Building comprehension of 'Curiosity' through rich discussion

English

Understanding the context of 'Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover'

Exploring the story 'Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover'

Reading around the text 'Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover'

Exploring and engaging with themes in 'Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover'

In 'Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover: reading’, pupils read, discussed and explored a non-fiction picturebook narrative. In ’Shackleton's Journey: reading’, pupils will read, discuss and explore another non-fiction picturebook narrative based on real-life events.

In 'Escape from Pompeii: reading’, pupils explored and engaged with a historical fiction picturebook narrative. In ’Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover: reading’, pupils will read, discuss and explore a non-fiction picturebook narrative based on space exploration.

In this unit, pupils read and explore the narrative non-fiction text, 'Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover'. They explore the context of Mars and the rover mission and answer a range of comprehension questions. Finally, pupils identify and engage with the key themes in the text.

'Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover': reading

Match the following keywords to their definition.

True or False? A Martian sol is longer than a day on Earth.

How long does the journey last from entering Mars’ atmosphere to landing? 

to break and examine the consistency of the rocks

to collect samples from beneath the surface of Mars

to detect hazards and safely travel around the Martian landscape

the rover has been able to travel across the surface of Mars

the Curiosity has sent back images from Mars’ surface

True or False? It did not matter where the Curiosity rover landed.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California

Which location did the Curiosity rover launch from?

What was the name of the rocket that helped the rover break through the Earth's atmosphere?

What did the scientists not want the Curiosity rover to take with it from Earth?

clean and free from any germs or contaminants

something that is used up or consumed and cannot be reused

Match the following words to their definitions.

to avoid the rover hitting any debris in space

to avoid colliding with any orbiting planets

Why was the launch date carefully chosen?

True or False? The only part of the rocket that travelled with the rover was called the module.

Starter Quiz

Which location did the Curiosity rover launch from?