Debating Wolf Hollow

At the center of Lauren Wolk’s Newbery Honor-winning novel Wolf Hollow, is the sudden disappearance of a girl named Betty. The rural town in which she lives is gripped by the mystery, and Toby, a reclusive World War I veteran, is suspected of being involved. Is Toby a dangerous kidnapper, or a victim of prejudice? To tackle this high-stakes question, sixth graders became literary detectives this week, gathering and presenting textual evidence in a debate over his guilt or innocence.  

Sixth grade reading teacher Lara Gleason likes to end the year by reading Wolf Hollow because students don’t always gravitate to historical fiction and their sense of justice is piqued by the events of the novel. “The protagonist is presented with a lot of moral dilemmas, and it creates this exciting journey for all of us. The students get so fired up by the book!” says Lara. 

After gathering textual evidence while reading, students were randomly assigned a stance to take in the debate over whether Toby is involved in Betty’s kidnapping.  Students pooled their evidence and collaborated with their teams to present the most relevant and compelling arguments gleaned from the text. 

Following the debate, students paused to reflect, using a Google Form to log their stance before the debate and note if the evidence presented by their peers had changed their minds. This sparked a rich classroom discussion about how the exercise shifted or solidified their personal views of the story. Ultimately, the students gained an understanding that echoed the novel’s warning against prejudice: the importance of approaching research with an open mind, avoiding preconceived biases, and actively listening to opposing perspectives.