Critical Review and Curriculum Connections


     Sachar does an amazing job of weaving a tale from three strands that culminate into a bold and memorable story.  Fully developed plots (Horn Book, 1998) and characters keep the reader interested and guessing what the next twist will involve.  Readers soon learn that anything Sachar mentions in the story will probably appear again and could prove integral in solving the rapidly evolving puzzle that this story becomes.
     This book "works" based on several factors.  Clever manipulation of storylines that incorporate carefully placed flashbacks help the reader gather important tidbits that play a part in Stanley's story.  Clear distinctions appear between the "good guys" and the "bad guys."  A genuine humanness permeates through Stanley's and Zero's characters that make it easy for readers to relate to at least some aspect of their personalities.
     Sachar's cleverly chosen words keep the reader a little off  balance, not quite sure what to expect next.  The "tall tale" flavor of the story gives Sachar license to stretch the bounds of belief, making the reader receptive to major coincidences that occur in the story.  Adding to the complexity of this already complex story, the author also incorporates several social issues worthy of discussion.  Hard hitting topics flow in and out of the story, tugging slightly at the hearts of readers.  Understatement of these issues seem to make them all the more alarming.  The author accomplishes much with what he does not say.  Leaving the reader to do just as he suggests, "fill in the holes" themselves.

MGE 421, MGE 421G 
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Holes Trivia Game

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Cross-Curriculum Connections

 

Science

In the book is a description of a yellow spotted poisonous lizard. As a science teacher I can have my class do research about poisonous lizards.  

Another connection with science is to research what makes lakes dry up.  I could also have them do a paper on the depletion of water; do reservoirs or lakes of water evaporate because they are not replenished by nature (rainfall), do they simply connect with another body of and loose their natural habitat, or does mankind have anything to do with the destruction of a natural water lake or reservoir.  

I could have my students do a project dealing with skin cancer; the causes, prevention, and detectable signs
 
I could show a video on the most poisonous animals in the west which could possible show the red-eyed, eleven spotted lizard as one of the poisonous animals.

In science you do weather, climate, animals of the desert, water fall in dry region of the U.S.; life in the desert ecosystem, etc.  

Recycling and what type of products are made from recycled materials. How can recycling impact the environment. And what other products could be made of recycled materials as Stanley’s father is attempting to do.

The effect of venomous insect and animals on humans and how different people can react differently to the toxins.

The bending of light through heat waves,

dehydration and its effect,

science nature and the environment

I think the poisonous lizard would be an interested research project for a science class.    

A science connection could involve botany and preservation methods. We could talk about why the onions were still growing there. We could also talk about how they could eat the peaches from the jars after all this time. Having someone come in and talk about canning could expand their scope of science.


A science connection I haven't seen yet is about navigation. People hundreds of years ago didn't have compasses so they use the sun, moon and landmarks to find their way. when walking across the lake to the mountain and even back to the camp the boys used all three. Spending a day discussing and maybe even trying it would be fun. 

heat effects

students could do a report on droughts

 We could concentrate on lakes that have dried up and see what parts of the book could really happen and what parts could not happen.

Sciences -- the environment at Camp Green Lake is not one that many in this region have experienced, and could be something to be studied. In this, one might place biology by looking at wildlife and vegetation that exist in such environments. 
 

A unit could also be done with energy on man power vs horsepower in connection with Sam rowing across the lake and being caught by Charlie in his motor powered boat.
 

A unit on levers and simple machines could be tied into digging holes and how the shovel is used as a lever and a simple machine.

 There is also another science connection which relates to geology and the drying up of the lake. (e.g. What type of climate/weather changes could have caused this event?)  

How long can one last without any water or food. How many days could Stanley have lived out on the dry lake without food or water ? 

Holes could be implemented in science class by letting the students draw the background to specific scripts with the lizards in a food chain or web, deciphering whether the lake was formed from a glacier deposit or a natural reservoir outage and then evaporated or changed courses, looking for fossil records of different life existences of the lake, etc.
  

 

 

Math

A connection with math could be what will a hole 5 feet all around look like. How much dirt gets removed? 

In math you could do a unit or lesson on measurement, shapes .

Weight, Measure and Volume  

We could discuss volume. As a project we could possibly break up into teams and find a secluded place to dig a hole this size. Each team would have their own hole while members of the team took turns digging.

More math connections could involve exponential growth (the onions) or finding out how far away they had to put the dirt from the top of the hole so they wouldn't have to move the dirt twice.

