‘Rainforest Calling’ Guided Reading

Questions PowerPoint Answers

Daisy’s Journal: Monday 24th March 9:50 a.m.
To think about while reading:
1. How can we tell that this part of the text is written as a journal?
Children may suggest any of the following:
• The text is presented in a handwritten font
• The lines on the page suggest a workbook or notebook
• There is a date and time instead of a chapter heading
• The text is written in first person and an informal style
• On page 3, Daisy explains that she has to write a ‘journal
entry’ every time she uses the webcams.

2. Can you spot any interesting facts about the rainforest?

Children may suggest any of the following:
• ‘more than two thirds of the world’s plant species live in rainforest environments.
That’s more than 80,000 different plants!’
• ‘Brazil’
• ‘the Amazon rainforest is over 5,000 miles away’
• ‘there are still over five million animal species waiting to be discovered in the world
and most of those probably live in the rainforest’
• ‘Those beans that people use to make chocolate come from there, and pineapples, too,
plus the ginger that goes into yummy biscuits... even rubber for the soles of my trainers.’
• ‘more than twenty-five percent (that’s a quarter) of all medicines use plants from the
rainforest’
• ‘orchids’

3. What project has Daisy volunteered to do and what tasks are involved?
Daisy will be spending ‘the whole week looking at the Amazon’ (p3). She will be
‘spotting all the different plants and animals’ during her ‘breaks and at lunchtime’ (p3).
She has to ‘write a journal entry to tell the rest of the class what [she has] seen on the
webcams’ (p3).

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 1 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions

After reading the chapter:

1. What is the name of Daisy’s teacher?
Mrs Curtis (p2)

2. Why didn’t Jack Walters do the project?

‘He changed his mind when he found out that we’re only allowed to look at the webcams
during our breaks and at lunchtime. He said that there was no way that he was going to
miss playing football in the playground.’ (p3)

3. Who is Millie?
Daisy’s best friend (p3)

4. How does Daisy change what view she is looking at in the rainforest?
‘[S]he showed me that we can move the webcams with the arrows on the keyboard. If
I want to move left or right, up or down, I just press the arrows. I can even move from
camera to camera so that I can explore each layer of the rainforest!’ (p4)

5. What did Daisy say she would name a new kind of flower if she found one and why?
The Wilkins orchid, after her grandmother (p6)

Daisy’s Journal: Monday 24th March 10:41 a.m.

To think about while reading:
1. If Daisy looks at one rainforest layer each day, what will she do on Friday?
‘Mrs Curtis has said that on Friday, I can look at whatever I want, so that’s when I’ll
look for an orchid – and maybe Dad’s Bigfoot, too.’ (p7)

2. What is the name of the headteacher?

Ms Smeaton (p7)

3. What does Jack claim to know about the howler monkey?

‘Jack Walters says that a howler monkey’s cry is so loud, it can be heard over five
kilometres away.’ (p7)

After reading the chapter:

1. What is meant by the phrase ‘take with a pinch of salt’?
To not take everything you hear as fact, or to be sceptical (p7)

2. Give two meanings of the word ‘highlights’ from this journal entry.
• The shortened version including the most important or interesting information (p7)

• Creatively lightened strands of hair to create a two-toned effect (p7)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 2 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions
3. Which word was Daisy struggling to spell correctly?
hippopotamus

4. Which word did Daisy confuse with ‘conservation’?

conversation

5. What will Daisy get to do if her presentation to the class goes really well?
‘Mrs Curtis said that if my rainforest talk is really good, she’ll ask our headteacher, Ms
Smeaton, if I can present it in assembly. Ms Smeaton gives out badges to children who
take part in assemblies and I’ve always wanted one of those!’ (p7-8)

Daisy’s Journal: Monday 24th March 12:41 p.m.

