Lesson Plan: Hope Among the Ruins

Essential Questions

• How do the forces of nature affect our lives? 
• How can we help people who are in need? 

Literature Connection

• Historical fiction: I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 by Lauren Tarshis
• Novel: Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret

Build Background Knowledge (10 minutes)

Help students prepare to  read by viewing our video “Inside Earthquakes” as a class. The video explains how earthquakes happen. After viewing it, ask students these questions: When a major earthquake occurs, what do you think happens to streets and buildings? Why are big earthquakes so dangerous for people? Why would it be helpful to know where and when a major earthquake will happen?

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Have students locate the article in their magazines or at Action Digital. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions:

• Read the article’s title and subtitle (the text beneath the title). What do you think the word hope in the title is referring to? The word hope means that things in Syria and Turkey will get better. The many people who have worked to help the earthquake survivors have likely brought hope to the people in both countries. 
• Look at the map and read its caption. What does it tell you about the area where the earthquake struck? The map and its caption tell you that the earthquake struck near the border of Turkey and Syria (the line where the two countries meet).

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (collapsing, magnitude, first responders, wreckage, civil war) aloud and discuss their definitions. 
• Play the Vocabulary Slideshow.

Make a Plan for Reading 

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

• Set a purpose for reading by explaining to students that the article “Hope Among the Ruins” describes how a major earthquake affected people in two countries and how people from around the world have come together to help. 
• Point out the Pause and Think boxes. Tell students they can check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions.
• Point out the activity at the end of the article and tell students they’ll complete it after reading. Encourage them to briefly scan the questions and to keep them in mind as they read. 

Read the article. (Higher- and lower-Lexile versions are available on the Story page at Action Digital. Click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud.) Then discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

• Why do you think the author chose to include details about Taha Erdem’s experience of the earthquake? How would the article be different without these details? (authors craft) By including Taha’s story, the author helps readers to imagine what it was like to be in Syria or Turkey when the earthquake hit. The rest of the article provides facts about the damage done and how people are helping; Taha’s story helps readers imagine being there.
• What challenges did rescue workers face as they searched for earthquake victims? (summarizing) Rescue workers had to move through wreckage. In some areas, there was no electricity. It was very cold out; before long, snow began to cover everything.
• How has the civil war in Syria affected people’s lives? How did the earthquake make the situation harder? (cause and effect) The civil war has left many people without clean water, good shelter, and food. The earthquake has made it harder to get help and supplies to those people.

Critical-Thinking Question (10 minutes)

• Fred Rogers, host of the children’s television show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, once said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Who are the helpers in “Hope Among the Ruins”? Why is it important to remember the helpers in this and other tragedies? (critical thinking) Answers may vary. Students might say that seeing the work of first responders and volunteers reminds us that there is always hope or that understanding how assistance is provided can inspire us to become helpers.

3. Skill Building and Writing

• Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill activity at the end of the article.
• Go further: Assign students to work independently on our Summarizing Skill Builder, available in higher- and lower-level versions. (Click here to view all your Skill Builders for this article.)
• Writing prompt: Imagine that you’re collecting money to donate to survivors of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, and you want to inspire people in your community to give as much as they can. Write a short speech (one or two paragraphs) describing the effects of the earthquake on people’s lives and how donations can help. Include details from the article.