Never Hitch a Ride with a Martian! 6-pack Author: Tony Clark ISBN: 9780478122848 Copyright Date: 1999 Lesson Plan Blackline Master Grade Level: 4 Reading Level: P Strategy/Skill: Descriptive language, Making inferences, Using texts as models for own writing, Vocabulary and word study Genre: Fantasy Theme/Topic: Adventure, Humor, Math Classification: Fiction

Book Summary

When a short-sighted Martian loses his way and crashes on Earth, three children get the chance to be taken for the ride of their lives. This story describes the excitement of their trip into outer space and what they find, to their amazement, on their return.

Features of the Book

• An example of narrative fantasy
• The humor in the text and illustrations
• The use of adjectives – tremendous, shaky, bulgy, disgusting, gigantic
• Text in the illustrations
• The Martian’s voice
• The concept of the missing time
• Inventive language – gunk, Ziggle Toad, goo
• The invitation from the author that leads the reader into the story

Purpose

Never Hitch a Ride with a Martian! can be used to introduce and reinforce the following skills:

• identifying the importance of setting to the story’s development
• using inference to draw conclusions
• studying word meanings systematically
• using text as a model for students’ own writing
• exploring the use of descriptive language

For more information please see our Lesson Plan