We completed an activity in class to learn about the three different types of questions you can ask. They are:

• Literal – the answer is literally there in the text!
• Inferential – the answer is not explicitly written, but you can read the between the lines to find it.
• Evaluative – you are using your own opinion, knowledge and personal experiences of the world to answer

For your Question Master job you need to ask six questions (two literal, two inferential and two evaluative) and give detailed answers to each question. Your answers should explain your answer with evidence (quotes, page numbers or your own personal experience) to support your answer.

See the example below to give you an idea of how you should complete the Question Master task.

Question Master Chapters 21-36

1. Literal – What did Mr. Sir’s face look like after the Warden had scratched him?   Answer: p104 Mr. Sir’s face had swollen to the size of half a cantaloupe and it had dark-purple jagged lines running down his cheeks.
2. Literal – Who hit Mr Pendanski with a shovel? Answer: Zero hit Mr Pendanski with his shovel (p139).
3. Inferential – How was the rattlesnake feeling when ‘it’s tail was pointed upward, rattling’? Answer: p93 The rattlesnake was feeling threatened because Stanley was near him and rattlesnakes shake their tails to warn of predators.
4. Inferential – How was Stanley feeling when he stole the truck? Answer: p147 Stanley was feeling desperate and panicked. He was desperate to find Zero because he was thinking about how he would be thirsty and close to death in the desert so he panicked and jumped in the truck!
5. Evaluative – How do you think Stanley felt when Twitch was assigned Zero’s bed? Answer: I think Stanley would have felt like it was a bit insensitive because he was already missing Zero and now a new boy just slipped into his place without a blink of an eye.
6. Evaluative – Why do you think Kate Barlow kept finding jobs for Sam to do? Answer: I think Kate kept finding jobs for Sam because she enjoyed his company and wanted him to hang around, which is why she eventually fell in love with him.

Summariser

Literacy Outcome: To show my understanding across different areas of learning, I can identify and consider the purpose and main ideas of a text and use supporting detail. LIT 2-16a

A summariser job should:

• explain the main events of the chapters
• answer the 5 Ws (who? what? when? where? why?)
• be approximately one A4 page in length (depending on the size of your handwriting)
• not bother with insignificant details of the plot
• be written in your own words

Example of a summary of Chapters 1-5

The scene of the bleak Camp Green Lake is set. It is a desert, not a lake at all. There is no shade except over the Warden’s hammock. There are rattlesnakes and scorpions that live in holes dugs by the campers. But most worrying, are the deadly yellow-spotted lizards. If one bites you, you get to leave the camp… but unfortunately will die.

The reason “campers” go to Camp Green Lake is made clear; it is a juvenile correction facility for boys. As punishment each boy must dig a hole (five feet deep and five feet across) every day in the desert heat. Supposedly their hard work will turn a “bad boy” into a “good boy.” Stanley Yelnats, a chubby fifteen-year-old boy from a poor family, chose Camp Green Lake over going to jail. He thought it would be like a summer camp, something he had never before had the opportunity to experience.

Stanley rides the un-airconditioned bus to Camp Green Lake handcuffed to the armrest. Stanley tries to pretend that he is going to Camp Fun and Games, a place he had imagined while playing with his toys when he was younger.

At home Stanley had no friends and was bullied, even by his teachers who unintentionally could embarrass him about his weight. Stanley is a good kid and is actually innocent of the crime for which he is being sent to Camp Green Lake. As is the joke in his family, Stanley blames his misfortune on his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. His great -great-grandfather had reportedly stolen a pig from a one-legged gypsy and brought a curse down upon the family forever.

Stanley’s father was Stanley Yelnats III, making the Stanley in the novel Stanley Yelnats IV. Stanley’s father was an unsuccessful inventor, looking for a use for old trainers. Stanley’s great-grandfather, Stanley Yelnats I, made money in the stock market, but was robbed of everything and left stranded in the desert by the outlaw Kissin’ Kate Barlow. Unfortunately all of the Stanleys to date had bad luck, though they always remained hopeful. Upon arriving at Camp Green Lake, Stanley notes, “hardly anything was green.”

I have found an audiobook version of our class novel, Holes on YouTube. Either click the link below or go to YouTube and search for ‘Holes Audiobook Full’ and select the link with 25 videos. Enjoy!

YouTube – Holes Audiobook full