For our next book, we will be reading The Terrible Wave by Marden Dahlstedt. The book is a story of the Johnstown Flood of 1889. After the dam gave way following an immense rainstorm, hundreds of lives were lost in this American tragedy. The Terrible Wave follows the journey of Megan Maxwell as she searches for her family among the destruction. She encounters new people who teach her not only how to survive, but about life as well.

The links on this page will take you to several sites that tell about the Johnstown flood. There are museums, memorials, newspaper articles and discussions about the flood all linked from this page. Find the link that you want to follow, give it a click and find out more about one of the greatest tragedies in American history.

The effects of the flood

The comprehension skills that will be emphasized during this book include: noting details, comparing and contrasting, predicting outcomes and problem solving and decision making. The class will create a linear string to follow the details of the plot. That graphic will make it easier to analyze the events of the story. We will also be analyzing the writing style of the author and noting how descriptive she is in painting pictures for the reader.

Links to follow to learn more about the event

The Johnstown Flood~

Eyewitnesses to the Flood	Old Photo of the Town
History of the Johnstown Flood	The Relief Effort
The Johnstown Flood of 1889	Timeline for Building the Dam
The Day Johnstown Flooded	The Cause of the Flood
Johnstown Flood-From the New York Times	Survivor Stories
Before, During and After the Flood	The Last Survivor of the Flood Dies
The Johnstown Flood from Wikipedia	Facts about the flood

Frequently Asked Questions about the Event

Memorials and Museums~

Mass Grave Memorial

Johnstown Flood Museum

Johnstown Flood Memorial Park

Information about Floods~

"Floods" from the PBS series NOVA	Floods in Focus
Floods from FEMA	Sacramento Floods

Check Current Flooding Situations

Boats on Lake Conemaugh before the flood.

Dams and Virtual Activities~

Folsom Dam	Building Big-Dams
Sim Science-Cracking Dams	Building Big-The Science Labs
The 7 Wonders of the World	Hoover Dam Panorama

The Characters:

Megan Maxwell			Tom Hewitt
Brian O'Meara			Stephan
Septimus Shaw			The Maxwell Family
Lottie Finley			Hulda
Mrs. Alderson			Senator

Where would you place each in the Character Pyramid?