KS: Upper KS2
Year Group: Year 5, Year 6
Author(s): Katherine Rundell
This is a 20-session Literary Leaf for The Explorer by Katherine Rundell in which all aspects of the Upper Key Stage 2 content domains are covered. Children will follow the characters on their explorations through the jungle, investigating the author's language choices; inferring thoughts, motivations and feelings; and studying the changes they observe in each character. Throughout, there will be plenty of opportunities for discussion and speculation about what might happen next, as well as chances to think about the themes and messages the book presents - of which there are many!
We chose this book for a Literary Leaf as it immediately felt like a literary classic. The story and characters have a timeless feel and are underpinned with the age-old theme of unlikely friendships emerging from adversity.
The Explorer is the enthralling story of a group of children who find themselves thrown together in a survival situation after their plane crashes in the Amazon. They develop routines and gradually adjust to their new life when they realise they are not alone and that someone was exploring before them. How will they navigate their way through this vast and unknown territory to safety? They will need all the teamwork, determination and courage they can muster to survive…plus a little help from a ‘friend’.
Unlikely friendships, Amazon, survival, aeroplanes