To think about while reading:
1. What does Daisy score on her spelling test? What mistake does she make?
Eight out of ten. She spells exaggerate as eggsajerate (p8)

2. What is meant by the area of the forest being ‘protected’?

‘no one touches them and they stay as perfectly natural environments for the plants
and animals underneath the trees’ (p9)

3. What types of bird does Daisy spot in this entry?

cotingas and macaws

After reading the chapter:

1. Give an example of humour in this section of the text.
Children may suggest:

• ‘Mrs Curtis told him that he should definitely know how to spell disastrous
after his penalty miss in that football semi-final last week.’ (p8)

• ‘Dad says that’s over two hundred feet – but what if the person
measuring it has really small feet, or huge ones?’ (p9)

• ‘the Amazon rainforest stretches for more than five million square
kilometres. That’s a lot of kilometres, but why are they square? What’s
wrong with round kilometres, or even triangle-shaped ones?’ (p10)

• ‘Bloggers have chopped down three quarters of a million kilometres

in just forty years. No, wait – it’s loggers, not bloggers’ (p11)

• ‘the only person I know who can shout as loud as a howler

monkey is Mr Paterson, our caretaker’ (p14)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 3 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions
2. In which rainforest are the webcams located?
the Amazon rainforest

3. Can you remember the names of any countries that this rainforest stretches into?
‘As well as Brazil, there’s also Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana,
Suriname and French Guiana.’ (p10)

4. What evidence is there that Daisy is enthusiastic about her project?

• ‘They’re amazing!’ (p8)

• ‘It’s so incredible’ (p9)

• ‘Nine!’ (p10)

• ‘I’ll have to ask Mrs Curtis about that’ (p10)

• ‘mind-blowing’ (p11)

• ‘It’s so simple and yet so clever!’ (p13)

• ‘amazing blue birds’ (p13)

5. What is meant by the terms ‘deforestation’ and ‘loggers’?

Daisy explains that ‘loggers chop down the trees and sell the wood. Then, instead of
planting more trees, they just dig up the land for growing crops or farming cattle. [I
think] that’s called deforestation.’

Daisy’s Journal: Monday 24th March 12:52 p.m.

To think about while reading:
1. Why does Daisy have to start a new journal entry?
She went to get a tissue to blow her nose. Mrs Curtis told her to accurately record her
time like a real scientist.

2. What type of bird is spotted in this entry and how is it described?

A potoo. It is described as:

• ‘really ugly and sort of like a cross between a tawny

owl and a car with big headlamps’ (p15)

• ‘Its eyes are so huge that it looks startled all the time’ (p15)

• the poor thing’s little thin beak looks squashed, as if

it’s been caught in a set of lift doors’ (p16)

• ‘its feathers aren’t colourful at all’ (p16)

• ‘[Its mouth] seems to be permanently turned down into a sad frown’ (p16)
Join Book Club to receive printed copies
of Originals stories each half-term. Page 4 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions

• ‘when it opens its beak [...] [it] is almost wider than its entire face’ (p16)

• ‘the darker feathers on its chest make a sort of lopsided heart shape’ (p16)

3. Why doesn’t she spot the bird at first?

‘it’s really good at hiding’ (p16). You may wish to discuss camouflage with children.

After reading the chapter:

1. What did Daisy use to make the camera zoom in?
the scroll wheel on the mouse (p14)

2. What is unusual about the markings of the potoo that Daisy has seen?
‘the darker feathers on its chest make a sort of lopsided heart shape’ (p16)

3. Find a word which means ‘active mainly at night’.

nocturnal (p17)

4. What is meant by the phrase ‘making a real din’?

making a lot of noise (p17)

5. What animal does Daisy hope to see in the canopy layer next?
a sloth

Webcam: EMERGENT_CAM_01 MON_24/3_12:59PM

To think about while reading:
1. How can we tell this section is different to Daisy’s journal entries?
Children may mention that:
• The font (handwriting) has changed

• The illustration is not hand-drawn by Daisy and has a webcam frame

• The date stamp now belongs to the webcam and not Daisy’s journal

• The notebook background has been removed

2. What problem or concern is being expressed by Pedro to the webcam?

‘Something dreadful is happening to our beautiful trees... They’re vanishing! My forest
friends and I think that there are some nasty tree-stealers prowling the forest.’ (p25)

3. What impression do you get of the personality traits of the macaw?

Children’s own responses, justified by evidence such as:
• ‘Rodrigo just thinks it’s another reason for him to pose
and show off his bright feathers.’ (p21)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 5 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions

