The week before winter break we do an entire week unit on polar express. Click here for best free theme units,activities,educational sites,teaching ideas, lesson plans, fun,crafts,childrenpreschoolkfirstsecondthirdfourthfifth to 12th gradeteaching tips or guide. Below each lesson are ideas for adapting the lessons for use with older or younger children, and some suggestions for expanding the lessons. Fellow kids yoga teacher joie scott has put together a printable of this toddler yoga lesson plan, available at the link below. See more ideas about lesson plans, how to plan and christmas books. The polar express a week before the unit begins send home boxes with the children include directions about creating a train box. This lesson plan and set of resources makes it easy to teach your students how to make predictions while reading. This lesson plan uses differentiation to teach students of varying reading abilities about this incredible animal. Students write and illustrate a wish for the first gift of christmas. N this lesson plan and set of resources makes it easy to teach your students how to make predictions while reading. Polar bear polar bear yoga lesson plan for toddlers kids. Polar expressreading and celebration in your classroom as well as some guiding questions aimed to develop rich book conversation when discussing the polar express with your students. Houghton mifflin in this activity kit for chris van allsburgs classic the polar express youll find party and event ideas, nametags, reproducible games. Jan 10, 2015 polar express week with lesson plan ideas.
The polar express is a perfect story for readers who need to practice visualizing. The polar express describes a journey both literal and symbolic that brings about transformation for the characters and the reader as well, a consistant theme in van allsburgs work. Fourth grade lesson in writing the polar express betterlesson. Polar express by chris van allsburg is a classic childrens book that is beloved by many, both young and old alike during the holidays. And toddlers love bill martin jr and eric carle books. I would love to compare and contrast the polar express movie and book. In this polar express lesson plan, after reading the book, the polar express, students will decide if they believe or do not believe in santa claus.
The polar express the polar express the polar express the polar express the polar express the polar express the polar express. Grades 23 students will analyze the structure and elements of a story by noting the setting, characters, problem, events and resolution. Extend and enhance students enjoyment of chris van allsburgs magical holiday classic the polar express with the reading activities and guided discussion questions in this teachers guide. One way to teach this story is by using a unit study. Polar express van allsburg book theme units, lessons. Take the polar express to learning five lessons for teaching the story. This the polar express lesson plan is suitable for 1st 3rd grade. Visualize our the polar express lesson plans will provide your students with strategies that work. The polar express lessons, ideas, crafts, and printables to. I have been meaning to write this post since before christmas but many changes have happened in my personal life and work life. This is an original 10 page lesson plan on the polar express picture book, ideal for grades k2. After reading the polar express to your class, use these activities, math and word problems to help your students get even more from the book. We have added questions to help guide your students towards deep comprehension.
The polar express is enjoyed the world over by children and adults of all ages and, after twentyfive years in publication, is still one of the most beloved and widely used books in classrooms across the country to help you share the magic of the polar express with your students, we have created a list of suggestions for using the book across the curriculum. We have a created an extensive library of discussion guides for all of chris van allsburgs titles. Has a reading log, crossword puzzle, word search puzzle, and craft idea. The polar express pdf very cute book using the brown bear format. Wise teachers everywhere are looking for ways to capitalize on interest in the story as children and families revisit this timeless classic during the holiday season. The polar express anderson press, written and illustrated by chris van allsburg, is a magical picture book that can be enjoyed by children of all ages, and which offers many opportunities for introducing and developing visual literacy skills. These fun lesson plans are perfect for christmas time. Teachers guide for the polar express by chris van allsburg. Polar express classroom activities for kindergarten and first grade. In the polar express, van allsburg chooses an object to represent an idea. Polar bear facts itsy bitsy fun fun polar bear facts with a free printable. The polar express extension activities for young children. Have your students examine the illustrations in the book, calling attention to the perspective and viewpoint of each. This lesson we read the story, the polar express, to our second graders.
The polar express scroll down on this page to find a variety of activities to support the book, including handouts, vocabulary, song lyrics, and other literacy and crosscurricular activities. Have your students examine the illustrations in the book, calling attention to the perspective and viewpoint of. During this holiday season, take advantage of this teachable moment by connecting the book and movie to your curriculum. Students will read about polar bears, share information with their peers, and. Every book has its own guide, complete with lesson plans and classroom activities. Just like our other reading comprehensionclose reading plans, this polar express version is packed with reading comprehension activities. Click on the corresponding link below to download a pdf of the discussion guide. Unit studies cover a variety of subjects that all center around one theme in this case, the polar express. The polar express is known for its awardwinning illustrations. Reader 1 on christmas eve, many years ago, i lay quietly in my bed. While there, santa gives him the first gift of christmas a bell from his sleigh. The polar express will help readers that happen to be trying to monitor their use of reading comprehension strategies. This story is about how a young boy experiences the magic of the north pole when he goes a magical ride on the polar express. Now discuss the word choices that author chris van allsburg used to make the story more interesting.
