Overview and Outcomes:

This is a three-week Writing Root for Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover by Markus Motum. It explores the themes of exploration and discovery and what it means to be curious. Children will follow the journey of the NASA rover Curiosity as it makes its way to Mars. Children will write labels to explain Curiosity’s features before exploring how to use cohesive devices to expand and explain. They will use the passive voice to log the rover’s landing on Mars and write a short news report to be broadcast to Times Square. Finally, children will draw together their learning to design a new rover and write an expanded explanation to propose it as the future of NASA exploration.

Synopsis of Text:

Discover the incredible story of the search for life on Mars, told from the unique perspective of Curiosity, the Mars Rover sent to explore the red planet. Markus Motum's stylish illustrations and diagrams reveal how a robot travelled 350,000,000 miles to explore a planet where no human has been before.

Text rationale:

This eye-catching picture book will teach children about a significant moment in the history of space exploration and provides obvious links to the science and DT curriculums.  Told from the perspective of the beloved little spacecraft, the fact-filled and richly illustrated text will help children understand the power of imagination and what it means to be curious. Diagrams, timelines and technical vocabulary are woven throughout, expanding children’s ability to engage with the non-fiction genre.  

Links and themes:

Mars, space, curiosity, exploration, robotics, discovery

Date written: March 2020