Zero tells Stanley about the shelter, about wanting to be a Cub Scout, and about his mother. Then he tells how he took Clyde Livingston's shoes from the glass case, left them on a car and was arrested the next day.
A way in
Start with Zero's line, "But we just took what we needed, never more." Ask what kind of rule that is.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the water hole, the socks, the shelter, the Cub Scouts, Zero's mother and the shoes.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: one saying what a person usually does, and one saying what they did on one occasion.
Debate Take sides: how much should Zero's need, and not knowing whose shoes they were, count? Each side uses at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why the author lets Zero tell the shoe story in his own plain voice.
Easier Read Zero's shoe story aloud together and talk through discussion questions 3 and 4 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 Zero says what he did not know, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- Zero says he had to find someone to pretend to be his mom at the shelter. Why might he go to such trouble?Inference
What it asks It asks what Zero was guarding by pretending, and what a wish to avoid questions tells us about his life.
One reading
He was afraid of what the answers would lead to: being made a ward of the state.
If they’d found out I didn’t have a mom, they would have made me a ward of the state.
But I didn’t like the sound of it.
Another reading
He was guarding a way of life he had made for himself, and used the shelter only when he had to.
I didn’t go to the homeless shelter very often
Just if the weather was really bad.
Listen for
- Uses what Zero says he feared, not only what the student would feel.
- Notices that Zero did not know what the words meant.
If stuck
- What would the shelter have asked him if he came alone?
- What does Zero say they would have made him?
- When does Zero say he went to the shelter?
A strong answer Zero says he would have been asked a bunch of questions, and if they found out he had no mom they would have made him a ward of the state. He did not know what that meant, but he did not like the sound of it. A strong answer says whether the pretending protected his freedom, his way of life, or both, and rests on what Zero says.
- Zero says he used to pretend he was a Cub Scout, then wonders if he would have liked it. What does that tell us about him?Character
What it asks It asks what a boy who pretends to be a scout, and then doubts he would like being one, shows about what he wants.
One reading
He longed to belong to something: he watched the scouts and wished.
I always wanted to be a Cub Scout.
I’d see them at the park in their blue uniforms.
Another reading
He is honest with himself: he liked the look of it, not necessarily the thing.
I liked the blue uniforms
Maybe I wouldn’t have liked being a Cub Scout.
Listen for
- Says what Zero wanted and what he admits.
- Notices that Stanley answers with a shrug.
If stuck
- Where did Zero see the Cub Scouts?
- What did he like about them?
- What does he say after that about whether he would have liked it?
A strong answer Zero says he always wanted to be a Cub Scout and liked their blue uniforms, which sounds like a wish to belong. Then he says maybe he would not have liked it, which sounds like a boy being honest about what he really wanted. A strong answer says which of these shows more of Zero, and why both can be true.
- Zero says it was better to take someone’s old shoes than to steal new ones. Does that reasoning hold up?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to test Zero's reason and decide whether it makes the taking less wrong.
One reading
It holds up in part: old shoes cost their owner less, and he thought they were nobody's treasure.
I just thought they were somebody’s old shoes.
than steal a pair of new ones
Another reading
It does not hold up: they were still someone's, on display, and he took them out of the case.
I just reached in the glass case and took them.
There was a sign, but of course I couldn’t read it.
Listen for
- Weighs both sides, not only the one the student likes.
- Uses what Zero thought at the time and what was true.
If stuck
- Where were the shoes when Zero took them?
- What does Zero say he thought they were?
- What was on the sign, and why could he not read it?
A strong answer Zero thought they were somebody's old shoes and that taking old ones was better than stealing new ones, so he saw it as taking little. But they were in a glass case with a sign, and he reached in and took them. A strong answer takes a side, says what the other side gets right, and does not pretend the chapter settles it.
- Zero calls the uproar over the missing shoes “kind of funny, in a way.” What tone do you hear as he tells it?Tone
What it asks It asks what mood Zero's telling gives the story, and what that mood shows about how he sees what he did.
One reading
It is amused: he enjoys the picture of everyone running about while he wears the shoes.
It was kind of funny, in a way.
The whole place is going crazy.
Another reading
It is matter-of-fact, as if taking something were an ordinary thing to do.
