5 1 4 the chicago american giants TG (Scott Foresman)

Earthquake! The Disaster
That Rocked San Francisco
SUMMARY

The story of the San Francisco
earthquake of 1906 is told from the points
of view of four different people: a father, an
11-year-old girl, a fireman, and a doctor.

LESSON VOCABULARY

eerie
pondered
spectacles

intersection
severe
withered

INTRODUCE THE BOOK
INTRODUCE THE TITLE AND AUTHOR

Discuss
with students the title and the author of
Earthquake! The Disaster That Rocked San
Francisco. Based on the title, ask students to
say what they think the book will be about.
Ask them to say what the effects of the earthquake were, based on the title page photo.

BUILD BACKGROUND

Discuss what students
know about earthquakes. Ask if they know
about the earthquake that hit San Francisco in
1906. Ask how people and cities can protect
themselves from earthquakes.

PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES

As students
preview the book, invite them to notice the
head. Point out the illustrations, photos,
and captions. Explain that these text features
give different kinds of information about the
earthquake of 1906 in San Francisco.

5.5.1
PLOT AND CHARACTER
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

READ THE BOOK
SET PURPOSE

Have students set a purpose for
reading Earthquake! The Disaster That Rocked
San Francisco. Students’ interest in earthquakes and in history should guide this purpose. Suggest that students think about what
they would do if an earthquake hit. Ask: What
are some ways to protect yourself and
your family?

STRATEGY SUPPORT: PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Have
readers write their prior knowledge about
earthquakes before they start the book. Have
them add new information as they read.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGE 4

What always follows the first shock?
(Silence, then 10 or 20 seconds later, the
quake hits with full force.)
PAGE 9

What kind of girl is Sally? What makes
you think this? (Possible response: brave; she
was worried about her parents but she didn’t
show this to her younger brother)
PAGE 12 Why were there so many fires in the
city after the quake? (The quake cracked gas
pipes and leaking gas was fueling fires.)
PAGE 14

Who helped to battle the fires? (U.S.
Navy and U.S. Army soldiers)
PAGE 16 How would you describe Bob Allen?
Why? (Determined; he never stopped looking
for his children)
PAGE 22

According to Dr. Martin, what effect
did the quake have on his patients? (People
took care of each other; it brought out the
best in them.)

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REVISIT THE BOOK

Skill Work

READER RESPONSE

1. Main characters: Bob Allen, Sally Allen, the
fireman, Dr. Martin. Students should summarize what happens to two of the characters in the story. For example: Bob Allen: He
loses his children in the earthquake, searches for them, and is reunited at the park.
2. Students should tell their prior knowledge
about earthquakes and the 1906 quake in
San Francisco. Students should say what
new things they learned from the story.
3. Latin root: spectare—to watch; spectacle:
dramatic public display; spectacles: eyeglasses. Students should correctly use each
word in a sentence.

4. Possible response: Have a first-aid kit,
flashlight, and extra food and water on
hand.
EXTEND UNDERSTANDING

Have students look at
the illustration on pages 11 and 13. Ask them
to comment on the firefighters’ resources in
1906. Have them look at the photo on page
23. Ask them why they think so much of the
city burned down after the 1906 quake. (Most
of the buildings were made of wood.)

RESPONSE OPTIONS
WRITING

Suggest that students write a paragraph summing up the plot of the story and
saying what the main conflict or problem is.
Have them write a second paragraph about
one of the characters. Have them write about
what the character looks like, how he or she
acts, and what kind of person he or she is.

TEACH/REVIEW VOCABULARY
To reinforce the meaning of withered, read
the fourth paragraph on page 12. Ask: What
other words in the paragraph help you understand the meaning of withered? Continue in
a similar fashion with the remaining vocabulary words.

TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY

PLOT AND CHARACTER

Remind students
that understanding a fictional work requires
understanding literary elements such as plot
and character. Explain that the plot is a pattern of events, usually organized around some
type of problem, conflict, or problem. Explain
that characters are the people in stories.
Authors usually tell what their characters look
like, how they act, and what kind of people
they are. As they read, have students think
about the plot. Ask: What is the main problem
in the plot? Have them think about the characters. Ask: What kind of people are they?
Play a game using sentence frames
such as: My name is [name of character
from book]. I am a [fill in the blank]. When
the earthquake hit, I [fill in the blank].
Encourage students to choose their favorite
character from the book.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

SOCIAL STUDIES
CONNECTION
Students can find
more about the San
Francisco earthquake of
1906 by using the Internet or going
to the library. Suggest they try to find eyewitness accounts from newspapers of that
time. Ask them to think about how the
eye-witness accounts are similar to or different

from the points of view in this selection.

Remind students
that prior knowledge is what a reader knows
about a given topic gathered from reading
and from personal experience. Active readers add to and revise their prior knowledge
as they read. Ask students to use their prior
knowledge about earthquakes to predict the
main problem in the plot and how the characters may deal with it.

ADDITIONAL SKILL INSTRUCTION
AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

Remind students that
the author’s purpose is the reason or
reasons an author has for writing. Authors
often have more than one purpose for
writing. Four common reasons are to
persuade, to inform, to entertain, and to
express something. Invite students to think
about the author’s purpose as they read.

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Earthquake!

Name

Plot and Character
• The plot is an organized sequence of events.
• A character is a person who takes part in the events of a story.

Directions Fill in the graphic organizer below.
Title

This story is about
(name the characters)
This story takes place
(where and when)
The action begins when

Then,

Next,

The story ends when

© Pearson Education 5

After that,

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Earthquake!

Name

Vocabulary
Directions Read each sentence. Write the word from the box that has the same meaning as the
underlined word or phrase. Some words may be used more than once.

Check the Words You Know
eerie
severe

intersection
spectacles

pondered
withered

1. The city was lit up by the strange light of the fires.

2. As the fires crackled, the wooden buildings shriveled and burned.

3. The earthquake was so strong that many buildings collapsed.

4. An old man stopped to clean his glasses before continuing on foot.

5. The doctor considered his options before taking the children to the hospital.

6. Traffic stopped at the corner of two large streets to let the fire engines pass.

© Pearson Education 5

7. Trees dried up and died when no one watered them.

8. The odd, frightening shadows of the rescue workers moved across the walls.

9. At the crossing, take a left to reach the hospital.

10. Bob Allen thought deeply about where to look for his children.

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