I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake

📖 Comprehension Questions — All Chapters

Name:

Date:

San Francisco Earthquake book cover illustration

🎯 WALT (We Are Learning To)

We are learning to understand and respond to a text by finding evidence, making inferences, and thinking about how language is used.

✅ Success Criteria — I can:

⬜ Find information directly from the text to answer questions

⬜ Make an inference (a smart guess using clues from the text)

⬜ Explain what a vocabulary word means in my own words

⬜ Notice how the author uses language to create feelings or pictures

📌 Teacher Differentiation Notes

Phase 1–2 Support Strategies:

⭐ Scaffolded learners: Read the chapter aloud together first. Allow students to point to answers in the book. Use sentence starters provided below each question. Accept verbal responses recorded by a teacher aide.

⭐ Visual supports: Use pictures, maps, or diagrams of San Francisco to build background knowledge before reading.

⭐ Chunking: Complete 2–3 questions per session rather than the full chapter in one sitting.

⭐ Peer support: Pair special needs students with a supportive reading buddy for shared reading.

📚 Chapter 1 — Comprehension Questions

📌 Tip: Look back at the chapter to find evidence for your answers. Use the sentence starters if you need help!

1. 🔍 Finding Information: Where does the story take place? Circle the correct answer.

New York City

San Francisco

Los Angeles

Wellington

2. 📝 Cloze Procedure: Fill in the missing words using the Word Bank below.

Word Bank: earthquake, scared, shaking, city, survived

Leo felt the ground _____________ beneath his feet. He was very _____________ because he had never felt an _____________ before. He wanted to get out of the _____________ as fast as he could.

3. 🧠 Inference: How do you think Leo felt at the beginning of the story? How do you know?

Sentence starter: "I think Leo felt _______ because the text says..."

4. 🗣️ Language Feature — Describing Words (Adjectives): Find ONE word from Chapter 1 that describes how the earthquake felt or sounded. Write it here and explain why the author chose that word.

Sentence starter: "The word I found is _______ . The author used this word to..."

📚 Chapter 2 — Comprehension Questions

📌 Tip: Remember to use evidence from the text. You can quote directly from the book!

5. 🔍 Finding Information: What happened to the buildings during the earthquake? Tick ALL correct answers.

Buildings cracked and crumbled

Buildings floated away

Fires broke out

People were trapped

6. 📖 Vocabulary: The word "chaos" is used in this chapter. What do you think "chaos" means? Circle your best answer.

Very quiet and calm

Complete confusion and disorder

A type of food

A place to sleep

7. 🧠 Inference: Why do you think Leo kept running even when he was exhausted? Use clues from the text.

Sentence starter: "I think Leo kept running because..."

8. 🗣️ Language Feature — Simile: Authors sometimes compare two things using "like" or "as" to create a picture in your mind. Can you find or write a simile that describes the earthquake?

Example: "The ground shook like a giant was stomping its feet."

My simile or one I found: The earthquake was like _______________________________________________.

📚 Chapters 3–5 — Comprehension Questions

📌 Tip: These questions ask you to think more deeply. Take your time and look back at the chapters!

9. 🧠 Inference: Leo shows a lot of courage in these chapters. Give ONE example of something he did that was brave. Explain why it was brave.

Sentence starter: "One brave thing Leo did was _______ . This was brave because..."

10. 📖 Vocabulary: Match each word to its meaning by drawing a line.

tremor

debris

evacuate

inferno

to leave a dangerous place quickly

broken pieces of buildings and rubble

a small shaking or vibration in the ground

a very large, fierce fire

✏️ Thinking Deeper — Final Response

📌 Choose the question that suits you best. Your teacher can help you decide.

⭐ Option A (Supported): Draw a picture of one important event from the story. Write one sentence underneath to describe what is happening.

My sentence: _______________________________________________

⭐⭐ Option B (Independent): What is the most important lesson Leo learns in this story? Use evidence from the text to explain your thinking.

Sentence starter: "The most important lesson Leo learns is _______ . I know this because in the text it says..."

⭐⭐⭐ Option C (Extended): How does the author, Lauren Tarshis, make the reader feel like they are inside the earthquake? Write about at least TWO language features she uses (e.g., describing words, similes, short sentences for tension).