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Literature-based Skill Building:
Holes by Louis Sachar

Chapter 14

Learning Log (optional)

Vocabulary Review

Be creative with your responses - have fun! Answer in complete sentences that reflect the question, such as "Large dogs are left on your skin when sweat evaporates" -- only answer with something that makes sense!

1. What is left on your skin when sweat evaporates?

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2. How would you sing if you sang with intensity?

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3. Draw a low-intensity snowfall and a high-intensity snowstorm.

4. Draw a person whose energy has evaporated.

Inferences/Questions

Sometimes we don't have enough information to make an inference. We should still ask ourselves the questions and look for the answer in later chapters.

At the beginning of this chapter, X-ray does something that Stanley doesn't understand. What question is probably in Stanley's mind?

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Understanding Characters:

(Note: if you do not wish to tackle this new skill now, substitute a quote analysis for one of the things that the Warden says.)

We meet the Warden in this chapter.

To really understand a character's role in a story, it helps to look at the character from several angles. When you're asked to describe a character, think "SADDR" which stands for these ways of looking at a character:

Speech: When X-Ray says, "I bet you always wanted to dig a big hole, right? Am I right?" you would suspect that he is confident and thinks he knows a lot.

The Warden speaks softly, but says to the Mr. Pedanski: " Then fill it. And the next time I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it without questioning my authority. If it's too much trouble for you to fill a canteen, I'll give you a shovel. You can dig the hole, and the Caveman can fill your canteen."

What does this tell you about the Warden? Is Mr. Pedanski in charge, or is she in charge? Is she an easy boss to work for?

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Action: After Stanley gave X-Ray what he found in the hole, X-Ray told him to get in the water line in front of Zero. This tells you that X-Ray tells other people what to do -- and they listen.

The Warden walks right up to X-Ray and tells Mr. Pedanski to drive X-Ray back to camp. What do these actions tell you about her?

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Description: X-Ray has thick glasses, and is "except for Zero, X-Ray was the smallest." This tells you that while he's the leader of the group, it's not because he is the biggest or toughest. (It doesn't tell you why he's the leader -- just that it's not by being big and tough.)

The Warden is a tall woman, with black cowboy boots and a black cowboy hat, with a lot of freckles. What would you think if you saw her? _______________________

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Drawing: Draw the Warden, doing something that she does in this chapter.

Reaction of others:

All the other boys do what X-Ray tells them to do. This tells you he is a leader.

How does Mr. Pedanski act towards the Warden?

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What does this tell you about her?

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