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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 Tarshus. This is episode four of our I Survived Hurricane Katrina series. Before we begin, make sure that you've read chapters 10 through 12. 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 grab those materials if you need to. Ready? Let's check in. In chapters 10 through 12, the action in this story is really starting to pick up. Barry becomes completely separated from his family and suddenly finds himself in survival mode during the hurricane. First, Barry climbs into a tree to try to stay safe. Later, he spots a house in the floodwaters. When Barry realizes that this is Abe's house, he also discovers that Cruz, Abe's so-called killer dog, is trapped inside. Even though Barry is scared, he makes a surprising decision here. He goes into the house to rescue Cruz. Let's pause for a vocabulary check-in. In today's reading, we hear the word wreckage. Wreckage is a noun that means the broken pieces that are left behind after something is damaged or destroyed. After a big storm, people might see wreckage from buildings, cars, trees, or boats that were damaged by the strong wind and water. In these chapters, Barry sees wreckage floating through the floodwaters as the hurricane becomes more dangerous. Let's take a moment to check your understanding. You'll hear three questions about the word wreckage. Listen carefully and answer yes or no. You can answer out loud or in your head. Are you ready? If a broken bicycle is scattered into pieces after an accident, is that wreckage?

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If a room is clean and organized, is it filled with wreckage? Can wreckage be left behind after a storm or accident?

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If you said yes, no, yes, great thinking. It's time for our reading focus. Today we're going to think about character change. As stories move along, characters often begin to change because of the things that they're experiencing. Sometimes characters become braver, more responsible, more confident, or even more thoughtful as the story continues. As readers, we can really start to notice that this is happening with Barry in these chapters. At the beginning of the book, Barry often seemed unsure of himself and kind of nervous. But now, after everything he's gone through during the hurricane, we begin to see a different side to Barry. Even though he's scared and separated from his family, he continues trying to survive and make some pretty difficult decisions. One moment that really stood out to me was when Barry decided to rescue Cruz, even though he was nervous and the situation was pretty dangerous. And that got me thinking, how is Barry changing because of everything he's experiencing? Maybe he's becoming more brave. Maybe he's learning to think about others before himself. Or maybe these challenges are helping him to discover some strengths that he didn't even know he had. As readers, we can use a character's actions, their choices, their reactions, and even their dialogue to notice how they change throughout a story. Think about a word that you might have used to describe Barry at the beginning of the story. And then compare that to a word that you might use to describe him right now. Do you notice a change in Barry from the beginning of the story to right now? Now it's time for you to jump into the story. In these chapters, Barry goes through some really frightening and intense moments during this hurricane. He's separated from his family, he's trying to survive, and he's making some pretty difficult decisions all by himself. Your challenge today is to write a short diary entry from Barry's point of view. Imagine that Barry finally has a quiet and safe moment to stop and think about what's happening. What do you think he would say? How do you think he might describe this storm? What kind of emotions might he be feeling right now? Would he be feeling scared? Would he be feeling brave? Exhausted? Maybe hopeful? Or maybe he's experiencing all of these emotions at once. Remember, diary entries are personal, so try to write the way that Barry might really think and feel in this moment. You can pause the podcast and take a few minutes to jump into Barry's point of view. Now it's time to talk about it. In these chapters, Barry was really brave when he rescued Abe's dog Cruz in the middle of the hurricane. If you were Barry, would you have gone into that house to save Cruz? Why? Pause the podcast and talk about what you would have done and why. What do you think is happening to Barry's family right now? Are they still on the roof? Were they rescued? Keep this question in mind as you read the next couple of chapters. Thanks for checking in with me today. I'll see you back here soon for episode 5, where we check in on chapters 13 through 15 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.