Are you looking for some teaching ideas for Holes by Louis Sachar? You’ll find printable character trait booklets, recipes, and much more in this post.
Louis Sachar hit it out of the park with his novel Holes.
Accused of a crime he did not commit, Stanley Yelnats is sentenced to Camp Green Lake for rehabilitation. Almost immediately, Stanley realizes digging a large hole each day is not just punishment. The Warden is looking for something special.
While digging Stanley thinks about his family’s history. Through these flashbacks, two additional stories are told. These plots weave together to form a complex and wonderful novel.
If you haven’t read the book Holes, you are in for a real treat!
Teaching Ideas for Holes
Book Unit Samples
This sample contains the following:
- Vocabulary Practice for Chapters 1-5
- Comprehension Questions for Chapters 1-5
- Constructed Response Question for Chapters 1-5
Teaching Ideas for Holes #1 ~ Character Trait Booklets
Create each mini-book from a single piece of paper, folded to form a book. The finished books contain 6 pages where students can list the character traits of the main characters. This is a valuable tool for a book such as Holes with three-story plots taking place and many characters to remember. Just click on the button below to download the free printables for this activity. An answer key is included to make this activity a print-and-go project.
Get your free character trait booklets here.
Teaching Ideas for Holes #2 ~ Figurative Language
The soundtrack for the 2003 movie of Holes contains some incredible songs. Using quotes from the book as well as lyrics from the soundtrack makes Holes an ideal book for teaching figurative language. Here you will find four PowerPoints to help you:
Click on the links below the images to get the PowerPoint Presentation you wish to download.
NOTE: If you have difficulty playing the audio clips in the PowerPoint presentations, here is the link to a zipped file containing all four PowerPoint presentations along with the audio files.
Download the free Rhyming Patterns PowerPoint here.
Click here to get the free Similes and Metaphors PowerPoint.
Teaching Ideas for Holes #3 ~ Character Traits
Assign each student one character from Holes. The student is to write a character description from the first person point of view. Click here to read all character descriptions.
Teaching Idea #4 ~ Dig Activity
The bags were placed on the floor in a grid formation. Students read clues to determine which bag they must “dig” into. The bags held objects from the story such as plastic lizards, a mini treasure chest, a can of very old peaches, a golden lipstick tube, and a fish fossil. After collecting the objects, students discussed the significance of each.
Teaching Idea #5 ~ Onion Dip
Here is the recipe we used:
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese — cubed
- 3 large Vidalia Onions — steamed
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt
- 1/4 cup Whipping Cream
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese — grated
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
Combine cream cheese and cream in Crock-Pot.
Cover and heat until cheese is melted for 30 to 60 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients.
Cover and heat for 30 minutes.
Serve with raw vegetables, crackers, or bread pieces.
Teaching Idea #6 ~ Spiced Peaches
Students enjoyed making spiced peaches. We served them warm over vanilla ice cream. YUM!!
Teaching Idea #7 ~ Resources on the Web
See the product that inspired this post.
Holes Novel Study includes vocabulary practice, comprehension questions, constructed response writing, and skill practice.
3 comments
Love your recipes!
Thx
The recipes are astonishing! Thank you so much for the written directions. Very easy and fast! Sound delicious! Keep it up, sir!
I am not a teacher, but I find these activities helpful. I’ll try them out with my little son! I’m sure he’ll enjoy making spiced peaches.