GARY WILLIAMS 2011 1

Kids in a Hurricane
The children were frightened. The hurricane had been blowing outside for 2 hours and the strange noises had become scarier and scarier. Gretchen rocked little baby Frank in her arms. Gretchen was only 9 years old but she was trying to be brave so that Frank wouldnt become too worried.

The children listened as the wind whistled, shrieked and howled. They heard a smash as a tree fell through their bedroom window upstairs. Although they were safe in the cellar it was still quite scary imagining all of the damage and destruction outside. Gretchen hoped her parents were safe. Earlier, they had been driving back from the supermarket when the powerful hurricane started.

Gretchen knew they should be home soon.

1) What is the main idea in this story? a) b) c) d) e) The children are home alone during a hurricane. The supermarket is closed. The window is broken. Gretchen has a little brother. The hurricane has been blowing for 2 hours.

2) Underline the adverb of time in this story. Write it here:

3) Read the story again. Find the synonyms for the following words: scared, weird, sounds, more and more frightening, nervous, crash, thinking about, strong

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

4) Underline the sentence with too in it. Write it here:

5) Fill in the spaces with the words from the box:

scared hiding

rocking home

loud cellar

crashing supermarket

The children were really ___________. The hurricane was really ___________ and had been blowing for some time. They were ___________ in the ___________ and Gretchen was trying to make sure that Frank didnt become too nervous by ___________ him in her arms. They heard a ___________ sound upstairs as a window was broken. Unfortunately, they were ___________ alone. Their parents hadnt come back from the ___________ yet.

GARY WILLIAMS 2011 3

ANSWERS
1) What is the main idea in this story? a) b) c) d) e) The children are home alone during a hurricane. The supermarket is closed. The window is broken. Gretchen has a little brother. The hurricane has been blowing for 2 hours.

2) Underline the adverb of time in this story. Write it here: Earlier

3) Read the story again. Find the synonyms for the following words: scared, weird, sounds, more and more frightening, nervous, crash, thinking about, strong

frightened

strange

noises

scarier and scarier

worried

smash

imagining

powerful

4) Underline the sentence with too in it. Write it here: Gretchen was only 9 years old but she was trying to be brave so that Frank wouldnt become too worried.

5) Fill in the spaces with the words from the box:

scared hiding

rocking home

loud cellar

crashing supermarket

The children were really scared. The hurricane was really loud and had been blowing for some time. They were hiding in the cellar and Gretchen was trying to make sure that Frank didnt become too nervous by rocking him in her arms. They heard a loud sound upstairs as a window was broken. Unfortunately, they were home alone. Their parents hadnt come back from the supermarket yet.