Lesson Title: Holes First Chapter - Comparing the Setting
Curriculum Area: English Language Arts
Technology Strand: Uses technology but does not address a technology strand
Grade Level: 6
 
Essential Question: How does our idea of a lake compare to the lake mentioned in the story Holes?
 
A Activity Summary The students will be make a comparison between the written text and their idea of a lake.
C Curriculum English Language Arts
1.01 Explore expressive materials that are read, heard, and viewed by:
- generating a learning log or journal
- creating an artistic interpretation that connects self to the work
- discussing books/media formally and informally.
2.01 Explore informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
- reviewing the characteristics of informational works
- restating and summarizing information
- determining the importance of information
- making connections to related topics/information
- monitoring comprehension
- drawing inferences
- generating questions
T Technology Uses technology but does not address a technology strand
 
 
Activating Strategies
(15 min)
To activate the students prior knowledge of how words and sound are related or connected.
  • Cassette Player - "Sounds of Nature" tape
  • Vocabulary Cards
    Make Vocabulary Cards with the following words: lake, wasteland, hammock, cabin, camper, trees, water, animals, shade, summer, temperature.
Students will be paired by counting off. Each pair will get a set of vocabulary words. The pair of students should empty the container that has the words. The students should say the words that are in the containers. If one doesn't know what a word is in the container their partner can help them with the word. Before playing the tape, the teacher will ask the students, " What do you think all these words have in common?" The students may respond by saying, " summer time", "going to the beach". The whole class will listen collectively to the "Sounds of Nature". While listening to the recording the students will list, on notebook paper, the sounds they hear from the recording. Once the students have listened to the "Sounds of Nature" recording, the students will be instructed to get with their partner to see what they have in common. The students will look at the words that were in the container to see if any of the words in the container was on their list. The teacher will again ask the students what the words and sounds remind them of. Some students may have the same answers however the teacher should emphasize that the sounds they heard and words they have read may remind them of a lake.
 
Technology Vocabulary:
Detailed Technology Instructions:
 
Cognitive Teaching Strategies
The students must be able to compare their established knowledge of the lake to the information from the centers. They will compare the lake in the story to the lake that they created through the Collage, the sounds and the vocabulary words.
Before going to the different centers the students will be divided into two groups. Group One will go to the Listening Center while Group Two will go to the Art Center. Each group will have a leader that the teacher assigns. The leader will be responsible to keep the group on task and explain the center activities. Each group leader will be given detailed instructions that they wll share with their group members.

Preparation before the lesson:
  1. All the materials will be available for each center.
  2. Construction paper, magazines, glue sticks for the Art Center.
  3. Make copies for the Listening Center.
  4. Make copies of Venn Diagram.
  5. Make copies of Four Box Synectics.
  6. Explain the centers to two students who will become the center leader.
Art Center
All the materials that the students will need to make the collage will be provide by the teacher. The students must carry their container with words to each center. Each student will select a magazine to find pictures that will resemble a lake and the words in their container. As a group they will create a collage with the pictures that each of the students selected from the magazines.

Listening Center
The Listening Center will have a teacher recording of the first chapter of "Holes" by Louis Sachar. Students will listen to the story one time and will listen to the story a second time. After the second time listening to the tape each student will pick up a questionnaire to fill out. The group leader will read the question to everyone in his/her group. As a group the students will decide what the correct answer is for each question. If they can't recall the answer the leader will rewind the tape for everyone to listen for the answer.

Venn-Diagram Activity Whole Class
After the students have visited the centers, the groups will post their collages on the board. As a group the student will complete the Venn-Diagram. The students will compare and contrast the lake in the Collage to the lake in the story. The following are questions for the students to consider while filling out the Venn Diagram. The teacher should list the questions on the board.
  1. What are all the characteristics of the lake in the collage?
  2. What are all the characteristics of the lake at Camp Green Lake?
  3. In the center of the Venn-Diagram - How are the lakes alike?
Independent Writing Assignment
In this activity the students must be able to write a Comparison story of the two lakes (the lake in the story Holes and the lake in the collage). They will use the Venn-Diagram and the Collage as a visual resource to write their story. They will use the Writer to write their story at their desk. Each student will go to the computer where the teacher will beam their writing into a Word Processing Document.
 
Summary Strategies
Four Box Synetics (10 min)
The goal of this activity is to get students in reinforcing their understanding of the words or concepts through the use of a creative comparison.
Procedure:
  • Make copies of the Four Box Synectics organizer.
  • Divide the students into small groups.
  • Next, ask for four words from the vocabulary words. Place one word in each of the four boxes.
  • Reveal the sentence "A________ is like a __________ because..." and allow the groups three minutes to brainstorm sentences using each of the four words at least once.
  • After three minutes, STOP.
  • Each group to choose the two sentences they like the best to share with the rest of the class.
Example: "Water is like a lake, because without any water there will not be a lake."
 
Resources
Click for directions on how to download files on a Windows computer. 
Sounds of Nature Websites
  1. www.naturesongs.com/misc.html
  2. www.naturesongs.com/insects/html
  3. www.naturesongs.com/people.html
  4. http://sulger.net/soundsculptures/
Microsoft Word Files
Venn Diagram
Four Box
Questions for Listening Center
Website
Re-teaching and Enrichment Activities
Have the students write their own story of their imaginary lake.

The concept for this lesson plan was submitted by
Elmaree  Adendorff
Northeast Middle, Data last modified: 5/12/2003