Are you looking for a new and exciting way to teach a novel – but without a novel? Mars Patel podcast lessons might be just what you need.
Podcasts are very popular in middle school right now. Several entire stories are available in podcast format, which is perfect for learning about literary elements and devices and practicing reading and listening comprehension skills.
One such podcast is The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, a fiction podcast – and these Mars Patel podcast lessons are a great way to guide your students through the story.
This podcast is great for students in Grades 5 through 7. Try Season 1, Episode 1, for free with your students to see if they get hooked on the storyline, as I did. Students love this podcast; it is a very exciting way to learn!
What Is Mars Patel, And Why Should I Teach Mars Patel Podcast Lessons?
The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel is a serialized science-fiction mystery podcast written just for kids and performed by kids. It started in 2016, has three seasons, and is said to have Stranger Things vibes.
The podcast tells the story of Manu “Mars” Patel, an 11-year-old boy whose friends Aurora and Jonas go missing. Strangely, all of the adults around him act like everything is normal. He then teams up with Caddie, JP, and Toothpick to find the clues to find his missing friends. Along the way, he finds many obstacles, and things are not always what they seem.
Students will love this thrilling adventure story. Each episode is 15 – 30 minutes long, and when you use any of the 2 Peas and a Dog Mars Patel resources, you will have complete Mars Patel podcast lessons for teaching this in your classroom.
You can try the first episode of the first season for free and use my reading comprehension questions to see if they like it.
Mars Patel Seasons 1-3 Mega Bundle
Once you discover that your students love the Mars Patel podcast and need more, you will need to get the full Mars Patel podcast lessons in this Mars Patel Mega Bundle. This bundle has everything you need to cover seasons one through three, including an exciting Mars Patel Digital Escape Room.
This bundle includes detailed Mars Patel podcast lessons for each unit, reading comprehension questions in printable and digital formats, graphic organizers and anchor charts, and the Mars Patel Digital Escape Room. Buy the Mars Patel Mega Bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers USD or Shopify CAD.
Season One Contains:
- A season one Teacher’s Guide that outlines characters and episode summaries.
- A podcast non-fiction article (in both regular and modified text, as well as an mp3 of the article), complete with comprehension questions.
- Comprehension questions for the first season of the podcast.
- There are four graphic organizers (Making Predictions, Podcast Reading Strategies, Mars Patel Sketching Sheets, and Literary Elements) and anchor charts.
- A literary elements lesson and a Create Your Own Podcast project.
- A Mars Patel unit test (in editable PDF and self-marking Google Forms formats).
Try Season One Episode One for free!
Season Two Contains:
- Comprehension questions for the second season of the podcast.
- A season two Teacher’s Guide that outlines characters and episode summaries.
- A Mars Patel unit test (in editable PDF and self-marking Google Forms formats).
- There is a pre-reading predictions activity, listening comprehension graphic organizers, and season 2 summative tasks (which include a writing assignment and a media assignment).
Season Three Contains:
- Comprehension questions for the third season of the podcast.
- A season three Teacher’s Guide that outlines characters and episode summaries.
- A Mars Patel unit test (in editable PDF and self-marking Google Forms formats).
- There is a pre-reading predictions activity, listening comprehension graphic organizers, and season 3 summative tasks (which include a writing assignment and a media assignment).
The Mars Patel Digital Escape Room
- Digital escape room with 10 challenges (“locks”).
- Detailed teacher directions, as well as an answer key.
- Student instructions and reflection questions.
This Mars Patel-themed digital escape room is the perfect companion to your Mars Patel podcast lessons. It provides students with the opportunity to work independently or with their peers to solve 10 Mars Patel-themed challenges. Students must solve these challenges to escape H.G. Wells Middle School, where they have been “locked in.”
Digital escape rooms are always a hit with students. They’re challenging and fun, a great way for students to interact and collaborate. They are completely digital, so they can be completed in school or from home, only requiring internet access to complete them.
The bonus is that no prep is required from either the teacher or students! So when you’re looking at a long day of teaching, and your students are lacking motivation, this resource is great to grab and go and will get your students excited about working together.
What Teachers Are Saying:
“As a teacher newly switched from teaching grade 4 students to Grade 8 students, I knew I would have to look for more creative and different methods to engage these students with ELA. This resource does that. My students love that they can just listen instead of always reading texts. This also leads to great discussion and interesting writing.” – Zainab Jakda
“My students loved using this resource while listening to the podcast. This really helped them focus while listening. They also loved the idea of creating their own podcast in the end. I enjoyed that the resource explained what a podcast was and what it entails, as I was lacking in presenting that info to my students prior. Highly recommend!” – Tricia R.
“This was an excellent resource to use with my students during our podcast unit. It is well organized, engaging, and comprehensive.” – Siobhan O.
“My students loved this podcast, so it was able to get their understanding with the quizzes and by drawing their favourite scene from each episode it allowed them to use their creativity but also kept them busy while listening.” – Deanna L.
“I started using this as a listening activity for my advanced ESOL students. They loved it! Even my chattiest students were engaged and if they were chatting, it was about the story line. The comprehension questions are great and the other resources offer flexibility for every classroom. I would HIGHLY recommend this!” – Sabryna V.
This Mars Patel podcast lessons bundle is the perfect resource for a deep dive into the Mars Patel podcast with your students. This exciting podcast is full of characters and themes your students will love, and they are sure to enjoy learning about literary themes and devices and practicing their reading and listening comprehension skills with this resource. Buy the Mars Patel Mega Bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers USD or Shopify CAD.
Are you looking for more podcast lessons? Click here.
Once your students have listened to Mars Patel, why not try the Six Minutes Podcast?
- Free Six Minutes Podcast Episode 1
- Six Minutes Podcast Unit Bundle
- Six Minutes Podcast Comprehension Questions Episodes 1 – 10
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