Polar express year 2 planning ks1 english tes resources. The polar express by chris van allsburg lesson plans and teaching resources. The polar express glyph by marilyn vaughn students will complete and cut out their train. Chris van allsburg 3 guided reading n get ready to read learn about the book get y brain o understand the meaning of words found in the book learn about comprehension strategies think about the text you read when you get contused its chri5trncx eve. The polar express printables, classroom activities, teacher.
It is a perfect way to do something fun and interesting with the kids that will also be educational and get them in the holiday spirit. Use the polar express for a chris van allsburg author study or a winter read aloud. Polar express word search train shaped word search. Making predictions with the polar express by chris van allsburg book not included grade level. Students also work on retelling the book with text details. The polar express, by chris van allsburg, is a classic christmas picture book for all ages. The polar express interactive whiteboard resources.
Polar express lesson plan for teachers prek 3rd students write and illustrate a wish for the first gift of christmas. Not only is it perfect to read around the holidays, but we are actually working on comparing and contrasting right now. Use the polar express and these activities as part of a chris van allsburg author study or a winter read aloud. Plan your lesson in writing and make believe with helpful tips from teachers like you. An adults memory of one christmas eve in childhood involves his trip on a magical. Dec 15, 2011 the polar express a week before the unit begins send home boxes with the children include directions about creating a train box. Polar express activities and lesson plans polar express the book and the movie are student favorites.
The polar express shape book trainshaped book for story report. Polar express activities and lessons education world. Our polar express lesson plans is a available resource to show students how to synthesize and improve reading comprehension. A weeks worth of planning for the book the polar express, including worksheets and differentiated activities. This indicates resources located on the teachers corner. Polar bear finger puppet i heart crafty things these cute polar bear finger puppets are not only a great winter kids craft but they are perfect combined with a favorite childrens book about polar bears. The polar express figurative language activities must read mentor text all aboard the polar express this is always one of my favorite books to read with my students in december. Encourage preschoolers to think critically as you read the story polar express aloud by asking openended questions. This weeks must read mentor text is the polar express by chris van allsburg. We wear pajamas, drink hot chocolate, and give each child a bell.
So, today were sharing a polar bear yoga lesson plan to go with the popular book polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear. Read the following lesson to learn more about the story and its cast of characters. Use the the polar express and the included pagebypage guide for close reading, guided reading, centers, independent reading or assessment. Houghton mifflin in this activity kit for chris van allsburgs classic the polar express youll find party and event ideas, nametags, reproducible games, activity sheets, and recipe cards. Click on a magic tree house book cover image to view the available lesson plans for that book. This will make a good activity to use with your polar express unit. An adults memory of one christmas eve in childhood involves his trip on a magical train to choose the first gift. The polar express by chris van allsburg scholastic. The students will count the responses for each question and create a graph of the responses using microsoft excel or graph club. Oct 28, 1985 the polar express is a fantastic book that proudly won the caldecott medal and is from the creative mind of chris van allsburg. In our story web, the students used their senses to tell us.
In preschool and kindergarten, you can read highinterest picture books, like polar express, to engage your kids in fun activities and enhance learning in a variety of ways. I was really excited to read the polar express to them. The polar express extension activity plan faster and discover new ways to use the books in your school and classroom libraries with a premium membership to bookpagez you get unlimited access to thousands of mini lessons for hundreds of books. Permafrost lesson plan recreate permafrost in the classroom adaptable for different ages. The polar express lessons, ideas, crafts, and printables. We talked about all the animals that camouflage in the winter. The teacher will teach that our beliefs are a matter of personal choice. Dec 23, 2017 the polar express by chris van allsburg is one of the most popular booksmovies to study during the holidays. The polar express lesson plan with bulletin board ideas. They prepare a painting on kidpix that shows what they predict the polar express will be about. I wanted to hit a few highlightsin pictures we made arctic hares in the snow. Benchmarks pre, post, and during reading activities comprehension questions sequencing of the story retelling of the story plot, character, setting, problem chart wo.