• “Do you think they like my feathers, Pedro?” he squawks. “Which do

you think they like best, eh? Yellow? Or maybe blue?” (p21)

• ‘Sometimes, I think that Rodrigo loves himself way, way too much.’ (p21)

• ‘those flashy macaws can be so sensitive.’ (p22)

After reading the chapter:

1. Who or what is nicknamed ‘one-eye’?
the webcam

2. Is this section written mainly in first person or third person? Give examples to support
your answer.
Children’s own responses which refer to the unusual mix of first, second and third
person in Pedro’s narration. Examples may be given such as:

• ‘Me and my big, silly beak!’ (p21)

• ‘Sometimes, I think that Rodrigo loves himself way, way too much.’ (p21)

• ‘But this potoo will keep his beak shut’ (p22)

• ‘ In fact, all you ever do is sit there on a tree like a lazy,

sleeping sloth – just not nearly as pretty, huh?’ (p23)

3. What animals does Pedro compare the webcam to?

• ‘look at your skin: it’s hard and tough like a caiman’s tail’ (p23)

• ‘and smooth, too, just like a turtle’s belly’ (p23)

• ‘like a lazy, sleeping sloth’ (p23)

4. How many animal character names can you remember from this section?
• Rodrigo the macaw (p21)

• Pedro the potoo (p21)

• Alice the agouti (p27)

• Tolle the sloth (p27)

• Winfrey the tree boa (p27)

• Francisco the falcon (p27)

5. What do the letters C.A.R.E. stand for?

Creatures Against Rainforest Evacuation (p28)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 6 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions

Daisy’s Journal: Tuesday 25th March 10:32 a.m. / 12:23 p.m.

To think about while reading:
1. What does Daisy remind herself to write more of and less of in this entry?
‘Write more about the rainforest and less about Grandma Wilkins.’ (p32)

2. What name is the canopy layer also sometimes known by?

habitat zone or upper layer

3. Find evidence to describe the volume of noise in the canopy layer.

• ‘They race in groups along the branches, screeching and
squabbling as they snatch fruit from the trees.’ (p36)

• ‘They’re everywhere, flapping around on the branches like squawking gangs’ (p37)

• ‘I couldn’t live in the canopy. It’s way too noisy and the sound of all those
birds and monkeys together almost gave me a headache. I’m sure I could
hear a woodpecker tap-tapping on a tree nearby. I wonder if they’re taking
part in some kind of rainforest talent competition, to see which species
can make the loudest racket. Every time a monkey shrieks, a bird squawks
back even louder and that sets the rest of them off, until the whole forest
sounds like it’s filled with hordes of angry football supporters.’ (p37-38)

After reading the chapter:

1. What does Daisy mean when she says she is focusing on the ‘vegetation’?
the trees and plants (p33)

2. Why is the canopy layer described as being darker than the emergent layer?
‘[...] because there are so many trees growing tightly beside each other. All the leaves
and branches knit together like one giant blanket, covering everything.’ (p34)

3. How does Daisy compare the canopy layer to a greenhouse?

‘The canopy traps the heat and makes it humid, like the inside of my grandad’s
greenhouse in summer’ (p34)

4. What are Daisy’s favourite plants so far?

‘My favourite plants are the ones that look like the heads of purple lions,
with petals that spread out like a great big, wiggly mane. I also love
those orange ones that look just like colourful, spiky pine cones on stalks. (p35)

5. Find a phrase that tells you that Daisy didn’t want to move onto the next layer yet.
‘I wish that I’d been able to spend more time exploring the canopy.’ (p36)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 7 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions

Daisy’s Journal: Tuesday 25th March 12:46 p.m.

