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Mars Narrative Writing Unit

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Mars Narrative Writing Unit

Explore how writers use sensory details, vivid adjectives, similes and metaphors. Then plan and write a short narrative set on Mars. Use paragraphs and reread your work to improve it.

Notice the language

A simile compares two things using words such as “like” or “as”. A metaphor describes one thing as another. Sensory details help readers imagine what a character sees, hears, feels or smells.

1.Which sentence uses a simile to describe the Martian landscape?

The cliffs were jagged teeth along the horizon.
The dusty plain stretched like a rust-coloured blanket.
A pale sun hung above the quiet plain.

2.Which sentence uses a metaphor?

The rover bumped over the rocks.
The thin wind hummed like a flute.
The horizon was a glowing ribbon.

3.Which word most clearly describes something an astronaut could hear?

Rumbling
Scarlet
Rough

4.In “The astronaut’s glove brushed the gritty rock”, copy the word that describes how the rock feels.

Build a sensory setting

Imagine an astronaut exploring near a tall rock arch on Mars. Think of details that could bring this place to life for a reader.

5.Sketch a small map of the area around the rock arch. Add the astronaut and one other landmark. Label one detail the astronaut might see, hear, feel and smell.

6.Write an original simile about the Martian sky. Include “like” or “as”.

7.Write an original metaphor that describes a feature of Mars as if it were something else.

8.Improve this sentence by replacing “cold” with a more precise adjective, then rewrite the whole sentence: “The rocks were cold.”

Plan your Mars narrative

Plan a short story about an astronaut exploring Mars. Write one sentence for each part of the story.

9.Beginning: How does your astronaut arrive or begin the exploration?

10.Middle: What does the astronaut discover, explore or have to solve?

11.Ending: How does the astronaut respond or bring the adventure to a close?

12.Write a descriptive paragraph of 4–8 sentences about an astronaut on Mars. Include at least one simile and one metaphor, and use details from more than one sense.