I just walked out the door. No one noticed me.
I put them on top of a parked car.
Listen for
- Names a tone and points to words that make it.
- Notices how calmly he describes each step.
If stuck
- What does Zero say the people at the shelter were doing?
- What does he do once he gets outside?
- Does he sound worried when he tells it?
A strong answer Zero finds the uproar kind of funny in a way, with everyone running about while he sits in the shoes. He also tells each step calmly: he walked out, took them off and left them on a car. A strong answer names the tone, amused, calm or both, and says what it shows about how he thinks about taking.
- Stanley says very little while Zero talks about the shoes. Why might the author keep him mostly quiet?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what Stanley's few words do for the scene, and what he may be taking in as he listens.
One reading
It lets Zero's voice carry the scene, with Stanley as a listener.
Stanley peeled off another layer of his onion.
“Clyde Livingston’s shoes?” asked Stanley.
Another reading
It shows Stanley is taking something in that he does not say out loud.
Stanley remembered being surprised at Clyde Livingston’s small shoe size.
“Yeah, those were them,” said Stanley.
Listen for
- Says what Stanley does while Zero talks.
- Does not claim more about Stanley's thoughts than the chapter gives.
If stuck
- What is Stanley doing with his hands while Zero speaks?
- What does Stanley remember about the shoes?
- What does Stanley ask about the shoes?
A strong answer Stanley peels his onion and says little, which leaves the space to Zero. But he does recall how small Clyde Livingston's shoes were, so he is listening closely. A strong answer says what the quiet does for Zero's story, and keeps to what the chapter shows of Stanley.
Critical thinking
- The boys wash their socks and keep the water clean. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how they are looking after themselves and each other.
What it asks It asks the student to see the care in small choices: how they use the water, and who does the work.
One reading
They look after the water: they keep dirty socks out of the hole.
They didn’t dip their socks into the hole, afraid to contaminate the water.
Instead they filled the jars and poured the water over their dirty socks.
Another reading
Stanley looks after Zero: he does the digging so Zero can get better.
Stanley had dug it all himself.
Stanley thought it better for Zero to save his strength.
Listen for
- Two different pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says who is looking after whom.
If stuck
- What do the boys do instead of dipping their socks?
- Who dug the water hole?
A strong answer The boys keep the water clean by pouring it from jars over their socks, so they care for the hole they depend on. Stanley also digs it all himself so Zero can save his strength. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence for each and says which kind of care matters more here.
- Zero tells Stanley about his mother twice. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what the chapter lets us know about her, and what it does not.
What it asks It asks the student to separate what Zero says about his mother from what the chapter leaves out.
One reading
Zero keeps a proud memory of her.
My mother was once a Girl Scout
She was real proud of that.
Another reading
The chapter leaves her unexplained: Stanley is confused and Zero gives only a short answer.
I thought you said you didn’t have a mother.
Everybody has to have a mother.
Listen for
- One piece of evidence for what we know and one for what we do not.
- Does not claim to know where she is.
If stuck
- What prize does Zero say his mother once won?
- What does Stanley ask when Zero says she was a Girl Scout?
A strong answer Zero says his mother was once a Girl Scout and was real proud of a prize, so he keeps a warm memory of her. But when Stanley asks, Zero says only that everybody has to have a mother, and the chapter does not say where she is. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence for each and does not guess beyond them.
- Zero says he should have just kept the old shoes. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he seems to regret.
What it asks It asks the student to say what Zero regrets: a practical mistake, or what followed from it.
One reading
He regrets a practical mistake: he was already safe and gave up what he had.
I should have just kept them
I’d already made it out of the shelter and everything.
Another reading
He regrets what followed: his arrest, and where it has led both of them.
I ended up getting arrested the next day when I tried to walk out of a shoe store with a new pair of sneakers.
then neither of us would be here right now
Listen for
- Two different pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Notices what Zero does not say he regrets.
If stuck
- What had Zero already done when he put the shoes on the car?
- What happened to him the next day?
A strong answer Zero says he should have kept the shoes because he had already made it out of the shelter. He then tells of the arrest the next day and says that neither of them would be here. A strong answer says whether the regret is about a practical mistake or about what followed, and notices that Zero never says the taking itself was wrong.