To think about while reading:
1. Describe anything that Daisy discovers about spiders in the rainforest.
Children may suggest any of the following:

• ‘there are more than 3,000 different types living there’ (p38)

• ‘Some of them love jumping and can leap from tree to tree’ (p38)

• ‘Others are as big as a saucer and actually catch and eat birds’ (p38)

• ‘[The Brazilian wandering spider is] one of the most

poisonous spiders in the world’ (p38)

• ‘The Brazilian wandering spider wanders across the jungle floor

instead of living in a lair or spinning a web.’ (p38)

2. Who is Mr Paterson?
the school caretaker

3. Which creature does Daisy spot for a second time and how does she know that it’s the
same one?
The potoo. ‘[It] had that heart shape on its chest’ (p41)

After reading the chapter:

1. Why did Daisy have to start a new journal entry this time?
‘[She] had to nip back to class to get [her] water bottle’ (p38)

2. What impression does Daisy have of the sloth?

• ‘I think it was asleep – it must have been there a long time, too,
because it actually had moss growing on its fur!’ (p39)

• ‘I didn’t know that sloths were so cute’ (p39)

• ‘or that they had long claws like a bear’s’ (p39)

3. Give reasons that Daisy suggests that plants in the rainforest are useful to humans.
• ‘they soak up tons of carbon dioxide so that the rest of us can breathe safely’ (p40)

• ‘What if there are plants that can help our doctors cure flu, or
special leaves that could stop the arthritis in my grandma’s fingers
from hurting her so much when she’s gardening?’ (p41)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 8 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions

4. Does Daisy have a positive or negative impression of the illegal loggers? Give evidence to
support your answer.
Children’s own responses, justified with evidence such as:

Positive Negative
• ‘It’s the only job that they can get • ‘These are the naughty groups who chop
and the only way to earn enough down the trees without permission’ (p40)
to feed and clothe themselves
• ‘The rainforest trees help to keep
and their families.’ (p40)
the planet healthy. I read that they
• ‘But really, those people are just going soak up tons of carbon dioxide so
to work like my mum and dad, so that the rest of us can breathe safely
that children like me can have new – so if we chop them down, what
shoes and food and toys’ (p41) happens to us all then?’ (p40)

• ‘Illegal logging is helping to destroy the

rainforest and kills lots of the animals
and plants that live there.’ (p41)

Children may respond that Daisy ‘doesn’t know what to think’ (p41)

5. What strange behaviour did the potoo display?

‘It was flapping its wings like a demented conductor, and hopping up and down on the
branch so hard that I thought it might snap. It wailed and wailed so much that I had to
turn down the volume.’ (p42)

Webcam: CANOPY_CAM_02 TUE_25/3_12:54PM

To think about while reading:
1. How many animal characters can you spot being mentioned in this section?
• snakes (p45, p47) • insects (p49)

• caiman (p45) • chicks (p47)

• giant eagle (p45) • caterpillar (p47)

• (Iggy) iguana (p46) • (Fernando) frog (p47)

• Rodrigo (p46) • (K-C) kinkajou (p47)

• monkeys (p47) • (Tolle) sloth (p48)

• birds (p47) • (Jose) jaguar (p49)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 9 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions
2. Why does Pedro sometimes wish that his ears wouldn’t work?
Because the forest is loud when he is trying to sleep; ‘The only forest rhythm that I
hear is the screams of howler monkeys and the buzzbuzz of insects. Sometimes, I really
wish that my poor ears didn’t work, especially when I’m trying to get my afternoon
siesta.’ (p49)

3. What do we discover about Pedro’s favourite tree?

It has been chopped down (p53)

After reading the chapter:

1. Look at the paragraph beginning ‘Look over there, one-eye.’ What impression do you get of
the trees and branches from this section?
Children’s own responses which may refer to the impressive size of the forest, how old it
is or how wild and alive it seems from Pedro’s description.

‘Look over there, one-eye. Notice how those twisting branches twirl and coil around
each other? They make me think of two long-lost snakes hugging after years apart.
Don’t you agree? And right there, where that big, gnarly trunk splits wider than
a caiman’s tongue, can you see how all those leaves shelter the forest like the
outstretched wing of a giant eagle? Have you ever seen anything so graceful and
natural and… green?’ (p45)

2. What is meant by the word ‘glistens’?

To shine with a sparkling light, usually through being wet.

