Let me share a teaching secret with you: I have never had a student resist the spell of Holes by Louis Sachar. This 1999 Newberry Medal-winning novel is one of those rare books that appeal to even the most reluctant readers, thanks to its interesting characters and creative, adventurous plot. Part fairy tale, part detective story, Holes centers around themes of friendship, crime, punishment, and redemption.

The novel’s teenage protagonist, Stanley Yelnats, is under a curse that has followed members of his family for generations. Stanley, who was sent to a boys’ detention center in the Texas desert after being falsely accused of stealing a pair of shoes, also has a mystery to solve. Each day, the boys at Camp Green Lake must dig holes exactly five feet wide, and five feet deep. It’s clear to Stanley that the warden of the camp is looking for something … but what could be buried under an old, dried-up lake?

Here are nine of my favorite activities for teaching Holes by Louis Sachar.

Chapters 1-5

As students read the first few chapters of Holes, they’ll probably notice that Stanley Yelnats’ full name is a palindrome – it reads the same both forwards and backward! I love it when novel studies give students an opportunity to experiment with the English language. When teaching Holes by Louis Sachar, this is the perfect time to pause and play with palindromes!

In this creative Palindromes Activity, students must read a list of creative clues and then determine the palindrome that best matches the provided information. For example, students might need to identify:

• “A woman who raises a child” (mom)
• “You might climb into this, grab a paddle, and head out onto the lake (kayak)

If bell-ringers or a morning icebreaker activity are part of your usual classroom routine, this is a fun way to incorporate your novel study into the start of your day!

Chapters 6-8

In these chapters, students encounter an interconnected story – the tale of how Stanley’s great-great-grandfather, Elya Yelnats, came to be blamed for the “curse” on his family. When teaching Holes by Louis Sachar, I like to remind students that keeping track of all the elements of the complex plot supports their understanding of the novel.

In this section, I find a graphic organizer particularly helpful for students as they track the story of Elya Yelnats, who was 15 years old at the time these events took place. This “story-within-a-story” presents a great opportunity to remind students of the basic elements of the plot, including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. First, I like to have students read the entire passage on their own and then re-read to fill in the graphic organizer independently. Alternatively, you could have students complete the organizer while they read, or facilitate a whole-class discussion as you read this section of the book as a class.

Chapters 9-13

In these chapters, readers learn that X-Ray’s real name is Rex. He tells Stanley, “No one knows this, but you know why my name’s X-Ray…It’s Pig Latin for Rex.” When teaching Holes by Louis Sachar, I love to take this opportunity to teach students how to speak Pig Latin!

I begin by explaining that Pig Latin is a language game where English words are changed to hide their meaning from people who do not know the Pig Latin code! From here, it’s time for students to learn how to speak Pig Latin! For words that begin with a consonant, all the letters before the first vowel are placed at the end of the word. Then, add the suffix “-ay” to the end of each word! 

To help students understand, I like to share examples like these:

• “pig” → “igpay”
• “banana” → “ananabay”
• “trash” → “ashtray”

From here, it’s time for students to have some fun with Pig Latin! Working alone or in pairs, provide a handout with examples they can practice translating, as well as a space for them to write their own Pig Latin sentence. To wrap up, they can exchange sentences with a partner and see if they can translate the code!

Chapters 14-20

As students read Chapters 14 through 20, they might start thinking a little more deeply about the primary setting of the novel: Camp Green Lake. In this mysterious correctional center for youth, nothing is as it seems. There are no green plants to be found, and the lake has been dried up for decades! An abandoned town, Green Lake, is located next to the lakebed, and the only weather is the scorching hot Texas sun!

At this point in the novel study, I like to give students an opportunity to design and create a brochure, promoting Camp Green Lake as a correctional institute. Using a graphic organizer with provided headings, students can add information and images based on the information they have learned in the novel. Once the brochures are complete, they make an eye-catching display for a classroom or hallway bulletin board!

Chapters 21-27

As students read this section of Holes by Louis Sachar, it’s time for a teaching opportunity that provides essential historical context to the second “story-within-a-story.” The love story of Kissin’ Kate Barlow and Sam, who lived in the town of Green Lake in the late 1800s, centers around the racial tensions of the time. Integrating some nonfiction reading at this point in the novel study helps students gain a stronger understanding of the impact of racial tensions and conflict that were prevalent at this moment in time, particularly in the Southern regions of the United States. 

A two-page informative reading walks students through some of the key moments in the Civil Rights Movement, including:

• Jim Crow Laws
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• The March on Washington
• Segregation
• The Civil Rights Act

…and many more!

After students read the article, they can use a graphic organizer to summarize their understanding of these influential moments and make connections to the events of Holes.

Chapters 28-32

By the time students have reached this section of the novel, they’ll notice the ways in which all three stories – Stanley’s main plot, as well as the tales of Kissin’ Kate Barlow and Elya Yelnats – connect to each other. When teaching this portion of Holes by Louis Sachar, I like to have students take a closer look at one of the novel’s most interesting characters.

In this creative activity, students must use the information they learn about Kissin’ Kate Barlow to create a Wanted Poster for the notorious Green Lake outlaw. Students record their ideas for the poster, supported by direct evidence from Holes, on a provided graphic organizer. Once they have completed their planning, they must design and complete a good copy of their posters, including an image of Kate herself!

Chapters 33-39

Whenever I can, I like to integrate other reading skills into a middle school ELA novel study. Students can always use more practice applying their research skills, which is why I love using this Lizards Research Activity when teaching Holes by Louis Sachar!

In the novel, the yellow-spotted lizard is the most feared creature because its bite always leads to death. While this lizard doesn’t actually exist, it might pique your students’ interest – and luckily there are lots of other lizards and reptiles to learn about! For this task, students choose a real-life lizard and conduct some research about it. Using a provided graphic organizer, they can record information – including location, physical description, behaviors, and other interesting facts – about their chosen reptile. 

Once everyone has had the opportunity to research a lizard, you may wish to extend this activity. Students could make informational posters about their lizards and share them with a younger class, or they might like to participate in a peer-teach where they share their learning in a small group!

Chapters 40-45

Now that students are close to finishing the novel, I like to revisit the relationship between Stanley and Zero. At the beginning of the book, these two characters seem like complete opposites. But as the story develops, readers learn that the two are not as different as they first appear. 

In this activity for teaching Holes by Louis Sachar, ask students to compare the two boys by writing their differences and similarities in a provided Venn diagram template. Here, I like to remind students to consider their physical appearance, as well as personality traits, their relationships with others, and their personal values. 

I find it useful to structure this activity as a think-pair share. First, I set a timer, and give students a few moments to independently gather their thoughts before jotting their ideas down. Next, I invite students to work with a partner to share and refine their insights. Finally, each pair of students can share some of the highlights from their discussion with the rest of the class.

Chapters 46-50

As students wrap up their reading, one last fun activity can give them an opportunity to show off their creativity! In the Camp Green Lake Nicknames task, each student in the class can come up with their own nickname in the style of the boys who have been sent to work at Camp Green Lake.

Once each student has thought up their perfect nickname inspired by Holes, the next step is to provide a detailed explanation for why the nickname is a good fit for them! This activity can be a fun team-building opportunity for your class, and can also contribute to an eye-catching community bulletin board in your classroom!

There you go! I hope these ideas help you with your next novel study – or maybe even inspire you to try teaching Holes by Louis Sachar in middle school ELA! Grab the ready-to-use unit plan with all these activities below:

Looking for more novel study ideas? Check out my post on Hatchet by Gary Paulsen by clicking here.