by Kathy StauglerIllustrated by Travis Schaeffer

Tornado in Oklahoma

Leveled Book, Tornado in Oklahoma, Level J/K

Level J/K

© 2013 n2yUnique Learning System®

1

On May 20, 2013, tornado warnings

were on the news in Moore, Oklahoma.

The people in Moore know about

tornadoes and took shelter. However, no

one can tell for sure if a tornado is going

to touch the ground. No one

knows for sure the direction

a tornado is going to take.

2

A tornado is strong spinning air. A strong

tornado can have wind speeds up to 300 mph!

A tornado can knock over houses and

buildings. A tornado can pull trees out of the

ground. It can pick up

a car and move it

across a road.

A tornado starts in a thunderstorm. Warm,

moist air comes from the Gulf of Mexico. Cool,

dry air comes from Canada. When the warm

and cool air meet, the storm begins. The

air begins to rise and creates thunderstorm

clouds. A tornado can start to form in

the thunderstorm when the air is blowing

strong. Whirling winds move down from the

thunderstorm and can touch the ground.

3

4

On that day in May, the tornado did touch

down on the town of Moore, Oklahoma. The

tornado was very strong with winds at nearly

300 mph. Over 1,000 homes

were destroyed by the

tornado. Two schools were

destroyed. Many people

were hurt in this tornado.

After the tornado, many people in

Moore, Oklahoma, needed help. They lost

their homes. They lost their clothes. They

lost many things in the tornado. How will

these people get help?

5

6

Many people all around the United States

wanted to help the people in Moore. Some

people sent money. Some people joined

groups to send food and clothes. Some

people traveled to Moore to help clean up

the mess. Some

people traveled to

Moore to help the

ones who were hurt.

7

One man drove from New Orleans with a

truck of food. He made jambalaya for hungry

people. A restaurant from Louisville brought

fried chicken to serve from a church in Moore.

Other groups

made food boxes

to share.

8

A group of friends drove from Dallas to

help clean up. They helped people from

Moore fi nd things lost in the storm. Some

groups of workers brought chain saws and

tools to cut away the trees that were pulled

out of the ground by the tornado.

Toby Keith, a country singer, grew up in

Moore, Oklahoma. He will have a concert

to raise money for the people in Moore.

Many people gave money to the American

Red Cross. This group will use money for

things that the people in Moore will need.

9

10

A tornado, like other natural disasters, can

hurt people and their homes. The tornado

in Moore, Oklahoma, hurt the people. The

tornado made a mess. But many groups

and workers joined together to help. People

working together

can make a

difference for others.

noyes

Tornado in Oklahoma

Leveled Book, Tornado in Oklahoma, Level J/K© 2013 n2yUnique Learning System®

Within each category, pictures are listed from left to right in the order in which they appear in the text.

start

destroy

help

tornado

school

Moore

people

Oklahoma

clothes

join money food

cloud

group Toby Keith

spin

form

need

send

raise concertclean up

strong

warm

cool

hurt

United States

wind homethunderstorm

natural disaster

air

American Red Cross

Leveled Book, Tornado in Oklahoma, Level J/K© 2013 n2yUnique Learning System®

Index for PhotographsThe images found in this lesson fall under a Creative Commons license. Please note the citation listed for each individual image below. For information on use or redistribution of any of these images, please visit: http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/

Title, Page 2 - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Tornado_in_southwestern_Oklahoma_on_November_7,_2011.jpg

Page 1 - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/May_20,_2013_Moore,_Oklahoma_tornado.JPG

Page 2 - http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5447/8771385435_91c1cb9381_o.jpg

Page 3 - http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8049/8088190638_592186cc88_o.jpg

Page 4 - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/FEMA_Aerial_view_of_May_20,_2013_Moore,_Oklahoma_tornado_damage.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Debris_surrounds_a_swing_set_in_Moore%2C_Okla.%2C_May_22%2C_2013%2C_two_days_after_an_EF5_tornado_with_winds_exceeding_200_miles_per_hour_tore_through_the_Oklahoma_City_suburb_130522-F-YU985-296.jpg

Page 5 - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Oklahoma_Tornado_2013_002.jpg

Page 6 - http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7370/8906094633_aba6459840_o.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/U.S._Air_Force_Master_Sgt._Scott_Ratcliff%2C_with_the_10th_Flight_Test_Squadron%2C_organizes_supplies_that_will_be_giv-en_to_families_affected_by_a_tornado_May_23%2C_2013%2C_in_Moore%2C_Okla_130523-F-RH756-056.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/A_volunteer_at_a_relief_center_in_Moore,_Okla.,_May_23,_2013,_carries_one_of_the_emergency_bags_being_given_to_residents_in_the_af-termath_of_a_tornado_130523-F-RH756-083.jpg

Page 7 - http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3728/8795568651_32119d4641_o.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/U.S._Army_1st_Lt._Chad_Baker%2C_right%2C_with_the_4th_Engineer_Battalion%2C_eats_a_meal_provided_by_the_Red_Cross_with_residents_Martha_Ann_Rusche_and_Lucas_Odom_in_Moore%2C_Okla.%2C_May_25%2C_2013_130525-Z-BI488-282.jpg

Leveled Book, Tornado in Oklahoma, Level J/K© 2013 n2yUnique Learning System®

Index for PhotographsThe images found in this lesson fall under a Creative Commons license. Please note the citation listed for each individual image below. For information on use or redistribution of any of these images, please visit: http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/

Page 8 - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/A_U.S._Airman_cuts_a_tree_May_21%2C_2013%2C_in_Moore%2C_Okla.%2C_that_was_brought_down_on_a_home_one_day_earlier%2C_when_an_EF5_tornado_with_winds_exceeding_200_miles_per_hour_tore_through_the_Oklahoma_City_suburb_130521-F-VM627-902.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3796/8906093539_dfb954a28d_o.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3678/8906715862_fa03e8a966_b.jpg

Page 9 - http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4102/4857367739_fb053f572a_o.jpg

Page 10 - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/U.S._Airmen_based_at_Shep-pard_Air_Force_Base,_Texas,_clean_up_debris_June_8,_2013,_in_Moore,_Okla_130608-F-ZB240-272.jpg/1280px-U.S._Airmen_based_at_Sheppard_Air_Force_Base,_Texas,_clean_up_de-bris_June_8,_2013,_in_Moore,_Okla_130608-F-ZB240-272.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/May_20,_2013_Moore,_Oklahoma_tornado_search_and_rescue.jpg