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Newbery Medal Winner 1999 • National Book Award 1998 • William Allen White Children's Book Award • Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award • Christopher Award • ALA Notable Book • Horn Book Fanfare • New York Times Notable Children's Book • School Library Journal Best • Publishers Weekly Notable Children's Book of the Year

Stanley's family never has any luck, and they jokingly blame it on his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather. Accused and convicted of a crime he did not commit, Stanley Yelnats is sentenced and sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp. But there is no lake at Camp Green Lake; only a dried-up Texas lake bed. Every morning, the boys at Camp Green Lake are sent out to the lake bed where they are made to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet wide. "You're digging to build character," the counselors tell Stanley, but it soon becomes clear that he and the other boys at Camp Green Lake are being made to look for something - something that the camp's warden wants.
The warden's secret, the history of Green Lake, the Wild West, and Stanley's own family history all fit together like pieces of a puzzle as choices made in the past continue to have an effect on the present. Soon, Stanley's very life depends on his own choices and events that happened over 100 years ago!

Progeny Press English/Language Arts curriculum provides your Middle School grade student with:

About the Author: Learn about Louis Sachar.
Vocabulary: Understand words used throughout the novel, utilizing a variety of activities to stimulate retention and growth.
Literary Techniques: Protagonist, characterization, irony, palindrome, grammar, flashback, foreshadow, repetition, personification, in context, dictionary, simile, metaphor, symbol, synonym, antonym, poetic justice, dynamic, static, linear, non-linear, motif. 
Moral Lessons and Character Values: Hope, God's plans, fatalism, self-determination, first impressions, gossip, encouragement, consequences.
Activities and Writing Assignments: Family history, prisons, math, class discussions, Pig Latin, research, Civil Rights, onions, inventions, crossword, writing, physical education, science, art.
Suggestions for Further Reading:  We include a wonderful reading list of more books by the same author(s) and other books that tie in with, or are similar to, Holes by Louis Sachar.

All of Progeny Press' Language Arts unit lessons are written from a Christian worldview!

Features and Benefits of a Progeny Press ELA study guide

Printed Workbook Format

• Large 8.5x11 format is convenient to read and easy on Middle School student's eyes
• Every question in our novel unit study has plenty of whitespace for middle school level student answers
• Encourages neat and clean handwriting practice
• Easily transports without the need for a laptop or other expensive equipment
• Provides a permanent record of the middle school student’s work
• Complete, removable answer key included for the teacher to make grading simple!

CD Format

• Contains the complete study guide in universally compatible PDF format (works on Mac AND Windows)
• No costly software purchases necessary
• PDf files open in the FREE Adobe Reader program.
  Note: Mobile devices may require an alternative app that supports and saves fillable form fields and interactive features.
• Upgraded, fillable form fields allow the student the opportunity to complete their work on the computer, saving you printing costs
• Conveniently print what you need, when you need it:
• Print the whole ELA study guide at once
• Print single literature lessons or pages as the student completes them
• Print multiple copies of the entire curriculum study guide for classroom sets
• PDF format makes it easy to use with multiple students
• Complete answer key PDF file included for the teacher to make grading simple!

Formatted with your Middle School grade student in mind, Progeny Press language arts study guides divide the book into writing assignments and lessons that strengthen their reading comprehension, vocabulary, and refine their critical analysis and writing skills. Each Progeny Press novel study accomplishes all of this without busy work that can drain the fun out of reading and literature! Kids have loved using Progeny Press ELA curriculum in homeschool, co-ops, and private schools around the world for over 30 years!