Holes Lesson Plan | Unit Objectives

1. Through reading and discussing Holes, students will preliminarily gain a better understanding of the theme of aloneness and the importance of the individual. Students are also encouraged to consider such themes as bravery, revenge, courage, family values, friendship, greed, and loyalty. And of course Holes offers ample material to generate discussions of good vs evil.

2. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the text on four levels: factual, interpretive, critical, and personal.

3. Students will define and, it is hoped, express their own viewpoints on the aforementioned themes.

4. Students will be exposed to several different points of view and will learn something about standing up for one’s principles and being true to oneself and to others.

5. Students will learn something about juvenile detention in their town and perhaps in their nation.

6. Students will be given the opportunity to practice reading aloud and silently to improve their skills in each area. They will from time to time receive feedback on their reading ability.

7. Students will answer questions to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the main events and characters in Holes as they relate to the author’s theme development.

8. Students will enrich their vocabularies and improve their understanding of the novel through the vocabulary lessons prepared for use in conjunction with the novel.

9. The writing assignments in this unit are geared to several purposes:

A. To have students demonstrate their ability to inform/explain, to express personal opinions, and to persuade.

Note: Students will demonstrate ability to write effectively to inform/explain by developing and organizing facts to convey information. Students will demonstrate the ability to write effectively to express personal opinions by selecting a form and its appropriate elements. And they will demonstrate the ability to write effectively to persuade by selecting and organizing relevant information, establishing an argumentative purpose, and designing an appropriate strategy for a specific audience.

B. To check the students’ reading comprehension
C. To make students think about the ideas presented by the novel.
D. To encourage logical thinking