3. What kind of animals are Fernando and K-C?

frog and kinkajou

4. How does Pedro feel about his tree being chopped down? How do you know?
Encourage children to use the text, rather than the illustration, to answer this question.
Children’s responses may refer to any of the following:

• Shocked - ‘Whoa!’ (p52)

• Confused - ‘Where has Pedro’s tree gone?’ (p52)

• Speechless - ‘...there’s just… ...nothing.’ (p52-53)

• Panicking - ‘No, no, no!’ (p53)

• Angry - ‘Those wicked tree-stealers have taken Pedro’s special tree.’ (p53)

• Sad - ‘Poor tree. Poor me!’ (p54)

• Determined - ‘I want you to see what’s happening to poor animals like

Winfrey. Maybe then you’ll understand what unfair looks like.’ (p54)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 10 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions
5. Where does Pedro want to meet tomorrow? Do you think it will be possible for Daisy to
‘meet’ him there?
Pedro wants the one-eye to meet him ‘lower down’. Children may know that Daisy is
likely to have a camera in the lower part of the forest because of her explanation at the
start of her journal.

Daisy’s Journal: Wednesday 26th March 8:19 a.m.

To think about while reading:
1. During what part of the school day does Daisy write this journal entry?
Breakfast Club (p58)

2. What does Mrs Curtis think about the potoo knowing he is being watched?
She thought Daisy was being silly (p58)

3. Why does Daisy suggest that we all have a piece of the rainforest in our homes?
‘Lots of those nice plants that we can buy at garden centres, like palms and ferns and
bamboos and lots more, originally come from the rainforest.’ (p61)

After reading the chapter:

1. Which layer of the rainforest was being studied in this section and what did this prompt
Millie to ask?
The understorey. Millie asked ‘if that meant we’d be looking for storybooks under the
ground.’ (p59)

2. How did Daisy explain the reason for it being so dark?

‘only a small percentage of the light from the emergent layer reaches this far
down’ (p60)

3. What does Daisy compare to ‘watching pieces of summer sky tumbling past’?
‘A swarm of blue wings raced past the camera’ (p61)

4. What evidence suggests that the girls enjoyed this session of watching the webcam?
• ‘Mrs Curtis always says that time flies when you’re having fun, and I
think that we both must have been having a great time because the school
morning bell sounded just as we had begun to count all the different
butterflies that were fluttering past. We couldn’t believe how many
different types there were, or how beautiful they looked.’ (p61)

• ‘Millie wants to come back at lunchtime’ (p61)

5. Daisy says she doubts that she will see the potoo again. What do you think?
Children’s own responses. Encourage them to use the evidence from Pedro’s last entry to
help them predict (i.e. Pedro has told the camera to meet him ‘lower down’ tomorrow).

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 11 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions

Webcam: UNDERSTOREY_CAM_03 WED_26/3_12:17PM

To think about while reading:
1. What does the potoo suggest helps him to see, despite the darkness?
‘my big eyes help me to see just fine’ (p65)

2. Which of his friends are we introduced to?

Winfrey the emerald tree boa

3. What is distinctive about this animal’s speech?

Winfrey makes long ‘sss’ sounds.

After reading the chapter:

1. What did we learn about the physical description of the emerald tree boa?
Encourage children to use the text, not the illustration, to describe Winfrey.
• Winfrey has ‘beautiful, bright green scales’ (p65)

• Winfrey sticks out her tongue (p65)

• Winfrey has a ‘thick tail’ (p67)

• Winfrey’s tongue is ‘forked’ (p67)

• Winfrey’s scales ‘glisten like river water in the sunlight’ (p67)

• Winfrey has a ‘long body’ (p67)

2. What terrible news does Winfrey report?

‘ she says that lots more trees were chopped down yesterday’ (p65)

3. What type of animal is Sonia?

a salamander (p66)

4. How do you think Pedro feels about ‘one-eye’ not talking to him? Give evidence from the
text to support your answer.
Pedro thinks that he has offended the one-eye. Direct children’s attention to
‘You’re still not talking to me. Is it something I’ve said?’ (p66)

5. What do you think will happen next to Pedro and Winfrey?

Children’s own responses.

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 12 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions

Daisy’s Journal: Wednesday 26th March 12:31 p.m.

