Lesson Plan: War of the Worlds

Essential Questions

• Is there life on other planets? 
• How do people respond to a crisis?

Literature Connection

• Novel: Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion by K. Tempest Bradford 
• Novel: Margot and Mateo Save the World by Darcy Miller

Respond to a Prompt (10 minutes)

Before reading the play, ask students, “Do you think an alien invasion of Earth is possible? What might it look like? How would humans respond?” Have students use their imaginations to come up with plausible scenarios. Tell students that in the play, “War of the Worlds,” aliens come to Earth and characters react in various ways.

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the play in their magazines or online. Then preview the text features using the following prompts:

• Take a close look at the main illustration showing an alien spaceship shooting at things. Based on the image, what mood or feeling do you think the story will have? Sample answer: The image shows alien spaceships on Earth doing a lot of harm. The sky is dark and smoky, and there are no humans in sight. A building and a clock tower are being destroyed by fire from the ships. Based on these elements, it seems the play will have a scary mood.
• The play is based on a novel by H.G. Wells. Look at his image included at the end of the play and read its caption (“Meet the Author”). What was Wells known for besides writing? When did he write The War of the Worlds? Besides writing, Wells was known for being a trained scientist. He published The War of the Worlds in 1897.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Point out the vocabulary box. Read the terms (envy, meteor, cylinder, tripod, casually) aloud and discuss their definitions.
• Play the Vocabulary Slideshow,

Make a Plan for Reading

• Set a purpose for reading by telling students they’ll make inferences while reading the play “War of the Worlds.” Explain that making an inference means using clues from the text to figure out something that isn’t stated directly. 
• Point out the activity at the end of the play. Tell students they will complete it after reading.

• Assign parts to students and read the play aloud as a class. Stop after each scene and ask students to summarize what happened.
• After reading, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (20 minutes)

• In Scene 3, why does Henry want to go to Leatherhead? In Scene 4, why does he decide to go back to Maybury? (character’s motivation) Henry wants to get to Leatherhead because he believes it will be safer there, away from the Martians. Once he brings Clara to safety in Leatherhead, he decides to go back to Maybury to help fight against the Martians. 
• In Scene 3, why does the villager say “don’t worry” about the Martians? What does this tell you about the villager’s attitude? (character) The villager knows that the human soldiers outnumber the Martians, and he assumes that the Martians—whom he knows nothing about— can’t possibly beat so many humans. This suggests that the villager is arrogant: It doesn’t occur to him that the Martians might be more powerful than humans.
• In Scene 7, why does Joe run out of the house? How do you know? (inference) Joe doesn’t expect to survive the Martian invasion. He thinks that hiding in the house is just delaying what’s sure to come, and he can no longer stand the wait. You can tell because he says, “I’ve had enough!” and “Just let it be over!”
• What character traits does Henry display in Scenes 6 and 7? (character) Answers should be similar to: Henry is caring (he tries to save villagers by warning them of the Martian danger), patient and determined (he hides in the house for a week), observant (he watches the Martians to understand their purpose), and optimistic (he maintains hope that he and Joe can survive and that he can get back to Clara).

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

• What message does the play send about the importance of hope? (theme) The play sends the message that hope is important for survival. Henry and Clara both remain hopeful, and both are among the small number of humans who survive. Henry’s faith in humans’ ability to beat the aliens and his belief that he can make it back to find Clara give him the strength to survive the terrible events. When Clara is reunited with Henry, she says, “Everyone said you were dead, but I knew . . .” This shows that Clara too held on to hope that she and Henry would survive. Joe, who lacks this kind of optimism, does not survive.
• Is Henry’s decision to return to Maybury brave, or is it foolish? (critical thinking) Answers will vary. Students may say that it’s brave of Henry to return to Maybury; although he believes he is safe, he’s willing to risk his life to help fight the Martians. Others may say that it’s foolish; after seeing the Martians’ power, Henry should realize that there is no point in returning to Maybury to fight.

• Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Inference activity at the end of the play.
• Assign students to work independently on our Elements of Fiction Skill Builder. (Click here to see all your Skill Builders for this feature.)
• Writing prompt: Imagine that you’re Henry, once everything is over and you’re safe. You’re writing a letter to your friend Jack, who lives in another country. In your letter, describe your experience with the Martians. Include questions that you might want to ask Jack, such as whether news of the Martian attacks reached his country and whether there were also Martian attacks in his country.