The Wreck of the Zanzibar - Session 1 - Worksheet

The "Wreck of the Zanzibar" session one worksheet offers a comprehensive exploration of the book's opening, focusing on character development, plot analysis, and setting depiction. Discussion questions encourage students to ponder the narrative significance of starting the story with a character's death, Laura's desire to emulate her brother, and her frustration at being excluded from rowing in the gig. These questions aim to deepen understanding and empathy for the characters' motivations and feelings, while also examining the book's themes and narrative structure.

Students are invited to engage in a variety of reading activities, such as creating timelines, conducting character analyses of Great Aunt Laura, sketching scenes, making predictions about character interactions, and starting a dictionary of nautical terms to enhance vocabulary. Grammar and punctuation exercises focus on rhetorical questions, hyphens, contractions, modal verbs, and pronouns, which help to refine writing skills. Writing opportunities range from crafting postcards and newspaper reports to scripting news programmes and diary entries, offering a rich tapestry of perspectives on the story's events. Cross-curricular links extend learning beyond English, incorporating subjects such as science, computing, history, geography, art, design and technology, physical education, and personal, social, health, and economic education, making the learning experience both diverse and holistic.