Ready Steady Read Together
Survivors: Non-Fiction Lesson 5
Quiz Time
Start
Questions about the book so far...
Fill the Gaps
diameter
hurtling
uprooted
Across an area of 230 square miles everything was levelled. Whole buildings disappeared, ancient cedar trees with trunks up to six feet in were and thrownto the ground, and the local wildlife was virtually wiped out. As volcanic ash rained down on them, Nelson and Ruff sought shelter under a pile of debris, desperate to avoid being struck by rocks and car-sized lumps of ice out of the sky.
Discuss then check
Click if correct
Link Me
Link each word with its correct definition:
A knock loose
1 strewn
B scattered messily
2 dislodge
C slightly burnt
Check
3 savage
Click if correct
D attack ferociously
4 singe
Tick Me
Put one tick in each row to indicate if the statement is fact or opinion:
Fact
Opinion
1) The campsite was beautiful and calm before the eruption.
2) The noise of the volcano sounded like jets flying through trees.
Check
3) The volcanic eruption was the deadliest in American history.
Click if correct
4) Ash, rocks and car-sized lumps of ice hurtled out of the sky.
Which One's Right?
Which theme is most clearly shown in the text?
B love and loyalty
A magic and mystery
C good versus evil
D power of nature
Speaking Spotlight
TV Journalist
Explore
TV Journalist
What challenges did you face?
Can you describe what happened and where you were at the time?
How has this experience changed your life?
How did you feel during the most dangerous moments?
What helped you survive or stay calm?
What message would you like people to remember from your story?
Decide roles.Live interview a survivor.
Teacher Note: Look at plan for details.
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
makeshift
exceptionally hard going
blast zone
spewing
ferocity
chaos
Explore
From: Survivors by David Long © 2016. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Let me read today's text
Explore
It took some time to collect their thoughts, and when they came out of hiding they could hear cries of help from two of their friends. Brian Thomas must have been struck by a tree branch flying through the air and thought he’d broken his hip. Dan Balch was so severely burned by the blast that the flesh appeared to be melting off his hands. He had lost his shoes and injured one leg but was able to walk with support, though Thomas wouldn’t be going anywhere for the time being. The other two, Terry Crall and Karen Varner, were nowhere to be seen.
Before Balch slowly made his way down to the river to cool his burning skin, Nelson and Ruff helped him build a makeshift shelter for Thomas. They all assured their friend that they wouldn’t abandon him, and with the eruption still continuing Nelson and Ruff set off to look for help.
Moving anywhere within the huge blast zone was exceptionally hard going. Everywhere for miles around was knee-deep in scorching ash, and Nelson and Ruff had to pull up their shirt collars to use as masks, but even then breathing was difficult.
For several hours the pair made slow progress, fallen trees making it impossible to travel in a straight line. It was hot and exhausting but they kept it up until dusk, when they were finally spotted by the pilot of a National Guard helicopter, who offered to fly them to safety.
From: Survivors by David Long © 2016. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
The couple refused to climb aboard unless someone helped rescue their friends. With the volcano still spewing out ash and molten rock – more than five hundred million tonnes in total – the pilot took some persuading to fly up to the campsite. But when they got there and began searching it was impossible to tell where they had left Thomas. Everything that might have acted as a landmark was gone, the whole area swept away by the ferocity of the blast and then covered in debris. The great clouds of ash also made it impossible to see more than a few yards. In such circumstances a thorough search was not possible, but after being airlifted to safety Nelson and Ruff were delighted to learn that their two friends had already been rescued by another detachment of the National Guard.
The last two were not so lucky. Tragically, Terry Crall and Karen Varner were listed among nearly sixty dead as a result of the catastrophe. They were killed almost instantly by a tree falling on their tent, although in the chaos and confusion it took a while to locate their bodies. When rescuers finally came upon them the pair were found huddled together, Crall’s arm wrapped protectively around his girlfriend.
From: Survivors by David Long © 2016. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
Teach
Your turn
Practise & Apply
Use your text
Practise & Apply
1) Before Balch slowly made his way down to the river to cool his burning skin, Nelson and Ruff helped him build a makeshift shelter for Thomas
The word makeshift implies that the shelter was…
basic
permanent
complicated
strong
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
2) Put the following events in the correct order. Write a number 1-5 in each box.
Sue and Bruce fell into a huge hole which protected them from serious injury.
Four of the friends were rescued and the bodies of the remaining two were found.
Sue and Bruce heard cries of help from their two friends.
Sue, Bruce and Dan built a makeshift shelter to protect Brian.
