Darwin's Dragons - Session 10 - Chapters 31 -33 - Worksheet

In Session 10 of "Darwin's Dragons", students delve into Chapters 31 to 33 with a set of discussion questions aimed at exploring Covington's sense of responsibility towards the eggs, his decision to leave without Farthing, and his reaction to discovering that the dragon is still alive. These questions encourage students to reflect on character motivations and emotions, fostering a deeper understanding of the narrative and its themes.

The session also includes a variety of reading activities that extend students' engagement with the text. They are tasked with continuing a timeline to track key events, listing the flora and fauna mentioned in the story, and exploring Covington's thoughts and feelings upon leaving the island. Comprehension exercises and grammar and punctuation tasks, such as identifying modal verbs, expanded noun phrases, pronouns, and sentence structures, further reinforce language skills. Additionally, students work on vocabulary through a 'Words to Workshop' activity, examining words like 'staggered', 'pity', 'furious', and 'eruption' to enhance their lexical range.

Writing opportunities are abundant, ranging from crafting an explanation of how volcanoes erupt to composing a letter from Covington to the dragon. Students are also encouraged to express themselves creatively through poetry, taking inspiration from works by Joshua Seigal, Emily Dickinson, and others. The session is rich with cross-curricular links, integrating science topics such as plants, animals, rocks, and evolution, computing tasks like creating databases and animations, historical studies of Victorian England and the Ring of Fire, and geographical explorations of the world's countries and natural phenomena. Practical activities include making a working model of a volcano in Design and Technology (DT), learning "Amazing Grace" in Music, and developing skills in swimming and life-saving in Physical Education (PE). Moreover, the session touches on Religious Education (RE) with creation stories, and Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education with themes of courage, resilience, risk-taking, determination, and adaptability.