Escape From Camp Green Lake! - Holes Novel Activity

Holes Escape Room: Perfect for a final novel activity! Transform your classroom into Camp Green Lake as you send students on an adventure they’ll never forget- dig a hole, save a runaway camper, and climb God’s Thumb, all while reviewing plot elements and literary devices from Holes by Louis Sachar.

This activity is formatted as an ESCAPE ROOM. Students will play the part of a Camp Green Lake camper and advance through five “days” of challenges in order to escape. The challenges are as follows:

Day 1: DIG A HOLE - Students “dig a hole” in a piece of paper by deciphering a set of directions given to them by The Warden. The catch is that all team members must fit through the “hole”!

Day 2: MYSTERY ARTIFACT - Students describe how certain similes from the book compare two things. If they answer correctly, they will decipher a code that will allow them to advance to Day 3.

Day 3: DON’T BE BUZZARD FOOD! - Students must locate and record 9 different important quotations from the story. If they find them in context, they will be able to solve a puzzle that leads them to a lost camp member.

Day 4: GOD’S THUMB – Students build “plot towers” using index cards and plot elements from the story. Complete directions and examples are given.

Day 5: PALINDROMES – Students solve some common palindromes in order to open a treasure chest to gain their freedom.

Also included in this resource to help you implement the escape room:

- “Yellow-Spotted Lizard” classroom management system

- Camper nickname ideas

- Invitations to Camp Green Lake

- Mystery artifact printables

- Treasure chest printables