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Holes Louis Sachar
Suggestions for Week 1: Chapter 1 – Chapter 11, pages 3 - 54
Everyday: Word Wall, Timeline, Map Oneday: Bookmark, OMP, g
MONDAY
setting characters word wall pages Camp Green wasteland 3- Lake Bus Stanley stifling 4- vast perseverance gruff
Possible Key Paragraph
“If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy.”
Possible Snapshot
Write a paragraph that explains whether or not you agree with the above statement and why. If you do agree, go on to describe what it is about hole digging that has the power to change. If you do not agree, proceed by describing what is capable of changing a bad boy into a good one.
TUESDAY
setting characters word wall pages Camp Green Stanley barren 11- Lake Office Bus Driver desolate Mr. Sir
D Tent Mr. Pendanski innocent 16- The Boys attitude society
Possible Key Paragraph [17]
“ ‘I want you to know, Stanley, that I respect you,’ Mr. Pendanski said. ‘I understand you’ve made some bad mistakes in your life. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here. But everyone makes mistakes. You may have done some bad things, but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad kid.’”
Possible Snapshot
When Mr. Pendanski says this to Stanley, Stanley wants to tell him that he is innocent. He doesn’t because he knows that Mr. Pendanski won’t believe him. Mr. Pendanski believes that life is fair. Stanley is receiving a first-hand lesson that life is not. Write about a time when you were treated unfairly. Perhaps someone assumed you were wrong, when indeed, you were right. Explain the situation. Then describe how you felt. Finally describe how, if ever, the situation was resolved. Name one positive thing you can learn by reflecting on this.
Possible Concepts or Background Knowledge
Fairness Bad Luck Acceptance Life happens
THURSDAY
setting characters word wall pages The lake/ Stanley preposterous 33- Latvia Elya dawdle Myra compound Madame Zeroni Zero Zig-Zag
America Elya lullaby 38- Sara The lake Mr. Pendanski predatory 39- Yellow-Spotted Lizzards
Possible Key Paragraph [39]
“ ‘If only, if only,’ the woodpecker sighs, ‘The bark on the tree was as soft as the skies.’ While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely, Crying to the moo—oo—oon, ‘If only, if only.’”
Possible Snapshot
The above lullaby is about wishing things were different. Interpret the above poem in your own words. Why does the woodpecker wish the bark was softer? What do you think the wolf is wishing for when he cries, “If only, if only…? Does it make sense for the woodpecker and the wolf to wish for these things?
Try writing a lullaby of your own in answer to the one above in which you counsel the woodpecker and the wolf to focus their efforts on something productive.
You may use whatever form of poem you wish. However, you might wish to use the same rhythm and the rhyme scheme as the poem above. Notice the first words and the last words of the poem are the same. The first and second lines rhyme. As do the fourth and the sixth. Finally, The first three lines contain 11 syllables each, while the last two lines contain six syllables each.
Possible Key Concepts and Background Knowledge Desert Climates Poisonous reptiles Curses The trouble with “If Only…”
FRIDAY
setting characters word wall pages Wreck Room Stanley sprawled 43- X-ray radiated Armpit The Lump Squid Zero
The Lake Stanley arced 48- Mr. Pendanski horizon X-ray fossil
Possible Key Paragraph [46]
“Dear Mom, Today was my first day at camp, and I’ve already made some friends. We’ve been out on the lake all day, so I’m pretty tired. Once I pass the swimming test, I’ll get to learn how to water ski…”
Possible Snapshot
Stanley is not telling his mother the truth, because he does not want her to worry. Instead of telling the truth, he is telling her what he knows she would like to hear. He is giving her the “If only, if only” version. Recall a time in your life when you found yourself in a situation that was quite different from how you hoped it would be. Describe the “If only, if only” version, then tell how it really was. How did you deal with the situation once you understood the reality?
Possible Key Concepts and Background Knowledge Homonyms – Wreck Room Double entendre Fossils
