Novel Unit: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

by Douglas Adams

SuperSummary’s The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Novel Unit delivers comprehensive, classroom-ready lesson plans conveniently divided into Before Reading, During Reading, and After Reading sections. Follow our suggested timeline, work at your own pace, or choose from our rich array of prompts, quizzes, activities, paired resources, and essay topics.

These materials comprise a cohesive teaching unit on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams—and were all created specifically for this work of literature.

This The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy teaching guide features the following sections and

Before Reading

Context Questions and/or ActivitiesPersonal Response Prompt
During Reading

Reading Check and Short Answer Response questions with Answer Key6 recommended Texts for Pairing and Other Student/Teacher Resources2 robust, ready-to-use Text Processing and Important Quotes Worksheets (Found at bottom of unit)
After Reading

Discussion/Analysis PromptIn-depth and Engaging Activity6 Differentiated Essay QuestionsCumulative Exam with 15 Multiple Choice and 2 Long Answer Questions with Answer Key
How to

This resource can be used as supplemental teacher material or as a primary basis for an entire unit on a literary work.

→ Draw students in with an enriched understanding of context before reading, provide warm-up prompts and in-class analysis opportunities involving free-writing or discussion, and assess their knowledge with thoughtful quizzes and a final exam.

→ Ensure deeper understanding and true enjoyment of the literature with activities that engage all learning types.

→ Stretch students’ critical thinking and writing skills with strategic and probing essay topics that offer an entry point for every reading level.

→ Provide students with a structured framework in which to build analytical skills.

Note to To support lesson-planning, connections to the work’s primary themes are noted in bold throughout this resource.

71 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 19, 2025

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG). Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.
Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), and co-wrote The Meaning of Liff (1983), The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990) and Last Chance to See (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series Doctor Who, co-wrote City of Death (1979), and served as script editor for its seventeenth season. He co-wrote the sketch "Patient Abuse" for the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. A posthumous collection of his selected works, including the first publication of his final (unfinished) novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
Adams was a self-proclaimed "radical atheist", an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, and a lover of fast cars, technological innovation, and the Apple Macintosh.