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Holes
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Stanley and Zero dig up the suitcase in the dark and say "We did it," and then the Warden says they have been a big help. Was the work theirs, or was it always going to be hers?
The tension Stanley and Zero plan, take risks and share every step of the digging, while the chapter ends with a light in Stanley's face and the Warden thanking them for what they did.
Notice who does what as the boys dig, and how the chapter ends.
Stanley waits in a hole until the camp sleeps, then he and Zero find the hole in the dark. Stanley digs while Zero fetches water and cereal. Stanley feels something hard in the wall and takes it for a treasure chest. He digs a tunnel beneath it and works it free. It is a metal suitcase, and just as he climbs out, a bright light shines in his face and the Warden thanks them.
Start with the two lines Zero and Stanley say about the suitcase. Ask what each boy means by you and we.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the waiting, the dark, the digging, the breakfast, the hard object, the tunnel, the suitcase and the light.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: one long sentence of effort, then one short sentence that interrupts it.
Debate Take sides: was the work the boys', or was it always going to be the Warden's? Each side uses at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why the author puts the Warden's thanks right after "We did it."
Easier Read the last page aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 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 or Zero says one thing and means a little more, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Stanley says, “It’s it,” sounding more certain than he really was. Why might he pretend to be sure?Character
What it asks It asks why Stanley hides his doubt from Zero, and what that shows about how he sees his job.
He wants Zero to trust the plan, so he covers his own doubt.
“I think this is it,” he whispered.
“You think?” Zero asked.
He is steadying himself as well as Zero: he needs to believe it to go on.
“It’s it,” said Stanley, sounding more certain than he really was.
He carefully led Zero to the hole, which was hard to find in the darkness.
A strong answer Stanley first says I think this is it, and Zero asks You think? Stanley then says It's it, sounding more certain than he really was. He may want Zero to trust the plan, or he may need to believe it himself. A strong answer picks a reason and says what pretending to be sure does for each boy.
2. Stanley decides to dig wider instead of deeper, and tells himself it makes more sense. How good is his reasoning?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to test Stanley's reasoning about Kate Barlow, and notice where he doubts it himself.
It is good: the hole is already deep, and one person with a shovel could not dig much deeper.
It was five feet deep before he even started.
If Kate Barlow had buried a treasure chest, she probably wouldn’t have been able to dig much deeper, so why should he?
It is shaky: he guesses about Kate Barlow and then thinks of a reason it might be wrong.
This made more sense, he told himself.
Of course, Kate Barlow probably had a whole gang of thieves helping her.
A strong answer Stanley starts with a hole already five feet deep, and reasons that someone digging alone could not go much deeper. But he then thinks Kate Barlow may have had a whole gang to help her, which weakens it. A strong answer says how much of this is reasoning and how much is a guess, and notices that Stanley argues against himself.
3. Zero goes to refill the jars because Stanley makes too much noise when he walks. Was that a good plan, and who is taking more risk?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh who risks what when the work is split by skill, and whether that is fair.
It is a good plan: Zero is better at sneaking, so the risk goes to the one who can handle it.
No offense, but you make too much noise when you walk. You’re too big.
I’m going to try to refill the water jars
It leaves Zero with the most danger: he walks into the camp alone, twice.
Zero insisted that he do it instead.
“How’s it going?” Zero asked when he returned with the water.
A strong answer Zero says Stanley is too big and makes too much noise, so the plan fits the job. But Zero is the one who goes into the camp, twice, and Stanley stays in the hole. A strong answer says whether giving the risk to the one who handles it best is fair, and what Stanley owes in return.
4. The author keeps Stanley in the dark for most of the chapter. How does that change the way we feel as he digs?Tone
What it asks It asks what the dark does to the mood, and how it shapes what Stanley can know.
It makes it tense: he cannot see what he finds or what is coming.
It was so dark, he couldn’t even see the end of his shovel.
He wished he could see what he was doing.
It makes it hopeful and strange: anything might be in the dirt.
For all he knew he could be digging up gold and diamonds instead of dirt.
Yet there was no way he’d see it.
A strong answer Stanley cannot even see the end of his shovel, so he feels his way, and the dark makes the digging tense. It also leaves room for hope, since he might be digging up gold and diamonds without knowing. A strong answer names the mood the dark gives, tense, hopeful or both, and points to lines.
5. The Warden says, “You boys have been a big help.” Why might the author end the chapter on her words?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the ending does to the boys' success, and why the author lets the Warden have the last word.
It turns a victory into a shock: they did it, and someone else is there to take it.
“We did it,” said Stanley.
Suddenly, a bright light was shining in his face.
It is a cruel kind of politeness: the thanks makes the boys her helpers, not her equals.
“Thank you,” said the Warden.
You boys have been a big help.
A strong answer Stanley and Zero have just said You did it and We did it, and then a light shines in his face. The Warden's polite thanks turns their success into her help. A strong answer says what the reader feels at the end, and what the author gains by stopping there.
1. Stanley digs a tunnel under the metal object to get it free. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how he works out what to do.
What it asks It asks the student to follow Stanley's problem-solving, step by step.
He tests it and learns what he is dealing with: it will not budge.
He tried pulling it out, but it wouldn’t budge.
He had no way of knowing how far into the earth it extended.
He plans around the risk: he digs under it and tries to pull it out quickly.
“I’m going to try to dig a hole underneath it,” he said.
He knew that when he was ready to pull it out, he would have to do it quickly, before the ground above it collapsed.
A strong answer Stanley tries pulling it out and finds that it will not budge, and he does not know how far down it goes. He then plans to dig underneath it and to pull it out quickly before the ground above collapses. A strong answer shows how the test leads to the plan, with two pieces of evidence.
2. Stanley says it might be a treasure chest, then that it might be a metal suitcase. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how he changes his mind.
What it asks It asks the student to see how touch alone changes Stanley's guess.
He starts with a hope: a corner of something metal and smooth.
He could just feel a corner of it.
I think I might have found the treasure chest
He ends with a plainer guess: parts that fit a suitcase.
Stanley was able to feel latches on one end of the box, and then a leather handle.
I think it might be some kind of metal suitcase
A strong answer At first Stanley feels only the corner of something cool, smooth and metal and says it might be the treasure chest. Later he feels latches and a leather handle and says it might be a suitcase. A strong answer says what he knew each time, with two pieces of evidence, and notices that he says I think both times.
3. Zero stays calm and steady as Stanley digs. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Zero does for Stanley during the night.
What it asks It asks the student to gather what Zero provides, in work and in words.
He brings supplies: water, and a box of cereal.
Zero handed down a box of cereal.
“How’s it going?” Zero asked when he returned with the water.
He keeps Stanley going with his words and his share of the digging.
“Go for it,” said Zero.
Zero took over the digging.
A strong answer Zero brings water and a box of cereal from the camp, which Stanley could not have fetched without noise. He also takes over the digging and tells Stanley to go for it when he is unsure. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence about what Zero brings and one about how he helps.