Pictures Of Hollis Woods

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

CREATIVE REPRESENTATION: “Holly’s Art”

In this activity, students will partner with Hollis to recreate two of the images that she describes in the novel.

Hollis vividly describes the different sketches she creates. Working in small groups, select two of the drawings Hollis creates and recreate them based on her descriptions.  Feel free to use traditional pencil and paper, paint, crayons, or digital tools.

Reread the descriptions of her paintings. Choose the words from Hollis’s language that inform your recreation and include this language as part of your project. You may choose to cite this evidence on an accompanying document, or you can make it part of the art itself. Use your creativity to fill in the details that Hollis doesn’t mention—this is a partnership, after all!

After finishing your sketches, share them with the class. Explain the specific passages that you used to make your drawing, and show where you filled in the blanks with your creativity. Come together as a class to review the portfolio of Holly’s drawings, as well as consider the theme Using Art To See Life Clearly. What do the images tell you about Hollis‘s perception of the world?

Teaching Suggestion: This Activity combines creative expression, reading comprehension, and text-based analysis in the context of a group exercise. Each group should select two different drawings that they will then share with the class. Given that Hollis’s explanations are somewhat vague, there is a great deal of room for artistic interpretation; however, students must include the details that are specified in the chapters.

Differentiation Suggestion: For an additional creative element, the following prompt may be added to the above Activity: Create a drawing of an important moment in your own life. Put the drawing away for a week. When you come back to it, write about what you see like Hollis does in her “picture” sections. How does it capture your life? What meaning do you see in it now that you didn’t realize was there when you first drew it?

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Hollis is strongly connected to nature and natural elements throughout the novel. 

• Overall, what does nature signify for Holly? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, identify two to three examples of natural elements that Hollis identifies with and analyze their importance to her.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how these natural elements help her understand herself and illustrate the theme of Running, Hiding, and Being Found.

2. Because Hollis is an artist, she frequently connects with color.

• Which colors are associated with individual characters and/or settings, and how do colors affect your understanding of them? (topic sentence)
• Identify 1-2 examples of Hollis’s love for color and how she references it in the book.
• In which way is this love of color connected to the theme Using Art To See Life Clearly?

3. Throughout the novel, Hollis has flashbacks of her former living arrangements.

• How do her prior homes connect with her present state? Are her memories of them positive or negative? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, select one or two examples and cite textual evidence to justify your answer.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, state what these flashbacks say about the theme The Lasting Effects Of Trauma and Memories.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1.  What is the role that guilt plays in the novel? Why does Hollis feel guilty about her life at the Branches? How does she allow this feeling to shape her actions? What is the outcome of the situation?

2. What do cars and other vehicles represent in the book? Think about important vehicles, like the snowmobile, the pickup truck, and the Silver Bullet. What do they symbolize and how would the plot be different if the vehicles were not present?

3. Consider the relationship between Josie and Hollis. Why is it important that Hollis must take care of Josie? How does this challenge Hollis, and how does it help her mature as a character?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Read this passage from the text:

“Maybe she gave that speech to every foster kid in every driveway as she dumped them off like the UPS guy dumping off packages on a busy day, but I didn’t think so.”

Which of the following literary terms does Hollis use in this quote?

A) Allusion

B) Metaphor

C) Personification

D) Simile

2. How does Hollis spend most of her time at school?

A) Chatting with the teachers

B) Bullying the new students

C) Studying for her exams

D) Drawing in the back of the class

3. What conflicted feelings does Hollis experience after dancing in the street with Josie?

A) While she appreciates Josie’s guidance in her life, she worries about her health.

B) Though she enjoys Josie’s carefree spirit, she knows she needs more structure.

C) Though Josie has helped Hollis in school, Hollis knows she needs social guidance.

D) While she finds Josie too strict, she also enjoys the rare times she loosens up.

4. Which of the following sentences is true about Josie’s personality?

A) She dislikes animals.

B) She despises art.

C) She forgets notable details.

D) She adores frugality.

5. Read this excerpt from the text:

“Never mind that we didn’t have much money. Never mind that I didn’t even know exactly how to get to the house in Branches; I’d find it. Never mind that the house wasn’t mine.”

Which of the following literary terms does Hollis use in this quote?

A) Allegory

B) Alliteration

C) Allusion

D) Anaphora

6. Which of the following best describes the weather conditions when Josie and Hollis start their journey to the Branches?

A) Snowy

B) Rainy

C) Dusty

D) Windy

7. What is the significance of Steven’s decision to refer to Hollis as “Holly”?

A) It shows that she has a place at Branches.

B) It characterizes her as a delicate flower.

C) It provokes a conflict between the two characters.

D) It foreshadows Hollis’s attempt to recreate the “W” picture.  

8. Which of the following words best describes Henry’s reaction to being in nature?

A) Frightened

B) Ashamed

C) Perplexed

D) Delighted

9. Why does Hollis run away from the Branches?

A) She believed that Steven’s injury was her fault.

B) She disliked how the Old Man treated Steven.

C) She thought Izzy was annoying.

D) She was no longer eligible to be adopted by the family.

10. Reflecting on her past, Hollis recalls Beatrice’s words, “‘Drawing is a language,’ she had said. ‘You have to learn to speak it.’” Which of the following literary terms does Beatrice use in this quote?

A) Allusion

B) Metaphor

C) Personification

D) Simile

11. Which of the following is the strongest example of the theme of Using Art To See Life Clearly in the novel?

A) Steven tells Hollis it’s okay to call his father “Old Man.”

B) Josie lets Hollis skip school and cut branches for her wood art.

C) Beatrice understands Hollis on a deep level by looking at her pictures.

D) Steven prevents Hollis from falling in the water when they are fishing.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is the narration style of the text?

2. List the pictures that Hollis draws. How does this connect to the structure of the text?