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 Tarshis. This is episode three of our I Survived Hurricane Katrina series. Before we begin, make sure that you've read chapters seven through nine. If not, you can pause the episode, read those chapters, and come right back. It might 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 7 through 9, the story is really starting to get intense. Barry and his family are back home trying to wait out the storm. And at first, things seem to be fairly calm, but before long, the hurricane becomes stronger. The floodwaters start to rise inside the house, and Barry and his family are forced to keep moving higher and higher to stay safe. They go from the first floor to the attic and eventually all the way onto the roof. But even at this highest point, they're still not safe. These chapters end on a huge cliffhanger when Barry loses his grip, falls off the roof, and crashes into the floodwaters below. Let's pause for a vocabulary check-in. In today's reading, we hear the word deserted. Deserted is an adjective that's used to describe a place that's empty or left behind with no people around. You've probably heard the classic question, what would you bring to a deserted island? That question leads to interesting answers because of the word deserted. Since the island is deserted, it's completely empty. And you would really want to think through your answer to make sure you had something that you could use to survive. Now let's take a moment to check your understanding. You'll hear three questions about the word deserted. Listen to each one and answer yes or no. You can answer out loud or in your head. If a restaurant is full of people eating dinner, is it deserted? If everyone evacuates a town due to a storm, is that town deserted? Would a deserted place feel quiet? If you said no, yes, yes, great thinking. Today we're going to think about point of view. Point of view is a way that a character sees and experiences what's happening in a story. Even when two characters go through the same event, they might think or feel very differently about what's happening. As readers, we can see this happening in these chapters. Barry is becoming more and more nervous about this storm, but his dad seems to be calm and focused. Their different points of view could be connected to their ages, their past experiences, or even the different responsibilities that they have during this storm. But good readers know that characters don't always say everything they're thinking out loud. And that got me wondering, what might Barry's dad actually be thinking inside his head during the storm? Maybe he's just trying to stay calm for Barry, and inside he's full of panic. Or maybe he's trying to make quick decisions to keep his family safe and he doesn't want them to know that he's feeling unsure about what might happen. As readers, we can use clues from the story to imagine a character's point of view, even when the author doesn't tell us every single thought. Pause your podcast and imagine that you are Barry's dad during these chapters. What do you think Barry's dad might be thinking here? You can share out your thinking in so many different ways. You could draw out some thought bubbles. You could create a short diary entry from Barry's dad's perspective. Or you could simply just jot down a few sentences that show his point of view. Think about what worries he might have, what he might want Barry to know, what he might be hiding from other characters. You can use the clues from the story and your own thinking to step into Barry's dad's point of view. Now it's time to talk about it. Imagine you were Barry's dad during the hurricane. Would you try to stay calm for everyone else? Or would you reveal to your family how you were really feeling inside? Maybe you think that staying calm would keep everyone feeling safer. Or maybe you think it's more important to be honest when you're feeling scared. There's no single right answer here. Just think about it and share your point of view. You can pause the podcast here and talk about what you're thinking. Before we end today's check-in, here's something to think about as you keep reading. Do you think this story is going to have a happy ending? Why? 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 four, where we check in on chapters 10 through 12 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.