Welcome to Kids Chapter Check-Ins, a space where we pause, think, talk, and write about great books together. Books are better together. So grab your book and let's check in. Welcome back, readers. Today we're checking in on I Survived Hurricane Katrina by Lauren Tartius. This is episode two of our I Survived Hurricane Katrina series. Before we begin, make sure that you've read chapters four through six. If not, you can pause the episode, read those chapters, and come right back. It may be helpful to have your book and some paper handy for this episode. Take a moment to gather your materials if you need to. Ready? Let's check in. In chapters 4 through 6, the danger of Hurricane Katrina becomes much more real for Barry and his family. As the storm gets closer, the family decides to stay home and prepare as best as they can. At first, Barry tries to believe that everything is going to be okay, but the weather quickly becomes more frightening. The wind grows stronger, the rain pours harder, and the family begins to realize just how serious the storm really is. In these chapters, we're beginning to see how different characters react to the stress and uncertainty of the storm. Barry is scared and unsure, but he also begins paying close attention to the choices that the adults around him are making. By the end of this section, the storm is fully arriving and the story begins to feel even more intense. Let's pause for a vocabulary check-in. In today's reading, we hear the word devastated. Devastated is an adjective that is used to describe something that is badly damaged or destroyed. Sometimes the word devastated is also used to describe a person who's feeling extremely sad. For example, you could use the word devastated to describe a big destruction with a sentence like, my sandcastle was devastated by the ocean waves. Or you could use the word devastated to describe someone's emotions with a sentence like, I was devastated when my sandcastle was knocked down by the ocean waves. Can you think of something that could be badly destroyed or damaged? Try to think of a sentence where you could replace the word damaged with the word devastated. Can you think of a time when you were really upset or sad? Now think of a sentence where you could replace the words upset or sad with the word devastated. Now let's take a moment to check your understanding. You'll hear three questions about the word devastated. Listen to each one and answer yes or no. You can answer out loud or in your head. Are you ready? Could a house be devastated by a hurricane? Would someone be devastated if they lost something important to them? Was the big bad wolf able to devastate the brick house in the story of the three little pigs? If you said yes, yes, no, great thinking. It's time for our reading focus. Today we'll focus on cause and effect. Let's take a moment to review those words. Cause is why something happens, and effect is what happens because of it. Cause and effect happens throughout every book and honestly throughout our everyday life as well. Have you ever fallen down? Your fall was an effect. It was something that happened. But what caused it? Did you trip on something? Was there something wet on the floor? Were you not paying attention? In survival stories, one dangerous event can cause many other problems to happen later on. In these chapters, Hurricane Katrina causes huge changes for Barry and his family. Can you name one change that the hurricane caused for this family? Here's a few more examples of cause and effect in the story. Because he survived other hurricanes, Uncle Dave decides to stay in New Orleans instead of evacuating. Barry's family decided to evacuate because the reports were listing the hurricane as a category four or five. Cleo threw up in the car, which caused Barry's dad to turn the car around and head back towards home. Good readers pay attention to cause and effect because it helps us to understand how events in a story are connected. Today we're going to share our opinion on an important scene in the final pages of chapter 6. It's that moment where Cleo is sick and Barry's dad decides to turn around and go home. If you were Barry's dad, would you have made the same decision, or would you have kept driving? Share your ideas and explain why. Let's play a game. Imagine that you are Barry and your family is about to leave your house because of the storm. If you could only bring 10 items with you, which items would you bring? If you're up for an extra challenge, try to create this list in order of importance. Which item would be your first priority and which item might be your last priority. You can write your list down or share it out with someone nearby. How can one dangerous event cause many other problems for people? Keep this question in mind as you read the next few chapters. Thanks for checking in with me today. I'll see you back here soon for episode three, where we check in on chapters 7 through 9 of I Survived Hurricane Katrina. Thanks for checking in with me today. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow along so you don't miss our next check in. And remember, keep reading, keep thinking, and keep talking because books are better together.