Reveal Answer
The volcano erupted, causing an earthquake, a mudslide and an avalanche.
Practise & Apply
3) Who spotted and Sue and Bruce and rescued them?
Acceptable Answers
- the pilot of a National Guard helicopter
- the helicopter pilot
- the pilot
- a person in the National Guard
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
4) Using information from the text, place a tick (✓) in one box in each row to show whether each statement is a fact or an opinion:
Fact
Opinion
The makeshift shelter was a clever solution to protect Brian.
Sue and Bruce were brave to look for help to rescue their friend.
Moving through the blast zone was difficult due to fallen trees.
The rescue of Brian and Dan by the National Guard was delightful.
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
5) Explain two ways in which Yossi Ghinsberg’s experience was similar to Sue Ruff and Bruce Nelson’s experience.
both were rescued
Yossi was rescued by his friend and a guide on a boat Sue and Bruce were rescued by a National Guard helicopter
both struggled to make quick progress
Yossi faced an impenetrable rainforest Sue and Bruce had to move through knee-deep ash and fallen trees
both had group members who died
Yossi’s friends who left the expedition were never seen again Sue and Bruce’s friends, Terry and Karen, died during the eruption
both were separated from other members of their group
Yossi’s group split, with some quitting the expedition and he was separated from Kevin on the raft Sue and Bruce were separated from friends during the eruption
both experienced life-threatening situations
Yossi’s expedition went wrong exposing him to dangers in the Amazon Sue and Bruce were caught in natural catastrophes
both faced danger in wild, natural environments
Yossi was lost in the Amazon rainforest Sue and Bruce were camping near Mount St Helens surrounded by forests and mountains
RevealAnswers
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
pair non-fiction with fiction.
Reveal
Read a story and then a fact book on the same topic.
If you like this book, you might like...
Copyright Notice
This document has been supplied under a CLA Licence with specific terms of use. It is protected by copyright and, save as may be permitted by law, it may not be further copied, stored, re-copied electronically or otherwise shared, even for internal purposes, without the prior further permission of the Rightsholder. Extracts sourced from: Survivors by David Long © 2016 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.
uprooted
diameter
hurtling
RSRT Y6 L5 Survivors
Literacy Counts
Created on June 18, 2025
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Urban Illustrated Presentation
View
3D Corporate Reporting
View
Discover Your AI Assistant
View
Vision Board
View
SWOT Challenge: Classify Key Factors
View
Explainer Video: Keys to Effective Communication
View
Explainer Video: AI for Companies
Explore all templates
Transcript
Ready Steady Read Together
Survivors: Non-Fiction Lesson 5
Quiz Time
Start
Questions about the book so far...
Fill the Gaps
diameter
hurtling
uprooted
Across an area of 230 square miles everything was levelled. Whole buildings disappeared, ancient cedar trees with trunks up to six feet in were and thrownto the ground, and the local wildlife was virtually wiped out. As volcanic ash rained down on them, Nelson and Ruff sought shelter under a pile of debris, desperate to avoid being struck by rocks and car-sized lumps of ice out of the sky.
Discuss then check
Click if correct
Link Me
Link each word with its correct definition:
A knock loose
1 strewn
B scattered messily
2 dislodge
C slightly burnt
Check
3 savage
Click if correct
D attack ferociously
4 singe
Tick Me
Put one tick in each row to indicate if the statement is fact or opinion:
Fact
Opinion
1) The campsite was beautiful and calm before the eruption.
2) The noise of the volcano sounded like jets flying through trees.
Check
3) The volcanic eruption was the deadliest in American history.
Click if correct
4) Ash, rocks and car-sized lumps of ice hurtled out of the sky.
Which One's Right?
Which theme is most clearly shown in the text?
B love and loyalty
A magic and mystery
C good versus evil
D power of nature
Speaking Spotlight
TV Journalist
Explore
TV Journalist
What challenges did you face?
Can you describe what happened and where you were at the time?
How has this experience changed your life?
How did you feel during the most dangerous moments?
What helped you survive or stay calm?
What message would you like people to remember from your story?
Decide roles.Live interview a survivor.
Teacher Note: Look at plan for details.
