Have you ever been caught in a tornado? What did you do? Were you alone? Dan and Arthur grew up a lot in that one fateful night. The tornadoes in Grand Island were REAL, they destroyed so much property and caused chaos in so many lives.

Ivy Ruckman had a cousin who survived the Grand Island tornadoes. The character of Aunt Goldie was based on her cousin. The people of Grand Island became more aware of the bad storms as well as more prepared. I hope you are all prepared for anything bad that might come your way as well, any Black Letter Day.

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Activity One

Create an Illustrated Timeline of Tornadoes. You will have to do research on the Internet and/or in books n order to find information. You should have at least 10 dates on your timeline, a title, and an illustration or picture for each date. Try to include entries that are interesting or unusual.

Activity Two

Create a map of the location referred to as "Tornado Alley." You can draw this map by hand or use the computer. Be sure to label important places on the map. Also, be sure to include at least four starred locations where catastrophic tornadoes have occurred in the past.

Activity Three

To me, Mrs. Smiley was one of the most interesting characters in the book!! She had given her screen door to Arthur before the tornado, and he returned it afterwards. It had its own unique character made from patches she had added over the years. Create a picture of Mrs. Smiley's screen door. You need to have at least 6 "patches" on the door. You can draw this picture or create it on the computer.