Teaching Sci‑Fi With Graphic Novels: A Traveling to Mars Unit Plan

Turn limited prep time and tight budgets into a standards-aligned, high-engagement unit using the graphic novel Traveling to Mars

Teachers tell us the same things: you need ready-to-use lessons that hit standards, grab student attention, and fit into cramped budgets and schedules. This Teaching Sci‑Fi With Graphic Novels: A Traveling to Mars Unit Plan gives you a complete, adaptable 4-week unit for grades 6–10 that blends close reading, core science concepts (space travel and habitation), and creative writing—all built around the hit graphic novel series Traveling to Mars.

Why this unit matters in 2026

Graphic novels and multimodal texts are no longer supplemental. Curriculum leaders in late 2025 and early 2026 pushed for classroom materials that reflect how students read now: fused visual and verbal narratives, transmedia storytelling, and cross-disciplinary thinking. The recently spotlighted media movement around the IP studio The Orangery—owner of Traveling to Mars—and its 2026 WME partnership has increased classroom-accessible extras (interviews, concept art, and trailer clips) that make this series a powerful anchor for cross-curricular learning.

“Transmedia IP Studio the Orangery, behind hit graphic novel series ‘Traveling to Mars’… signs with WME.” — Variety, Jan 16, 2026

Use this momentum to bring authentic, up-to-date sci‑fi into your room while teaching the analytical skills testers expect: evidence-based close reading, standards-aligned science inquiry (NGSS), and creative multimodal composition.

Unit at a glance (4 weeks, adaptable for grades 6–10)

• Genre: Graphic novel / sci‑fi multimodal text
• Anchor text: Traveling to Mars (entire volume or selected issues/pages)
• Grade band: 6–10 (scaffold complexity up or down)
• Focus skills: Close reading of multimodal text, NGSS-aligned conceptual inquiry (space travel, life support, habitat design), creative narrative and worldbuilding
• Assessments: Formative annotations and exit tickets; summative multimodal project + rubric

Standards alignment (how this maps to NGSS and ELA)

This unit targets cross-cutting standards in 2026 curriculum design: NGSS Earth and Space Science concepts and Engineering Design practices, plus Common Core ELA expectations for text analysis and multimodal composition.

• NGSS-aligned practices: developing and using models, asking questions and defining problems, planning and carrying out investigations, and designing solutions (Engineering Design).
• Typical performance targets: analyzing scale and motion in the solar system, evaluating requirements for sustaining human life in hostile environments, and applying iterative engineering design to habitat systems.
• ELA targets: cite textual evidence across modalities, analyze how visuals contribute to meaning, develop coherent narrative writing, and produce multimodal texts for specific audiences.

Grade-level scaffolding

• Grades 6–7: Focus on visual literacy, close reading of panels, basic concepts of atmosphere, gravity, and resource constraints.
• Grades 8–9: Add quantitative reasoning (scale, distance, basic forces), engineering constraints, and narrative perspective shifts.
• Grade 10: Emphasize evidence-based scientific claims, complex worldbuilding, and polished multimodal composition for assessment.

4-week sample pacing (modifiable)

1. Week 1 — Orientation & Close Reading
   • Day 1: Hook—Show a 2-minute in-universe clip/artboard (or projected pages). Quick write: what problems would humans face on Mars?
   • Day 2: Mini-lesson on graphic novel elements: panels, gutters, word art, color, and pacing. Close reading activity: annotate two pages for character goals and implied time.
   • Day 3: Vocabulary build (Mars-related and literary terms). Formative: paired annotations shared on digital pad or gallery walk.
   • Day 4–5: Text-dependent questions and evidence logs. Exit ticket: collect one inference with two textual/visual supports.
2. Week 2 — Science Concepts & Modeling
   • Day 1: Mini-lesson on habitation needs (air, water, food, shelter, radiation). Students create a systems map from scenes in the graphic novel.
   • Day 2: Scale & distance activity—use panels to estimate timelines and travel constraints; teach concept of mission planning.
   • Day 3: Engineering constraints challenge—design a single-system (e.g., water recycler) to solve a problem shown in the text. Use the engineering design loop.
   • Day 4–5: Small-group presentations + peer review checklist focused on scientific plausibility and narrative fit.
3. Week 3 — Creative Writing & Multimodal Design
   • Day 1: Voice and perspective—rewrite a key scene as a mission log or first-person diary.
   • Day 2: Multimodal composition workshop—storyboarding, integrating text and visuals (students can remix panels or create original art).
   • Day 3–4: Drafting with peer conferences. Option: allow AI-assisted drafting with teacher-set prompts and an academic-use contract.
   • Day 5: Mid-unit formative portfolio check (annotated pages, science model, draft narrative).
4. Week 4 — Summative Project & Reflection
   • Days 1–3: Students finalize a multimodal summative product: a 2–4 page graphic short (original or remix) + a 1–2 page scientific justification for design choices.
   • Day 4: Presentations and gallery walk. Use rubric to assess evidence-based claims and multimodal craft.
   • Day 5: Reflection and extension options (debate policies around colonization, civics tie-in, or engineering pitch to a panel).

Practical lesson components & printable resources

Downloadable, classroom-ready printables save prep time. Here are the high-impact PDFs and printables to create or include in your pack:

• Panel Annotation Sheet: boxes to mark visual devices, captions for textual evidence, space for claims and quotes.
• Science Model Template: systems map for life-support elements and resource flows.
• Engineering Constraints Worksheet: requirements, criteria, materials list, trade-off table.
• Creative Writing Storyboard: 6–8 panels for narrative beats and dialog notes.
• Rubrics: one for multimodal narrative (craft + visual design), another for scientific justification (claims, evidence, reasoning).
• Assessment Exit Tickets: 3-question quick checks for every lesson.

