The Wreck of the Zanzibar - Session 2 - Worksheet

Session 2 of 'The Wreck of the Zanzibar' provides a comprehensive array of discussion questions, reading activities, and writing opportunities for KS2 students. The discussion questions delve into the characters' motivations and feelings, such as Laura's skepticism towards her mother's optimism, Granny May's distress caused by the storm, and the intrigue surrounding Joseph Hannibal. Students are encouraged to continue developing their understanding of the plot through a timeline of events, analyse characters like Billy and Joseph Hannibal, and make predictions about the story's developments. Additionally, they are tasked with expanding their nautical vocabulary with terms like 'tea clipper' and 'steamship', and enhancing their reading comprehension skills with dedicated resources.

The session also focuses on grammar and punctuation, with exercises on apostrophes of contraction, conjunctions, pronouns, and reported speech. Students explore words such as 'lopsided' and 'miserable' in the Words to Workshop section. Writing opportunities are abundant, ranging from crafting diaries and letters from the perspectives of different characters to reporting on the storm's impact and composing biographies. Students are invited to debate moral questions regarding Billy's decisions and Joseph Hannibal's actions. The worksheet also suggests incorporating poetry for inspiration, with works from esteemed poets like John Masefield and Rudyard Kipling. Cross-curricular links are established, with activities related to science, computing, history, geography, art, design and technology, physical education, and personal, social, health, and economic education, some of which can be extended throughout the topic.