Article
Art by Courtney Lovett
Fiction,

Disaster Squad: Rescue in the Snow

By Rekha S. Rajan
From the December 2025/January 2026 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will identify the plot of a fiction story and describe what happens at the beginning, middle, and end.

Lexile® measure: 540L
Featured Skill: Plot
Vocabulary: blizzard, RV, natural disasters, medic, extended, shatter, bounded
Topic: English Language Arts,
Common Core Standards
  • Common Core Standards
    RL.2.1 Key details RL.2.3 Describe how characters respond to events RL.2.5 Story structure RL.2.7 Use information from illustrations to understand characters, setting, and plot RI.2.9 Compare two texts on a similar topic RL.2.10 Read grade-2-appropriate stories SL.2 Participate in conversations about grade-2 texts L.2.4.a Use sentence-level context as a clue to a word’s meaning
TEKS Standards
  • Health
    (9) Injury and violence prevention and safety—safety skills and unintentional injury. The student identifies and demonstrates safety and first aid knowledge to prevent and treat injuries. The student is expected to describe steps one can take to reduce hazards, avoid accidents, and prevent accidental injuries for self and others.

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Think and Read

As you read, think about how the family works together to help.

“You can’t catch me!” Jaden Jackson cheered. He jumped onto his sled and slid down the snowy hill. His older sister, Leela, was right behind him.

“I’m faster than you,” she said as she flew past him. When she got to the bottom of the hill, she said, “I told you I would win!”

Jaden frowned. “You got a head start!”

WOOF!

Their German shepherd, Lucky, chased after them. When she shook her fur, snow flew.

This weekend, the Jackson family was staying in Chicago. A massive blizzard had covered the city in snow. People were digging their cars out from under huge piles of snow. 

Trucks plowed the roads and poured salt on them. That let people drive safely. 

“Kiddos, come get some peppermint hot chocolate!” Mom called from inside. 

“Peppermint!” Jaden and Leela said at the same time. “Jinx, double jinx, triple jinx!” 

Jaden grabbed snow and tossed it at Leela. He ran ahead of her and into the truck where they lived, called an RV. 

“Not nice!” Leela cried.  

Just then, Mom’s phone rang. When Mom’s phone rang, that meant DISASTER! 

PAUSE AND THINK: What kind of weather has just happened?

Meet the Jacksons

The Jackson family traveled in their big RV. They helped people across the country during natural disasters, like hurricanes and tornadoes.

Mom took pictures and reported on the disasters. Dad was a medic who helped people who got hurt. Jaden and Leela helped other kids and animals that were in danger. 

Jaden and Leela watched as Mom spoke on the phone. 

“Who called?” Dad asked as Mom hung up. 

“That was a local elementary school,” Mom said, worried. “It’s an emergency!”

PAUSE AND THINK: What does the Jackson family do?

Disaster Squad Kits 

Each kit had: Safety goggles, bandages, gloves, first aid cream, night vision goggles, batteries, scissors, flashlight, masks, and tweezers

“Let’s go!” Dad said. He got behind the wheel. Mom buckled in next to him. 

Jaden and Leela sat down and put on their seat belts. Lucky lay down by Leela’s feet. 

Jaden and Leela pulled out their Disaster Squad kits. Every member of the Jackson family had their own kit. 

“Here,” Mom said, as she gave one box to Leela and one to Jaden. “Something new to add to your kits.” 

“These are retractable shovels,” Dad said. 

Jaden pulled on the small handle that was tucked behind the shovel. As he pulled, it extended up and out. 

“These are going to be useful for our emergency,” Mom said. “We need to rescue a rabbit!”

PAUSE AND THINK: What does every member of the family have?

A Snowy Emergency

“We’re here!” Jaden exclaimed as the Jackson family pulled up to the school. They climbed out of the RV. Snow was falling around them. 

“Thank you for coming!” 

Leela and Jaden looked up to see a tall man walk over to them.

“I’m Principal Williams,” he said.

“I’m Lamar and this is my wife, Jaya,” Dad said. “This is Leela and Jaden, and our dog, Lucky.” 

“How can we help?” Mom asked, as she took pictures of the school.

“Our students saw a rabbit trapped under the ice,” Principal Williams said. “You can see it through a school window. It got stuck during the blizzard.”

“Kiddos,” Dad said, “take out your shovels. Start digging.”

 “But what if the ice cracks and hurts the rabbit?” Leela wondered. 

“If we aren’t careful, the glass window could shatter,” Jaden added. “It could break into a million pieces!”

“That would be incredibly dangerous,” Leela frowned.

“If we work together, slowly and carefully, we should be able to make a small opening in the ice. Then the rabbit can escape,” Dad said. 

Jaden and Leela pulled on their gloves. Then they opened their shovels. 

“I’m going to dig first!” Leela said as she scooped up big piles of snow. She kept digging and digging until she heard—

CLUNK!

PAUSE AND THINK: What do the kids start to do?

Helping Hands

“Oh no!” Leela cried.

“That sounded like the shovel hitting the concrete on the ground,” Dad said calmly. “Let’s use our hands to dig.”

Together they slowly dug through the soft snow. Inside the school, the teachers and students were watching. 

Jaden pulled up a chunk of snow. Suddenly, the rabbit jumped out!

It ran around Jaden and Leela. It shook its body and fluffed its fur. It stopped and sat up. It looked at the Jackson family. 

Then it bounded away, leaping through the snow. 

“We did it!” Leela grinned. “We saved the rabbit!”

“Wow!” said Jaden. 

WOOF! Lucky wagged her tail. 

“It’s important to remember that animals need help during natural disasters too,” Mom said. 

“Thank you for saving the rabbit,” Principal Williams said. 

He handed Jaden and 

Leela each a pin. It had a picture of hands and the 

words “Helping Hands.” 

As the Jacksons waved goodbye and climbed back 

into the RV, Jaden and Leela plopped down on the small sofa.

“That was a lot of work!” Jaden sighed.

“I’m going to snuggle up with Lucky,” Leela said with a smile.

Just then, Mom’s phone rang. 

What emergency would be next? 

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