Holes Statement Opinionnaire Strategy

PURPOSE OF THE STRATEGY
This strategy is to help students to explore issues that might not be addressed by them in everyday life. On a grander scheme, this strategy is to help the students explore opinions and differences in opinion. Additionally, this Opinionnaire will also help students become familiar with the issues in the book Holes by Louis Sachar. This strategy will take an entire eighty minute double period.

Directions: Discuss how different people have different opinion. How some families do not discuss politics or religion because of the heated nature of the discussions. Explain how it is all right for people to have passionate feelings as long as they do not stifle the opinions of others. With that as a preface pass out the hand out "Holes Statement Opinionnaire" and read the directions to the class.

Here are the directions: Read each of the following statements. Write "agree" or "disagree" as appropriate. You can not be a fence sitter on this. Only "agree" or "disagree" are acceptable answers. Be prepared to share your answers, and reasons for your answers, with the class.

Activity: Place slips of paper with the statements on them into a jar. Tell the class that you will randomly pick four of the statements the class will debate the issues. This will be a civil debate that will be moderated by you. The class will change seats in order to be on the agree or disagree side of the room. Students will have five minutes to write out their points to debate. They will turn these in at the end of class. Choose a student from each side, one at a time to argue their opinion about the statement. Allow the opposition to rebut. Alternate three or four times then move on to the next statement and divide the class again. With the last two statements have the class switch sides and argue the opposition's opinion from the beginning. This will be a challenging strategy that can open the minds of the students.

Assessment: To help you confirm that the students learned the needed lessons have the students write a three paragraph paper explaining why it is important for people to have opinions and how differing opinions are not a bad thing.