1. Read Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and analyze how his portrayal of censorship in that novel compares to the themes in "Usher II."

2. Bradbury used brief, transitional passages to link the longer stories in The Martian Chronicles. Select one of these short segments and expand it into a complete short story.

3. In The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury endeavored to create a cohesive narrative of Martian colonization. Evaluate his book as a historical narrative. Does it maintain internal consistency? What details are omitted that you wish were included? Consider assessing his method of dating each story and his tendency to reference characters and events from earlier stories in subsequent ones.

4. Written nearly twenty years before the first moon landing, The Martian Chronicles contains descriptions of futuristic technology, despite Bradbury's intentional vagueness. Identify some features of the initial rocket ships to Mars as depicted in "The Earth Men," "The Third Expedition," and "And The Moon Be Still As Bright," and contrast these with the actual first moon rockets.

5. Bradbury's writing style is often described as poetic by critics. Select a favorite passage from The Martian Chronicles and compose a poem inspired by the imagery and ideas in Bradbury's writing.