Moving to Mars: 11-14 English

Moving to Mars
Moving to Mars

Ages

11–14

Duration

Short (1-4 activities)

A four-unit lesson plan for English which uses the documentary Moving to Mars to explore the situation in Myanmar and the plight of a refugee family who leave the country to begin a new life in England. Throughout the unit, students complete a range of engaging reading, writing and speaking and listening activities. 

Lesson One - Introduction to Key Terms, the Context and the Text Moving to Mars 

Exploring the term ‘refugee,' learners will consider, with particular reference to Myanmar, the circumstances that lead to someone becoming a refugee. Through research, they will be able to show a greater understanding of the situation in Myanmar and deconstruct the film's title. 

Learning objectives: 

  • Make inferences and refer to evidence in the text.
  • Know the purpose, audience for, and context of the writing and drawing on this to support comprehension.  
  • Make critical comparisons across texts. 

Lesson Two - Reading Responses Exploring How the Karen Families Might Have Felt Moving to England 

In this lesson, students will explore the song Moving to Mars by Coldplay and consider how the song has been inspired by events in Myanmar, by completing a range of activities analysing the song's lyrics. 

Learning objectives: 

  • Make inferences and refer to evidence in the text. 
  • Know the purpose, intended audience and context of the writing and drawing on this to support comprehension. 
  • Make critical comparisons across texts. 

Lesson Three - Writing to Describe and Explain 

Students explore the journey that the two families have been on and their feelings for both Myanmar / Thailand and England, by creating letters that develop their descriptive and explanatory writing skills. 

Learning objectives: 

  • Make inferences and refer to evidence in the text. 
  • Know the purpose, audience for, and context of the writing and drawing on this to support comprehension. 
  • Make critical comparisons across texts
  • Clip(s) to Use - Clip 5: Thoughts of Home

Lesson Four - News Report 

Students will bring their learning about the Burmese people together through the creation of an extended news report on the families' experience, focusing onthe skill of presenting. 

Learning objectives:

  • Present information and points of view clearly and appropriately in different contexts, adapting talk for a range of purposes and audiences, including the more formal.
  • Engage an audience, using a range of techniques to explore, enrich and explain their ideas. 
  • Sift, summarise and use the most important points. 
  • Clip(s) to Use - Clip 1: Context, Clip 2: Life in the Refugee Camp, Clip 3: Considering a Move, Clip 4: Arrival in England, Clip 5: Thoughts of Home

This resource includes

Doc Academy

This Resource Supports

  • Citizenship
  • English

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"All of the activities were enjoyed and engaged the children. As a teacher the resources and activities were easy to use and covered a lot of skills. It is a valuable and engaging way to teach and learn literacy. "