Language Arts

Well then maybe Zero is the favorite character of many of the readers, because they students can relate to feeling like 'nothing' at this age. It would be interesting to ask them who is their favorite character and why, in a one on one discussion in order to get an honest and heartfelt answer. 

If we were using this book in my classes (which we probably will)  then I would want to look at literacy.

Language making connections with symbolic meaning for the nicknames.  

You could teach student's about when writing you are writing for a particular audience. You could ask them if Sachar is doing a good job writing to them and if they are able to understand it. You could have your class try writing to different audiences.

English- Some of the characters have improper or poor grammar and this would be an excellent way to teach students to improve on grammar. Fun class activities could be produced in the classroom to help children learn to speak properly.

 In my Language Arts class I would let them be in Stanley's shoes at some point in the book and let them write what they do and how they would feel about themselves and other people. I would let them share their responses with one another. That would let them see how differently everyone would feel in the same situation. It is so important to connect things to real world applications in every subject in the classroom today.

 English -- one thing that I notice within the text is how Sachar's style is different than most, and how this style is enjoyed mostly by his intended audiences, young adults. This could bring about instruction on the individual writer's own style, including recognition of audience and even grammatical structure and word choice.

Comedy can be found on pages 148,174, and 224.  The line, "Tag you're it". 


The story is also loaded with a plethora of symbolism.  I.E. the Holes(222), Onions (page 183), the Rain, and
the Peaches all have symbolic meanings.

Have the kids write a play or short skits based on the book. Having them act out the different scenes in the book would be fun to watch. 

 For English, I would have the students use a reading journal to respond to different issues. (culture, race, juvenile system, etc,)
 


This is another site that could be used in the classroom. It deals with
other things besides the plot. You can plug in words to make a story.
(you have to be careful and make sure that your story is believable).

Social Studies

In Social Studies I would want to look up different physical land features that may be affected by droughts.

We would also look up the possibilities of finding "objects" that were once apart of a lake. 

archaeology  

Genealogy:  Stanley talks quite a bit about people in his family tree and one social studies activity that could be done would be to have students develop their own family tree. They could talk to their relatives, use the internet, use books, the local libraries and historical societies may also help. Students could try and find out interesting stories about their family members and their ethnic backgrounds and maybe some photos or family heirlooms. They could write it up to share with their families and maybe the class could even put it on the internet.  

 

Subjects such as the judicial system applicable to juveniles (also could be included in Social Studies), peer relations, and diversity - acceptance could be issues tackled in these elective classes.  Some other things besides researching fairness could be what gender, what race, and what kind of background the majority of the juveniles have. If children from well to do families commit the same crime as children from poorer families do they get the same punishment, and what crimes do the majority of the juveniles who are in prison commit. Another interesting research would be whether there is alternative punishments and how good they work.
 

Social Studies Connections could include early modes travel in America. 

Study of America in the 19th Century.

Research on different bandits and desperados in 19th Century America.    

History of the region and science the climate of the region, the animals of the region.

 Unit on the state of Texas since that is where Camp Green Lake is located in Holes.

  • I was looking for outlaws or information on Texas. I did find one which was a part of a series of informational books on all the states. It probably is on a 4th grade level but the information was there and it had good pictures and it was a boring book to read. The title was Texas by the Capstone Press Geography Department. Mankato, Minnesota : Capstone Press, 1996.
     

A Social Studies connection could include racial issues in connection with forced labor and slave issues. A correlation could be made between the work Zero is doing for Stanley, and the reaction of the other boys.


Another connection could be made with Sam's donkey and animals people used as beasts of burden. What kinds of traits make some animal of greater value as a beast of burden than others.
 

Wellness (Physical and Mental Health)

Self esteem as it refers to Zero and Stanley.  These  three sites allow students/parents/teachers to find out more about self esteem, its importance and how to improve it.

In the middle grades, new classes have been birthed such as "Life Choices" and the like, meant to increase interest in the world outside of their own environment and have deal with issues that allow the student to become involved in abstract thought. This book would be a great addition to the curriculum.

I also think that a curriculum connection in relationships, friendship, honest, peer pressure, conflict resolutions, social skills.

Another area would be problem solving and decision making. 

Some curricular connections that could be made in the field of health are the causes and effects of exposure to extreme heat. Which also leads into a curricular connection with science on the occurrence of mirages with respect to the environment.

06/18/2005 09:39:26 AM   Hit Counter