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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 5 of our I Survived Hurricane Katrina series. Before we begin, make sure that you've read chapters 13 through 15. 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 13 through 15, Barry continues fighting to survive as Hurricane Katrina leaves more and more destruction behind. Even though he's exhausted and overwhelmed, Barry keeps moving forward and tries to protect both himself and Cruz. There's this one intense moment in these chapters where a woman named Nell comes to rescue Barry and Cruz and her canoe. This really gives them some hope in the middle of this disaster. And later on in the chapters, Barry hears the voices of his family nearby, and we can feel just how badly he wants to be reunited with them. Throughout these chapters, we can really see how much Barry has changed since the beginning of the story. He's becoming more courageous, more determined, and more willing to take on responsibility during these dangerous situations. Let's pause for a vocabulary check-in. In today's reading, we hear the word quivering. Quivering is a verb that means shaking or trembling, usually because someone is cold, nervous, scared, or emotional. Sometimes people quiver when they feel afraid or worried. For example, someone's hands or voice might quiver during a scary moment. In these chapters, the hurricane is so intense and dangerous that Barry finds himself quivering out of nervousness. Now let's take a moment to check your understanding. You'll hear three questions about the word quivering. Listen carefully and answer yes or no.

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You can answer out loud or in your head. Are you ready? Is it normal for someone's voice to quiver when they're speaking in front of others? If a person is sitting completely still without moving at all, are they quivering? Could someone's hands quiver when they're scared or upset?

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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 problem and solution. In stories, characters often face problems that they need to solve. Sometimes these problems are small, and sometimes they're pretty big. In these chapters, Barry is facing one problem after another as Hurricane Katrina is becoming more dangerous. He's exhausted, he's separated from his family, he's surrounded by flood waters, and he's trying to survive while also protecting crews. As readers, when we think about problem and solution, we want to pay attention to things like: what are the difficult things that the characters in this story are going through? What kind of things are they doing to help fix these problems? Are there different types of problems all happening at once? One thing that I've noticed in these chapters is that Barry is not giving up, even when the situations are becoming frightening and overwhelming. For example, when Nell rescues Barry and Cruz in her canoe, it helps to solve one of Barry's biggest problems, finding safety in the middle of the flood. But even after that, Barry is still searching for his family and trying to figure out what to do next. So that makes me wonder, what problem do you think was the most difficult for Barry in these chapters? Was it surviving the floodwaters, being separated from his family, protecting crews, or maybe something else? Pause the podcast and think, or share out your answer with someone nearby. It's important to pay attention to how characters respond to problems because these moments often help us to understand the character better and they help us to see how the story is going to keep moving forward. Now it's time for you to jump into the story. Barry is facing some really difficult things in these chapters, and he has to make some really important decisions pretty quickly. Imagine that you had a chance to talk to Barry during the storm. What advice would you give to him? Would you tell him to stay hopeful, to trust other people, to keep protecting crews no matter what? Or maybe you would tell him to never give up searching for his family. Share out your thinking in whatever way makes the most sense to you. You could share out one piece of advice for Barry, you could write a short note to Barry, or you could even make a list of survival tips that you think might help him. In this case, there's no one single right answer. This activity is all about you thinking about the choices that Barry is facing and imagining what you might do in his situation. Pause the podcast here so you can get creative. Now it's time to talk about it. If you could describe this chapter in just one word, what word would you pick?

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Share your thinking with someone nearby.

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Before we end today's check-in, here's something to think about as you keep reading. Do you think that Barry has made it through the hardest part of the storm? Or do you think there might be more to come? Keep this question in mind as you keep reading the next chapter. Thanks for checking in with me today. I'll see you back here soon for episode six, where we check in on the end 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.