To think about while reading:
1. What do Daisy and Millie decide about the potoo?
The girls decide that the potoo is definitely aware of them but to collect evidence before
telling anyone. (p73)

2. Why do they not tell Mrs Curtis straight away?

Mrs Curtis has already told Daisy that she is being silly and so Daisy wants to collect
evidence. (p73)

3. Look for the line: “And that means…”. Why does the author use ellipses (…) at the end?
Explain to the children that Millie starts the sentence but doesn’t finish it, so the
ellipses show that something is missing or coming up next.

After reading the chapter:

1. Which word did Jack spell correctly which Daisy didn’t? Can you spell it correctly?
embarrassing (p72)

2. What is Morse code?

Morse code is a way of disguising the alphabet by using different combinations of dots
and dashes or short and long signals. (p74)

3. What do you think Daisy means by a ‘cow-incident’?

a coincidence (p72)

4. What did Millie say the potoo looked like?

a startled owl chewing on an upside-down coat hook (p73)

5. What would you do if you were Daisy and Millie and you believed that the potoo knew he
was being watched?
Children’s own responses.

Webcam: UNDERSTOREY_CAM_03 WED_26/3_12:35PM

To think about while reading:
1. How long after the last journal entry does this webcam section occur?
four minutes

2. How does Pedro show the girls where to look?

Pedro flaps his wing in the direction he wants one-eye to move (p77).

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 13 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions
3. What can be seen instead of the ‘tall, elegant trees’?
‘the floor is covered with jagged wooden splinters and there is nothing but ripped,
scorched, ugly stumps’ (p78)

After reading the chapter:

1. Why were the trees that were chopped down so special to Winfrey?
‘Those trees had been in the forest for many seasons. Winfrey’s mama and papa coiled
around those very branches when they were just snakelets’ (p78-79)

2. Look at the line “Look, Winfrey. You know what they say: lightning doesn’t strike the same
leaf twi-”. Why is the last word incomplete?
Pedro’s speech is interrupted by a loud noise (p79).

3. What is meant by the word ‘reassure’?

To say or do something to remove the doubts or fears of someone (p79).

4. Where does Pedro ask ‘one-eye’ to follow him to at the end?

‘down to the forest floor’ (p80)

5. What do you think Daisy and Millie will do next?

Children’s own responses.

Daisy’s Journal: Wednesday 26th March 12:40 p.m. / 12:46 p.m.

To think about while reading:
1. How do you think Daisy felt when she realised that the bird was trying to communicate
with them?
Children’s own responses such as ‘I think that Daisy wanted to help because it says ‘we
both wanted to follow the bird’.

2. Why does Daisy have to start a separate journal entry at 12:46 p.m.?
‘I had to wait for Millie to fetch her inhaler from the classroom.’ (p86)

3. What did the girls see moving in the corner of the screen?
The trees were moving as they were being chopped down (p87).

After reading the chapter:

1. Can you use the text to explain the vocabulary: camouflage, habitat, predator and prey?
‘Camouflage allows animals to blend in with their habitat and hide from other animals.
Predators sometimes use camouflage to avoid being detected by their prey.’(p85)

Camouflage is when a creature has special colours or textures on its body to help
it to blend in. A habitat is the environment that an animal thrives in. A predator
is an animal which feeds on other animals and prey is an animal which is hunted
by another.

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 14 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions
2. What colour is suggested by the word ‘emerald’?
green

3. How did the girls know what type of snake they were looking at?
They looked at different snakes using the Internet search engine (p85).

4. At the end of the 12:46 p.m. journal entry, what did Millie suggest the potoo was doing?
“What if that little potoo is trying to show us what those loggers are doing to the
forest?” (p88)

5. Find a word in the text which means ‘vanished’ or ‘stopped being visible’.
disappeared (p88)

Webcam: F-FLOOR_CAM_04 THU_27/3_08:03AM

To think about while reading:
1. What does Pedro think has happened to ‘one-eye’?
Pedro thinks one-eye got scared (p93).

2. Which animals does Pedro introduce on the forest floor?

• Alice the agouti (p93)

• Camilla the caiman (p93)

• Felipe the frog (p94)

• Annie the anaconda (p96)

• Jose the jaguar (p95)

3. Who interrupts Pedro at the end of the section and why?

Alice interrupts Pedro because she can hear a grumbling noise (p98).