The photos below depict some of the activities ive done with my class and information regarding the resources i. A lesson on diversity and belief that students can understand. This magical story of a boy who is welcomed aboard a steam engine straight for the north pole is perfect for a lesson on retelling. Use the stories for bookdiscussions, or make the book into a center or small group reading discussion activity in the regular classroom too. Polar express activities and lesson plans education world. On mondayi have the students create a freight trainart project. This printable also includes a summary of the book, ideas for a reading celebration, an uppergrade lesson on similes and metaphors, and a lowergrade lesson on timelines. Comprehension strategy lesson plans and practice pages. Students can create persuasive pieces on why they deserve a ticket on the polar express. These activities are geared towards students in the primary grades and include practicing shapes, patterns, time, sorting and problem solving.
Its christmas eve, and a young boy gets a train ride to the north pole on the polar express. Instead of ending our prompt with the boy going to bed, we had our students pretend they were the little boy and he went with santa claus on his trip around the world. Polar express lesson plans, themes, printouts, crafts. They show their paintings and tell what they feel the story is about and discuss why it is important to believe in others. Students will retell the story, make connections, complete a craft, plus math and literacy center activities. This download includes a fun winter literacy lesson connecting to the book the polar express. Polar express activities for preschoolers prek pages. Chris van allsburgs the polar express is one of the most beloved childrens books and movies of all time. The photos below depict some of the activities ive done with my class and information regarding the resources i used to make this an exciting day for the children. Identify parts of a story that are reality and fantasy. See more ideas about polar express activities, polar express party and polar express theme. Explore classroom activities, puzzles, teacher resources and enrichment pdfs for this book. The polar express printables, classroom activities.
Copy of the book our first grade team presents the story as a readers theater together. Winter theme page with tons of ideas the polar express glyph by marilyn vaughn students will complete and cut out their train. This polar express lesson plan lesson plan is suitable for prek 3rd grade. Below each lesson are ideas for adapting the lessons for use with older or younger. This book is an excellent resource for teaching a phonics lesson about inflectional endings. This printable also includes a summary of the book, ideas for a reading celebration, an uppergrade lesson on similes and metaphors, and a lowergrade. The polar express printouts picture frames, holiday cards, ornaments, and gift tags. Although he could have asked for anything, all he wanted was a silver bell from santas sleigh.
Christmas theme gingerbread theme the polar express by chris van allsburgh. In this christmas lesson plan, students read the book the polar express and then write what they wish could be the first gift of christmas. Read to build an understanding of cultures of the united states and the world. The 6 inspirational lessons the polar express can teach. Purchase a ticket for the polar express, says gill matthews, and take your class on a magical literary journey to the north pole.
Some resources available here, some others available separately simile resources. Use the the polar express and the included pagebypage guide for close reading, guided reading. This christmas tale depicts a young boy who rides a train to the north. Story map with polar express winner of the poster giveaway.
Print and utilize our the polar express lesson plan for retelling the polar express lesson plans. With a limited cast of characters, readers can focus on the clear order of events. Worksheets to make this fun christmas resource easy to prep with tons of learning. Education world connects you to lessons, resources. The polar express figurative language activities must. Making predictions with the polar express, third grade. The classic story of a boy who travels by train to the north pole to meet santa claus and receive the first gift of christmas. Polar express activities for kindergarten and first grade. Preschool polar lesson plans dont be fooled by the objectives at the top of the page these lesson plans are indeed about the polar regions. Anyone who believes in santa will hear its sweet sound forever. Compare and contrast a book and movie activities teaching.
This lesson could also be adapted to make it an opinion writing piece. Lesson plan ideas for december 1 teaching tips 1 teaching writing 1 test prep 1 texas independence day march 2 1 thank you for your sympathy 1 thanksgiving books theme resources 1 thanksgiving crafts 1 thanksgiving lesson plan ideas 1 thanksgiving themes 1 thanksgiving themes lesson plans activitiesevents 1. Outline the names with liquid glue assist young children if needed. The polar express lesson plan for 1st 3rd grade lesson. Polar express lesson plan lesson plan for prek 3rd grade. For example, the train was wrapped in an apron of steam and moved as fast as a car on a roller coaster. The polar express by chris van allsburg readers theater script. Chris van allsburgs childrens classic the polar express won a caldecott medal and went on to be made into a motion picture.
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