ALL ABOARD... All About The Polar Express

 ALL ABOARD…Teaching Our Students about Polar Express

 

 

Christmas is coming!!! Yeayyyyy!! 

 

It is time to close up the first have of the school year with winter celebrations. My favorite thing to do with my kiddos during the last couple of days before our Winter break is to do all sorts of “Polar Express” activities.

 

I love having the opportunity to have my kids dress up in pajamas and come to class excited about a fun yet learning experience. 

 

Things to do:

1. Entering the classroom with a Golden Polar Express Ticket!!! I printed mine in color on cardstock paper and laminated them for durability.

 

1. 2.    Read Aloud: Present the beautiful story in two different ways: the visual read aloud narrated by Liam Neeson’s amazing voice and the movie by Tom Hanks. 

 

1. 3.    Reading Comprehension: Have a class discussion that leads to the completion of diverse graphic organizers. These can be:

a.   Making Connections

b.    Parts of the Story

c.    Sequence of Events

d.    Character Traits

e.   Main Idea

f.   Plot: BME

g.   Comparing and Contrasting the Book and the Movie

 

1. 4.    Writing activities:

a.   Letter to Santa

b.    The First Gift of Christmas

c.    Visiting the North Pole

 

1. 5.   Word Work: Going over vocabulary presented in the story with cards and having students put them in alphabetical order. 

 

1. 6.   Math: Students may work on varied topics completing task cards stations such as place value, 2-digit addition, 2- digit subtraction, ordering numbers. All Polar Express themed!!

 

1. 7.    Science: Making Hot Chocolate in order to investigate how mixtures and solution work and differ from each other. Of course, once completed… let’s drink!!!!! 

 

1. 8.    Social Studies: Let’s learn the story of St. Nick!!!!!!!

 

 

This year things do look a little different. I personally teach second grade in person to my students. Whether in person or virtual, this year presents challenges and adjustments. In terms of this activity, I can’t have my students drink from a big pot of hot chocolate, for security purposes. Still, that does not mean that we can’t adjust and still have fun. In my case, I changed hot chocolate for individually wrapped and sealed Nesquik chocolate milk and cookies!!! Oh, my kids will have fun and enjoy themselves as will I along with them. 

 

   All About The Polar Express    

  

 

This resource is the resource I will be using with my kiddos this week: “The Polar Express Unit of Study” . It is available in both English and Spanish and it includes the following activities:

 

Graphic Organizers

Vocabulary Cards

 Polar Express Tickets

Writing Prompts

 Place Value Math Station

 2 Digit Addition Math Station 

2 Digit Subtractions Math Station

 Ordering Numbers math Stations

 

 

   

Love,

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching our Students about Winter Celebrations

 

 

Winter is here! And with it, all of its celebrations!! This season is truly magical!! And what makes it so? All the wonderful cultural celebrations and customs that happened during this magnificent family and community time! 

Celebrate something over the winter season: whether I tis Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, the Chinese New Year, Diwali, or others. Each of these wonderful celebrations re special and include clothing, symbols, rituals, festivities, feists, parades, or any particular activities that take place during specific times. 

 This is something that our students need to know: not only what is celebrated all around the world but THE WHY!! Many of our kiddos don’t know exactly what the celebrations stand, what they6 mean, and why they are celebrated. They need to know what they mean and why they are celebrated.

I love teaching my kids all about celebrations and customs from different areas. It provides a broader view of the world around us. It also teachers us how different and how alike man y of us are!!

If you are in need of some great resources to help you teach your kiddos all about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Chinese New Year, or Las Posadas, I have provided links that will lead you to resources in both English and Spanish with:

    Vocabulary poster cards

    Graphic Organizers

    Identifying Symbols

    Book about 

    Vocabulary Crossword Puzzles

    Writing Prompt Exercise

     Coloring Pages

    Task Cards

Learning about Kwanzaa

Learning about The Chinese New Year

Learning about Las Posadas

Learning about Hanukkah

As a hint, when working with students who are below reading level, it is important to understand that they will need us to support them by reading the text, fostering discussion, and providing additional accommodations in order for them to comprehend the topic and the information being discussed and learned.  

Love,