After reading the chapter:

1. Find a simile which shows that the webcam became still.
(you froze) like a petrified tree stump (p93)

2. Find any words which suggest the lack of light in this layer.
darker (p94); gloomier (p95); shadows (p95)

3. The caiman is described as “lying in wait”. What does this suggest about the way it
gets its food?
It suggests that the caiman stays very still in the dark and waits to surprise smaller
animals (p95).

4. What kind of food does Alice the agouti eat?

Brazil nuts (p96)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 15 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions
5. What secret is kept from her about them?
The birds eat the biggest nuts at the top of the tree, leaving the smallest ones to fall to
the floor for the agoutis. (p96)

Daisy’s Journal: Thursday 27th March 8:12 a.m.

To think about while reading:
1. How do you think Daisy is feeling at the beginning of this journal entry?
Children’s own responses such as excited, nervous, agitated, scared, wound up.

2. What does Pedro manage to divert Daisy’s attention to?

a clearing where men are chopping down trees (p106)

3. How do you think Pedro was feeling during this section?

Children’s own responses, using pieces of the text as evidence.

After reading the chapter:

1. What makes Daisy believe that the potoo is trying to communicate?
It was tapping on the lens and tugging the camera in the right direction. (p104-105)

2. Why did Daisy need to concentrate so hard when viewing the forest floor?
he forest floor is covered in plants and trees (p106).

3. Can you give a synonym for the word ‘peered’?

Children’s own responses such as ‘peeked’, ‘peeped’, ‘looked’ (p106)

4. What is the meaning of the word ‘agitated’?

Feeling worried or nervous (p107)

5. Why is ‘lollipop sticks’ a good comparison for the trees being chopped down?
Children’s own responses such as ‘lollipop sticks are small and would be easy to snap or
knock down so it shows how easily the machines are chopping the trees’. (p107)

Webcam: F-FLOOR_CAM_04 THU_27/3_08:15AM

To think about while reading:
1. What has happened to all of the other animals, apart from Pedro?
They have all run away. (p109)

2. Why do you think Pedro mentions Alice’s Brazil nuts?

The nuts are hard and hurt when they fall, so Pedro has an idea to use them as
weapons. (p112)

3. Look for the line beginning “Look how it towers…” What is the meaning of the word
‘towers’ in this sentence?
To tower is to be very tall. (p109)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 16 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions
After reading the chapter:
1. Look at the line, ‘How it chews through them with its fearsome teeth… and that sound!’
What ‘creature’ is Pedro referring to with this description?
a chainsaw (p110)

2. Find a sentence in this section that contains both a dash and a hyphen.
• ‘This is it – the tree-stealers are here and it is our time to fight!’ (p109)

• ‘Quick, one-eye – hide!’ (p110)

3. Find a word which means ‘falls in a way as it if has been overbalanced’.

topples (p110)

4. How do you think Pedro felt as he faced the danger?

Children’s own responses such as ‘I think Pedro felt scared because he said
‘How poor Pedro’s feathers are trembling!’’ (p110)

5. What do you think will happen next?

Children’s own responses.

Daisy’s Journal: Thursday 27th March 8:55 a.m.

To think about while reading:
1. The first line begins: “Stop it! STOP IT!” Why do you think uppercase letters have been
used here?
To show that the girls are shouting. (p116)

2. How do the girls manage to capture evidence of what is going on?

by saving screenshots (p119)

3. What happens to Pedro and how does Daisy help?

The loggers are starting to fight back at Pedro and so Daisy gets their attention and
shows them that they are on camera by wiggling her flashing light. (p120)

After reading the chapter:

1. Why couldn’t the loggers hear the girls’ shouts?
They were thousands of miles away and the girls’ sound was not being fed back to
the camera.

2. How tall does Daisy say that the potoo is?

fourteen inches (p116)

3. Give a synonym for the word ‘brave’.

Children’s own responses such as ‘fearless’, ‘courageous’, ‘plucky’ etc. (p116)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 17 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions
4. What is the meaning of the word ‘abandon’?
To stop looking after someone; to leave someone alone. (p118)

5. Why do you think the girls ducked under the computer table?
Children’s own responses such as ‘I think the girls felt like they could be seen through
their screen and they were afraid of the men with chainsaws.’

