Trivia

• The key to teaching any book is having students who are able to comprehend and recall the details. Create an incentive for this sort of comprehension with a trivia game. Assign chapters in the book, and then ask questions about the various events and character revelations. Rewards can be given for a demonstrated understanding of the book. This activity can be adapted for large groups of children as easily as it can for individual children. The challenge of a trivia game and the possibility of rewards will make young readers eager to take in the book carefully.
  
  

Character Stories

• Spend some time discussing the characters. Do they have any distinguishing physical characteristics? What kinds of people are they? Come up with a list of adjectives for each. Nice, brave, quiet and mean are all suitable. Have the kids write their own short stories featuring any one of the characters in a situation of their choosing. The only rule is that the characters should demonstrate each adjective given to them at least once in the story. This exercise will work the students' imaginations and have them actively considering and applying their understanding of the characters.
  
  

Nicknames

• All of the characters in "Holes" have quirky nicknames that say something about their character. Have your readers assign themselves a unique nickname, and have them explain to you and their classmates why their name suits them. For the time you're studying the book, let them choose to be called by their new nickname.
  
  

Diaries

• Tell your students to imagine that they are one of the book's characters at Camp Green Lake writing a letter or a diary entry. Ask them to write from the character's point of view using information from the book. What would that character think about the hard labor at the camp? The heat? The other characters? How would they react as firsthand witnesses to the book's events? This exercise will also keep young readers focused on what happens in the book.