The novel we are about to read takes place in a compound that the protagonist's father has built to shelter his family from a nuclear disaster. Imagine that you are building your own shelter intended to keep a small group of people safe from the outside world for about fifteen years.

1. What would you include inside? How would you arrange it? Draw the plans for your own "fallout" shelter, labeling the different rooms and areas as well as the most important items inside.

2. What do you know about how a nuclear war or nuclear accident would impact human beings and the environment? List three or four of the most important impacts.