Welcome to Crawley Green English School’s Book Club!

In this post, we explore The Martian by Andy Weir — a gripping story of survival, science, and resilience on Mars.

To help learners engage with the book, we’ve created:

A vocabulary card featuring key words and phrases from the story
A gap-fill activity to put the vocabulary into use.
A short video summary to support listening and comprehension skills

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📘 Bienvenido al Club de Lectura de Crawley Green English School

En esta entrada exploramos The Martian, de Andy Weir: una historia apasionante de supervivencia, ciencia y resistencia en Marte.
Para ayudar a los estudiantes a trabajar con el libro, hemos creado:
Una tarjeta de vocabulario con palabras y expresiones clave de la historia
Una actividad de completar huecos para poner en práctica el vocabulario
Un breve vídeo resumen para apoyar las destrezas de escucha y comprensión

🔤 Vocabulary Focus

The card includes words related to:

Space exploration
Problem-solving and survival
Emotions and isolation
Scientific tools and methods

Use it to practise pronunciation, spelling, and sentence building.

✏️ The Martian Vocabulary

Complete the sentences using the words below: (space, astronaut, habitat, orbit, communication, malfunction, equipment, solar panels, rescue, mission)

Mark Watney is a trained __________ who was left behind on Mars.
The crew believed he had died during the __________.
He had to build a temporary __________ to survive in the harsh Martian environment.
One of his biggest challenges was maintaining __________ with NASA.
A sudden __________ in the life support system nearly ended his chances of survival.
He used available __________ to grow food and stay alive.
The __________ provided energy for his equipment and heating.
Earth’s scientists tracked the spacecraft’s __________ to plan the return.
The team prepared a daring __________ to bring him home.
The entire story is a powerful example of human resilience in __________.

🎥 Video Summary

Watch the video to hear a clear, concise summary of The Martian. It’s designed to help learners understand the plot, characters, and key moments — while reinforcing vocabulary from the card.

💬 Try this

After watching the video and reviewing the card, challenge yourself:

Can you describe Mark Watney’s situation in your own words?
What scientific skills helped him survive?
Which vocabulary words do you remember best?

This post is part of our ongoing Book Club series. Stay tuned for more vocabulary cards, summaries, and learner-friendly resources based on popular books.

Want to read the book? Get your copy here!