The Explorer - Session 7 - Worksheet

Session 7 of 'The Explorer' worksheet, aimed at Key Stage 2 students, is a comprehensive guide to exploring various learning opportunities through the theme of 'The Raft'. The session includes discussion questions that encourage students to think critically about the importance of the raft in the story, the characters' perspectives on building it, and the potential of a fire for rescue. Reading activities are designed to enhance comprehension and analytical skills, with tasks such as continuing a timeline of events, making predictions about the raft's launch, drawing and labelling a diagram of the raft, and exploring the hopes and fears of each character.

The worksheet also focuses on grammar and punctuation, with a 'Grammar Hunt' that includes exercises on direct speech, modal verbs, the use of hyphens, and comma placement. Additionally, students can expand their vocabulary with the 'Words to Workshop' section, which presents words like 'imagination', 'reasonable', and 'exasperated' for them to learn and use. Writing opportunities are varied, ranging from poetry inspired by the rainforest to instructional writing on building a raft, diary entries from characters' perspectives, explanations of the water cycle, and persuasive writing exercises.

Cross-curricular links are abundant, integrating subjects such as Science, Computing, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology (DT), Music, Physical Education (PE), and Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education. These activities include creating databases of Amazonian flora and fauna, studying the geography of the Amazon River, exploring the artwork of Henri Rousseau, designing and building rafts, learning songs from 'The Jungle Book', and engaging in gymnastics and water safety in PE. Through these diverse and interactive tasks, students not only deepen their understanding of the story but also connect their learning to a wider range of subjects and real-world applications.