Close reading strategies for multimodal texts

Close reading a graphic novel requires attention to image-text interplay. Use these classroom moves:

• Frame the text: Ask students what the author/artist intends the reader to feel in each sequence.
• Panel-for-panel evidence: Teach students to cite both picture and words—“The panel shows X; the caption says Y.”
• Gutter inference practice: Model how the reader infers time, motion, and causality between panels.
• Visual rhetoric analysis: Color, line weight, and perspective—how do they shape empathy and theme?
• Multimodal annotation: Use colored pens to separate textual quotes, visual evidence, and personal inference.

Creative writing prompts tied to science

Scaffold imagination with constraints—real science fuels better fiction.

• Write a 300–500 word mission log from the point of view of a systems engineer addressing a failing CO2 scrubber shown in the novel.
• Compose a two-panel comic that reveals a character’s secret plan to alter life-support, with an attached 1-page scientific explanation of how the plan would affect the habitat.
• Create an alternate epilogue that changes one science variable (gravity, atmosphere) and explore narrative consequences for the crew’s survival.

Assessment & rubrics

Design rubrics around three strands: Textual Evidence, Scientific Reasoning, and Multimodal Craft. Example criteria (scale 1–4):

• Textual Evidence: Cites specific panels and explains how visuals support claims.
• Scientific Reasoning: Uses accurate concepts to justify habitat or mission choices; includes assumptions and limitations.
• Multimodal Craft: Panel sequencing, dialog economy, and image-text coherence; design choices enhance audience comprehension.

Differentiation & inclusion strategies

Make the unit accessible and rigorous for all learners:

• For ELLs: Provide vocabulary cards with images, allow bilingual glossaries, and permit spoken responses or recorded mission logs.
• For students with IEPs: Reduce panel count for analysis, offer partially completed storyboards, and give extended time for project work.
• For advanced students: Add quantitative modeling (e.g., simple calculations of oxygen consumption), or a research brief on current Mars mission technologies.

Classroom management, materials, and budgets

Teaching with graphic novels is cost-effective when planned: use a classroom set of physical books supplemented with digital pages projected for whole-class close reads. Tips to stretch resources:

• Purchase a small class set (6–8 copies) and rotate reading in small groups.
• License or use fair-use single-page reproductions for classroom analysis (check publisher terms; The Orangery’s growing transmedia presence means new educator materials may be released in 2026).
• Use free tools like Book Creator, Google Slides, or Canvas to collect multimodal drafts—minimal printing required.

Technology, transmedia, and 2026 classroom trends

Late 2025 and early 2026 saw three trends you can use:

• Transmedia tie-ins: Publishers and IP holders (like The Orangery) are releasing supplementary media—artist interviews, maps, and trailers—that strengthen background knowledge and engagement.
• EdTech multimodal tools: Student tools for image-editing and layout are increasingly classroom-safe and often offer free educational plans. Teach students to combine text, art, and recorded narration.
• AI as a drafting aid: Many classrooms now allow AI for brainstorming and language scaffolding. If used, pair AI with explicit academic integrity guidelines and require students to annotate AI use in their process notes.

Licensing & copyright—what teachers should know

If you use Traveling to Mars in class, check classroom copy allowances. In 2026, transmedia companies often negotiate educator-friendly licensing, but policies differ. When in doubt:

• Use short fair-use excerpts for analysis; keep copies in class only.
• Contact the publisher or rights holder for permissions for larger reproductions or digital distribution.
• Leverage any free educator packs from publishers or IP studios—these were more common after transmedia deals increased in early 2026.

Extension activities and cross-curricular ties

• Math: Estimate travel durations and scale drawings for habitat modules.
• History/Social Studies: Debate ethical questions of colonization and resource allocation.
• Art: Recreate panels in different styles or develop character design sheets.
• Computer Science: Create a simple simulation of resource consumption using spreadsheets or block coding.

Sample quick formative tasks (10–15 minutes)

• One-panel close read: annotate one panel with one claim and two pieces of evidence (one visual, one textual).
• 3‑2‑1 Exit Ticket: 3 things learned, 2 questions, 1 connection to real-world space news.
• Flash peer-review: swap storyboards and give two stars + one wish on scientific plausibility and narrative clarity.

Classroom-tested tips from experienced teachers

• Begin with a short entry task (visual analysis) to activate prior knowledge and save time later in the lesson.
• Use a visible engineering design board for teams to track trade-offs—students like to post revisions publicly.
• Keep a running vocabulary wall for complex terms like regolith, ablation, closed-loop life support, and art terms like bleed and gutter.

Actionable next steps (ready-to-use checklist)

1. Secure 4–8 copies of Traveling to Mars for your class or request an educator packet from your vendor.
2. Download/print the Panel Annotation Sheet and Engineering Constraints Worksheet for Week 1 and Week 2.
3. Prepare a slide with two exemplar pages for modeling close reading on Day 2.
4. Decide on final product format (digital comic, printed zine, or poster + written justification) and share the rubric on Day 1.
5. Build a simple checklist for academic integrity if you permit AI support.

Final thoughts: why Traveling to Mars is a classroom superpower in 2026

Students in 2026 expect multimodal, culturally current texts. Traveling to Mars offers rich visual storytelling, plausible science hooks, and transmedia content that deepens inquiry. This unit gives you the scaffolds to teach close reading, NGSS-informed science practices, and creative writing without reinventing the wheel—saving prep time and delivering measurable learning.

Call to action

Ready to launch this unit? Download the full printable pack—panel annotations, science-model templates, rubrics, and a 4-week editable lesson plan—at theteachers.store to get started today. If you prefer a turnkey option, explore our Traveling to Mars bundle with teacher notes, student handouts, and a printable zine template to produce a polished summative product in one month.

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