“The Day Alaska Shook” Quiz Storyworks

1. How did Tom Gilson feel about earthquakes while growing up?

• worried
• confused
• sad
• relaxed

2. In the line “The town of Valdez was isolated,” the word isolated means ______.

• busy
• wild
• not near other places
• causing a lot of damage

3. What do the map and caption on page 6 explain? Choose TWO.

• the location of Valdez and the earthquake
• the state where the most earthquakes happen
• animals near Valdez
• Valdez after the earthquake

4. What causes earthquakes?

• large animals
• movements deep underground
• large waves called tsunamis
• soft land

5. What was the first clue Tom saw that an earthquake was happening?

• the car moving up and down
• the Chena swaying in the ocean
• the ground shaking beneath him
• the waterfront disappearing

6. Which line shows the moment Tom knew something was wrong?

• “At first, Tom thought somebody was jumping on the car’s bumper.”
• “The Chena tossed and turned . . .”
• “The ground rose and fell . . .”
• “Docks, buildings, and people disappeared.”

7. Why did Tom think the earthquake was the end of the world?

• There was no school.
• He had never seen an earthquake that big and damaging.
• He mostly saw animals near town.
• He never got candy from the Chena.

8. The article is mostly about ______.

• the life of Tom Gilson
• when Alaska became a state
• the causes and effects of the Valdez earthquake
• why earthquakes happen in Alaska

9. Using details from the text, explain why Valdez needed to be built in a new location after the 1964 earthquake.

10. Choose two details that author Lauren Tarshis uses to describe the earthquake. How do they help you imagine what it was like to experience it?