Dear Parents,
As you may know, this term your 6th grade student in the Bilingual Program will be reading Holes by Louis Sachar. This will not be an adapted or abridged text, but rather the original work of American young adult literature. We’d like to give you some background about the novel, mention the benefits and challenges from the students’ point of view, and also make suggestions for how you could help.
Why is it important for my child to read in English?
Reading in any language expands the mind and helps us explore vital topics and real-life situations, all the while allowing students to develop their comprehension skills, critical thinking capabilities and complexity of thought both in general and also in that specific language. Indeed, research indicates that reading skills directly relate to future academic and professional success. It can help students gain a deeper understanding of context and why characters – and people – make the choices they do. Reading also helps build independence and self-confidence and has a positive effect on the development of empathy as well as concentration. Finally, reading is a major resource for using and understanding language – including grammatical structure, lexical knowledge and writing skills. Not only can students pick up new words, but reading them in an authentic context can also help students understand the subtle nuances of the lexis that was chosen by the author. The same is true when we process the plot and character development through the linguistic structures employed by the author – helping students understand a variety of uses “in the linguistic wild”, as it were. All in all, reading in any language develops skills that are essential for each student’s continuing studies and life in general.
Why was this novel chosen?
Louis Sachar is a well-known children’s author. He has been writing novels and short stories for decades. Many of his novels focus on young people who have complicated lives or may not be accepted by others. Holes was awarded the Newberry Medal in 1999 and also won the US National Book Award in 1998.
What are the benefits of this novel?
Holes focuses on our main character, Stanley, who has been sent to a camp for troubled boys. It is a bit more challenging than previous Reading Program novels, and this fits well with the themes presented in the book. Stanley finds himself fighting throughout the novel to make friends, find justice, and overcome obstacles from his family’s past. Students can relate these feats to their own challenges and difficulties, and what we have found is that this novel can engage them in a way many novels cannot. Many feel that it’s a very special book. The themes also very easily lend themselves to conversations about deeper topics such as justice, fate, friendship, and loyalty. None of these can be thought of in simple black and white terms, which forces readers to think more critically and use evidence to back up their opinions.
What are some of the challenges? / How can I as a parent help?
This novel in particular jumps back and forth in time. It has a unique presentation of how Stanley ended up in the predicament in which he finds himself. It requires our students to continuously notice the way in which characters and scenes are described in order to keep track of the different timelines. It can be difficult for some to keep this straight. There is also a great deal of new vocabulary for students to work through. As with all Reading Program novels, we do expect some explicit definitions to be learned, but it’s also important for students to gain the skill of gleaning meaning from context and understanding gist so as to enjoy the story without getting overly caught up in unnecessary details. We will help the students develop this skill through guidance and scaffolding during our work in class; at home, students will need to develop the discipline to read onwards, but will have their reading assignment as additional support – so they know what to look for as they progress.
Please let us know if you have further questions. We would like to thank you for your support in helping your son or daughter keep up with his or her chapter-by-chapter reading assignments at home. Finally, we hope your child learns from this novel and, most importantly, enjoys reading it!
Best regards: Anthony Laudadio, Head of Education – Primary & High Schools