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RSRT Y5 L5 The Explorer

Literacy Counts

Created on December 1, 2025

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Transcript

Ready Steady Read Together

The Explorer: Fiction Lesson 5

Quiz Time

Start

Questions about the book so far...

Find Me

Find the words that hint at where the owner of the pouch might be from:

“A tobacco tin,” he said. It was rusty, but less rusty than the sardine can. “Let me see?” said Con. There were words on the side. She whispered them aloud, as if they were a spell. “Collier’s Finest Tobacco. London, Piccadilly.” “There’s something else,” he said. The tree rocked suddenly in the wind and the thing slipped through his fingers.

1 Discuss then check
2 Discuss then check

London

Picadilly

True or False?

The red leather pouch was proof that other humans had visited that part of the rainforest.

False
True

Link Me

Link each character with the words that best describe them:

A cautious, sarcastic and anxious

1 Fred

Check
Click if correct

B curious, impulsive and playful

2 Con

C decisive, adventurous and observant

3 Lila

D shy, caring and compassionate

4 Max

Sequence Me

Put the events from the unit in the correct order:

A) The children locate a water source but discover piranhas in the river.

B) Fred and Con discover a leather pouch hidden high in the rainforest’s canopy.

C) Lila rescues an orphaned baby sloth and takes it back to their camp.

D) A plane crashes in the Amazon and the four passengers survive.

Click if correct
Check

Speaking Spotlight

Role on the Wall

Explore

Role on the Wall

Think
Say
Do

Then bring the character to life!

First

Feel
Describe
Behave

Vocabulary

Explore

Hover for definitions!

shards of green sunlight

billowing

paralysed

footholds

coaxing

rigid faced

Explore

From: The Explorer by Katherine Rundell © 2017. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Let me read today's text

Explore

Smoke

A swirl of air reached the children from the jungle, and Baca let out a mew. A shiver passed down Fred’s spine. “Does something smell odd to you?” Baca seemed nervous. He began trying to bite Lila’s hem into ribbons. Lila stared back towards the path to their clearing. Where there should have been shards of green sunlight there was a swirl of grey. “Is that…dust?” “It’s smoke,” said Fred. He sniffed again. “It’s a fire!” For a moment they both stared at the billowing grey, paralysed. Then Lila let out a scream, and the scream shook the whole raft. “Max! Where’s Max?” “He was right there, on the bank, with Con!” The smoke began to flow like water, sweeping out of the trees towards them. Fred’s eyes stung. There was a pounding of feet and Con came sprinting out of the bushes, her hair flying behind her, catching in the trees. She half dived, half fell into the river and swam, splashing frantically towards the raft. “I saw it!” she cried, hauling herself up over the edge. “The clearing’s on fire! It’s horrible!” her eyes were red and wild. She stared around. “Where’s Max?”

From: The Explorer by Katherine Rundell © 2017. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

“I thought he was with you!” Lila’s face was unrecognisable. “What? No! He said he was going to find you – he wanted to play with Baca!” “No! This can’t be happening!” Lila stood up on the raft. “Max!” “Max!” shouted Fred. “Max!” “I’m here!” The voice was tiny and thin and sounded of pure panic. Max had scrambled up a tree. He was sitting, whimpering, unable to scream, in the branches overhanging the river. Fred stared up at him, divided between shock and terror. “How did he get up there?” said Con. “It’s so high!” “Jump in, Max! Jump into the water!” called Lila. “I can’t!” “Max! I am ordering you!” Her voice was shrill, wire-thin. “I’m your big sister and you do what I say!”

From: The Explorer by Katherine Rundell © 2017. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Max’s voice was a shriek. “I can’t!” He started crying in long wordless wails, balanced above the river. Fred began pulling off his boots, but Lila thrust Baca at Con and was in the water. Fred had never seen a human swim so fast. She scrambled up the bank, her nails tearing against the mud, and sprinted for the tree. She began climbing, hauling herself up with just her arms where the footholds failed. “Max!” she called. “Just stay there!” Fred and Con sat on the raft below, Con holding Baca in both hands, watching, coughing as the smoke thickened around them. Max was crouching like a sloth, with his arms and legs wrapped around the branch. Fred squinted up to see Lila crawling along the branch, talking to him, coaxing him, trying to untangle him, her body shaking as she moved. Max had stopped crying and was now rigid faced and completely silent, which was somehow more frightening than the screaming.

From: The Explorer by Katherine Rundell © 2017. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Strategy Stop

Teach

Your turn

Practise & Apply

Use your text

Practise & Apply

1) “I saw it!” she cried, hauling herself up over the edge.

Circle the word which best completes the sentence. The word ‘hauling’ suggests Con pulled herself up with…

speed
panic
effort
ease
Reveal Answer

Practise & Apply

2) Who did Lila give Baca to before going to rescue Max?

Acceptable Answers:

  • Con
  • Lila thrust Baca at Con

Reveal Answer

Practise & Apply

3) How is the children’s first interaction with the Baca, the baby sloth similar to this scene? Tick all answers which accurately complete the sentence. In both scenes…

Fred takes the lead and acts quickly to help.

The children are frightened for someone’s safety.

There is immediate risk of death.

There is a character who is helpless and vulnerable.

Reveal Answer

Practise & Apply

4) Complete the table below. For each character, identify the emotion they are feeling in the scene and provide evidence from the text to support your answer. The first row has been completed for you.

Clickon each box to reveal acceptable answers

4) Complete the table below. For each character, identify the emotion they are feeling in the scene and provide evidence from the text to support your answer. The first row has been completed for you.

Clickon each box to reveal acceptable answers

5) Remembering the whole text, put the following events in order. Write a number 1-5 in each box.

Lila scurried up the tree and was attempting to convince Max to jump in the river.

Lila screamed when she realised Max was not with her on the raft.

Con swam frantically to Fred and Lila and then told them about the fire.

Fred felt a shiver down his spine when he smelt smoke.

Reveal Answer

The children spotted Max whimpering on high, overhanging branches.

Practise & Apply

Feedback: Who did what well?

FindRead Talk

EchoRead

ChoralRead

ReadingStrategy

Answers & Text Marks

Other...

To be a book lover, you could...

write alternate endings.

Reveal

Imagine how the story could have ended differently.

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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: The Explorer by Katherine Rundell © 2017 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.