A Dangerous Landslide Activity

ReadWorks.org Read-aloud​

2nd Grade level

930 Lexile ​

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A Dangerous Landslide

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One night in March 2014, mud broke loose from a tall hillside near the town of Oso, Washington. The giant mass of wet soil moved downhill quickly. It eventually covered thirty nearby houses with mud and dirt. Many people were hurt.

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Landslide is the word many people use to describe this kind of emergency. This landslide happened when very heavy rains soaked the ground near Oso. Wet ground breaks loose during a landslide. As the mud moves, it may rip bushes, boulders, trees, and other things out of the ground.

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Landslides can cause serious damage. A big landslide could bury homes and badly injure people in its path. Landslides can also dump huge amounts of wet dirt onto roads and highways. This added enormous weight could wreck cars and might even cause the road to collapse. If a landslide happens near an area that includes buildings, it could break water lines, gas lines, or electrical lines. That kind of damage could also start fires. Scientists are trying to figure out how to help people be safe in areas where landslides occur. The best thing, experts say, is to have a plan for what to do if this kind of moving-earth emergency happens.

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Multiple Choice

What is a landslide?

• A spinning storm

• When the land (dirt) gets very wet and slides away. The mud can destroy houses and roads.

Multiple Choice

Where did the landslide in the text happen?

• the Moon

• Oso, Washington.

• Seattle

Multiple Choice

What are some types of damage caused by landslides?

• a dry desert

• a road could collapse and slide away

• a dog could get a new bed

Multiple Choice

What are some other types of damage caused by landslides?

• It could create a sea

• It could bury houses, animals, and cars in mud.

Multiple Choice

In Oso, a large amount of wet soil and mud broke loose from a tall hill and covered thirty nearby houses with mud. The landslide happened when very heavy rains soaked the ground near Oso.

What can you conclude from the evidence in the text?

• Heavy rains may have been the cause of the landslide in Oso.

• Landslides only happen on the moon.

Multiple Choice

What kind of town would probably be in more danger of a landslide?

• at the bottom of a hill

• at the top of a hill

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the text "A Dangerous Landslide"?

• Landslides happen a lot in Florida.

• Landslides are a dangerous sliding of dirt that can cause a lot of damage and result in an emergency situation where many lives are at risk.

• Landslides are only an emergency on the moon.

Multiple Choice

The torrential rain completely soaked the ground

and caused a mudslide to bury the road.

What do you think "torrential" means?

• tiny

• very heavy

• light

Multiple Choice

Choose the answer that best completes the sentence.

Experts say that it's important for people to have a safety ______ so that they can be safe if a landslide happens.

• food

• plan

• cat

Multiple Choice

Choose the words that best complete the sentence.

Landslide are an __________ because they can cause damage like breaking gas lines and electrical power lines. Damage to gas lines and power lines can cause explosions and ______.

• safety, dogs

• emergency, fires

Open Ended

What causes the damage during a landslide? Please write or speak in complete sentences.

Open Ended

Scenario: It is the middle of the night. There are reports on the news of landslides nearby. It is raining outside. The rain is very heavy and it is difficult to see anything in the darkness. Suddenly....the power and lights go out.

Should your family get in the car and try to drive to a friend's house where there is power? Why or why not? There are no firm right or wrong answers. Just use c

Multiple Select

What are some types of damage caused by landslides?

Choose all the correct answers.

• homes buried in mud

• collapsed roads with part of the road missing

• new houses

• new roads in Australia