Daisy’s Journal: Friday 28th March 8:30 a.m. / 11:07 a.m.

To think about while reading:
1. Find a word with a similar meaning to ‘detective’.
sleuth (p124)

2. What makes Daisy embarrassed in the 11:07 a.m. journal entry?

Ms Smeaton called me and Millie up to the front in our school assembly this morning
and told everyone that we were heroes. (p124)

3. How does Millie feel about the same incident?

Millie loved it, of course. (p125)

After reading the chapter:

1. Use the text to describe what is meant by a ‘quota’.
‘The lady explained that the Brazilian government awards something called a quota.
These quotas give the good loggers permission to clear small parts of the forest but it
also controls how much work they’re allowed to do each year.’ (p124)

2. How were the illegal loggers stopped from continuing?

The Brazilian authorities (police) went to stop them. (p125)

3. How was Daisy rewarded for her efforts?

‘Ms Smeaton said that I could take one last look at the webcams in the lesson
before lunch. She also said that I can miss the whole lesson so that I can explore
properly.’ (p126)

4. Why was Daisy worried about the potoo?

‘The last time I had seen it, big, dirty boots and axes had been aimed at it. I needed to
know that it was safe.’ (p127)

5. What is meant by the phrase ‘My heart sank’?

It means that the person feels disappointment or sadness very suddenly. (p129)

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 18 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions

Webcam: CANOPY_CAM_02 FRI_28/3_11:46AM

To think about while reading:
1. What is the ‘wonderful, delightful noise’ that can be heard?
silence/’no chopping’ (p133)

2. Which animals are mentioned in this section?

Alice the agouti; Winfrey the boa and Tolle the sloth; Rodrigo the show-off macaw.

3. What other things are suggested that could be discovered at any point in the future in
the rainforest?
a new bird, monkey or lizard; a new fruit

After reading the chapter:

1. How did Pedro say he knew the webcam was watching?
The little red light was glowing brightly again. (p133)

2. What do the other animals think of Pedro?

They are treating him like a hero. (p134)

3. What was Pedro’s first thought as a way to say ‘thank you’?

‘some big, plump, wriggly maggots, topped off with a juicy acai berry’ (p135)

4. What was his actual action as a way to say thank you?

He moves aside to reveal a flower (orchid) that he has never seen before. (p136)

5. What do you think is the meaning of the word ‘comprende’?

Children’s own responses. ‘Comprende?’ means ‘Do you understand?’ or ‘Do you know
what I mean?’

Daisy’s Journal:Friday 28th March 11:51 a.m.

To think about while reading:
1. Which rainforest layers does Daisy look at for her last journal entry?
the canopy (after looking at the understorey)

2. What impression do you get of Grandma Wilkins’ garden?

Children’s own responses such as ‘I think it must be full of beautiful flowers’.

3. What tips are there for looking after the rainforest?

• Look out for symbols on foods like coffee, chocolate and tea that
show which products are certified by rainforest charities.

• Using paper that is environmentally friendly.

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 19 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club
 Rainforest Calling Guided Reading Questions
• I want to raise funds to donate to an organisation that works to conserve rainforests.

• Reduce palm oil use by looking for labels showing that products don’t contain
palm oil or that any palm oil in them has been grown sustainably.

• Learn even more about what parts of daily life rely on tropical forests.

After reading the chapter:

1. What impression do you get of Daisy and Millie’s relationship?
Children’s own responses.

2. What names does Millie suggest for the potoo?

Chuckie and Eggbert (p141)

3. Why was it the last opportunity to look at the webcams?

The password was running out and it was another school’s turn to use the webcams
next week. (p142)

4. What type of flower did Daisy see?

an orchid (p143)

5. What do you think were the main lessons that Daisy learnt from looking at the webcams?
Children’s own responses.

Join Book Club to receive printed copies

of Originals stories each half-term. Page 20 of 20
Visit twinkl.co.uk/book-club