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
makeshift
exceptionally hard going
blast zone
spewing
ferocity
chaos
Explore
From: Survivors by David Long © 2016. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Let me read today's text
Explore
It took some time to collect their thoughts, and when they came out of hiding they could hear cries of help from two of their friends. Brian Thomas must have been struck by a tree branch flying through the air and thought he’d broken his hip. Dan Balch was so severely burned by the blast that the flesh appeared to be melting off his hands. He had lost his shoes and injured one leg but was able to walk with support, though Thomas wouldn’t be going anywhere for the time being. The other two, Terry Crall and Karen Varner, were nowhere to be seen. Before Balch slowly made his way down to the river to cool his burning skin, Nelson and Ruff helped him build a makeshift shelter for Thomas. They all assured their friend that they wouldn’t abandon him, and with the eruption still continuing Nelson and Ruff set off to look for help. Moving anywhere within the huge blast zone was exceptionally hard going. Everywhere for miles around was knee-deep in scorching ash, and Nelson and Ruff had to pull up their shirt collars to use as masks, but even then breathing was difficult. For several hours the pair made slow progress, fallen trees making it impossible to travel in a straight line. It was hot and exhausting but they kept it up until dusk, when they were finally spotted by the pilot of a National Guard helicopter, who offered to fly them to safety.
From: Survivors by David Long © 2016. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
The couple refused to climb aboard unless someone helped rescue their friends. With the volcano still spewing out ash and molten rock – more than five hundred million tonnes in total – the pilot took some persuading to fly up to the campsite. But when they got there and began searching it was impossible to tell where they had left Thomas. Everything that might have acted as a landmark was gone, the whole area swept away by the ferocity of the blast and then covered in debris. The great clouds of ash also made it impossible to see more than a few yards. In such circumstances a thorough search was not possible, but after being airlifted to safety Nelson and Ruff were delighted to learn that their two friends had already been rescued by another detachment of the National Guard. The last two were not so lucky. Tragically, Terry Crall and Karen Varner were listed among nearly sixty dead as a result of the catastrophe. They were killed almost instantly by a tree falling on their tent, although in the chaos and confusion it took a while to locate their bodies. When rescuers finally came upon them the pair were found huddled together, Crall’s arm wrapped protectively around his girlfriend.
From: Survivors by David Long © 2016. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
Teach
Your turn
Practise & Apply
Use your text
Practise & Apply
1) Before Balch slowly made his way down to the river to cool his burning skin, Nelson and Ruff helped him build a makeshift shelter for Thomas
The word makeshift implies that the shelter was…
basic
permanent
complicated
strong
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
2) Put the following events in the correct order. Write a number 1-5 in each box.
Sue and Bruce fell into a huge hole which protected them from serious injury.
Four of the friends were rescued and the bodies of the remaining two were found.
Sue and Bruce heard cries of help from their two friends.
Sue, Bruce and Dan built a makeshift shelter to protect Brian.
Reveal Answer
The volcano erupted, causing an earthquake, a mudslide and an avalanche.
Practise & Apply
3) Who spotted and Sue and Bruce and rescued them?
Acceptable Answers
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
4) Using information from the text, place a tick (✓) in one box in each row to show whether each statement is a fact or an opinion:
Fact
Opinion
The makeshift shelter was a clever solution to protect Brian.
Sue and Bruce were brave to look for help to rescue their friend.
Moving through the blast zone was difficult due to fallen trees.
The rescue of Brian and Dan by the National Guard was delightful.
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
5) Explain two ways in which Yossi Ghinsberg’s experience was similar to Sue Ruff and Bruce Nelson’s experience.
both were rescued
Yossi was rescued by his friend and a guide on a boat Sue and Bruce were rescued by a National Guard helicopter
both struggled to make quick progress
Yossi faced an impenetrable rainforest Sue and Bruce had to move through knee-deep ash and fallen trees
both had group members who died
Yossi’s friends who left the expedition were never seen again Sue and Bruce’s friends, Terry and Karen, died during the eruption
both were separated from other members of their group
Yossi’s group split, with some quitting the expedition and he was separated from Kevin on the raft Sue and Bruce were separated from friends during the eruption
both experienced life-threatening situations
Yossi’s expedition went wrong exposing him to dangers in the Amazon Sue and Bruce were caught in natural catastrophes
both faced danger in wild, natural environments
Yossi was lost in the Amazon rainforest Sue and Bruce were camping near Mount St Helens surrounded by forests and mountains
RevealAnswers
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
pair non-fiction with fiction.
Reveal
Read a story and then a fact book on the same topic.
If you like this book, you might like...
Copyright Notice
This document has been supplied under a CLA Licence with specific terms of use. It is protected by copyright and, save as may be permitted by law, it may not be further copied, stored, re-copied electronically or otherwise shared, even for internal purposes, without the prior further permission of the Rightsholder. Extracts sourced from: Survivors by David Long © 2016 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.
uprooted
diameter
hurtling