Introduction

'What draws us into the desert is the search for something intimate in the remote.'
-Edward Abbey

It's raining sneakers! I bet you have never heard of that term before! Stanley Yelnats had a pair of sneakers fall from the sky while he was walking home on a sunny day. Where did they come from? Whose sneakers were they? Why did this happen to him? How would he know that while the weather changes so often, his life would change from that day on.
Always the neighorhood outcast, Stanley Yelnats soon finds that his life is not as ordinary as he once assumed.
After reading the book Holes by Louis Sachar, you will be able to piece together the information given to you below and come up with a complete picture of what the main elements are to this story.

The Quest

Each team presents a brief (5 minutes) informational summary-story web on the main characters/setting, plot, conflicts, and resolution after reading the book Holes by Louis Sachar.

The Process and Resources

In this WebQuest you will be working together with a group of students in class. Each group will define the main elements of a story by using the online Webster dictionary or one in your classroom.
You'll begin with everyone in your group getting some background information on each of the main elements before dividing into roles where people on your team become experts on one part of the topic.

Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone

You will utilize the links below to complete the tasks in the Phase Two section.

• Ecosystems - This website will help you with defining an ecosystem and the habitat that exists in that ecosystem.
• Habitat and population - Define what a habitat is.
• Deserts - Describe differences between hot/dry/cold deserts.
• Webster dictionary - Clarify and define unfamiliar terms.
• Desert animals - Select desert animals to add to your collage'.
• Desert animals - Explore more desert animals.
• Postcards from the desert - Choose one of the two runaways and write a postcard to one of the boys back at the detention camp telling them of what you have experienced so far.
• Desert pictures - Select pictures to create a collage'.
• Desert animals to color - Select desert animal, color, and include a brief description of the selected animal.
• Wordsearch - Circle terms associated with the desert within the wordsearch.

Phase 2 - Looking Deeper from Different Perspectives

INSTRUCTIONS:

Team members will define the topics below and report their definitions to the group when completed.
Each group will then present their completed worksheets on the main elements of a story as related to the book Holes to the entire class so we can compare each group's findings.

Main character and setting

Utilizing the Webster internet site,define what main character and setting is. Write your definition on your worksheet titled Main Character and Setting.

Plot of the story

Utilizing the Webster internet site,define what plot is. Write your definition on your worksheet titled Plot.

Conflict(s) within the story

Utilizing the Webster internet site, define what conflict is. Write your definition on your worksheet titled Conflict.

Resolution of story

Utilizing the Webster internet site, define what resolution is. Write your definition on your worksheet titled Resolution.
 

Phase 3 - Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus

Once you have defined a main element of a story, come back to the larger WebQuest team with your worksheets completed. You must all now answer the Task / Quest(ion) as a group. Each of you will bring a certain viewpoint to the answer: some of you will agree and others disagree. Use information from your book Holes to convince your teammates that your viewpoint is important and should be part of your team's answer to the Task / Quest(ion). Your WebQuest team should write out an answer that everyone on the team can agree with.
Please remember to respect and be considerate of each member of your group as this is a class rule that needs to continue within your group.
Thank you!

Phase 4 - Real World Feedback

EVALUATION

You and your teammates have learned a lot by dividing up into different roles. Now's the time to put your learning into an evaluation of what you have learned.

Your grade will be determined by the following:

Main Element Story Map= 40%
Postcard= 20%
Desert Collage'= 20%
Desert Experiment = 20%

Your Contact is: Janet Swartz

Conclusion

While putting a puzzle together, you need to have all the pieces to complete it. Understanding what a book is all about is like putting a puzzle together, you still need all the pieces of the story to understand what the story was about. If you are missing one part of the puzzle or story, it's easy to come up with a picture that may not be completely right. It's the same for understanding a topic as broad or complex as Holes: when you only know part of the picture, you only know part of the picture.
With the work you did together as a group, use what you've learned to see beyond the black and white of a story and apply it to yourself when reading independently. It doesn't only apply to books we read in class, but in all reading that will be done by you in your everyday life.

'Reading is a means of thinking with another person’s mind; it forces you to stretch your own.'
Charles Scribner Jr.

Content by Janet Swartz, jswartz@elcosd.org http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/webholesja.html Last revised Thu Jul 19 10:30:30 US/Pacific 2001