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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The Polar Express

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Use The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

It's Christmas Eve when a young boy, who is waiting up for Santa's sleigh, peeks out the window to find The Polar Express. He's invited aboard the mysterious steam engine headed to the North Pole, where he's surprised with a gift from Santa himself. The clear order of events in this story makes it an extraordinary resource for helping readers practice retelling and summarizing, as well as visualizing, making predictions, identifying the author's purpose, and synthesizing.
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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with The Polar Express in the drop down below.

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Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Polar Express

Readers will enjoy using The Polar Express to practice identifying key author's messages. This text presents clear messages about believing, finding contentment in simplicity and the changes that happen to people as they grow older.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.3.2,RL.3.4,RL.3.6,RL.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7E,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.10F,3.10D,3.10C,3.10B,3.10A,3.8C,3.7G,3.7F,3.1A,3.7D,3.7C,3.7B,3.7A,3.6I,3.6B,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Making Predictions with The Polar Express

With multiple points of action, The Polar Express is an excellent resource for supporting early readers as they learn to use clues from the text to make strong, logical predictions about the characters and plot.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.3.1,RL.3.2,RL.3.3,RL.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7B,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.8C,3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.7D,3.7C,3.1A,3.7A,3.6I,3.6C,3.6B,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Retelling & Summarizing with The Polar Express

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. With a limited cast of characters, readers can focus on the clear order of events. Likewise, the problem and solution are easily defined.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.3.1,RL.3.2,RL.3.4,RL.3.7,RL.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7D,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.8D,3.8C,3.8B,3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.1A,3.7C,3.7B,3.6I,3.6G,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Synthesizing with The Polar Express

This book works well for supporting readers who are working to monitor their use of several comprehension strategies to draw full meaning from a text. In this lesson plan, students will need to identify which strategy they're applying to demonstrate their thinking as they progress through the text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.3.1,RL.3.2,RL.3.3,RL.3.4,RL.3.5,RL.3.6,RL.3.7,RL.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1c,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7C,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.8D,3.8C,3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.7D,3.1A,3.7B,3.6I,3.6H,3.6G,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Visualizing with The Polar Express

The Polar Express is ideal for supporting readers who need practice visualizing while reading. This book works well because students can easily identify the words and descriptions that help them create mental images of the story sequence. If any of your students have seen the film, they can apply some of those images to aid their comprehension as well.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.3.7,RL.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7A,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.10C,3.7F,3.7E,3.7C,3.7B,3.1A,3.6I,3.6E,3.6D,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Comprehension Assessment with The Polar Express

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of The Polar Express.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Inflectional Endings with The Polar Express

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg as a springboard for instruction focused on inflectional endings.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how inflectional endings are used inside of the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with words.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
RF.3.3,RF.3.4
TEKS Alignment
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Vocabulary Connections with The Polar Express

This set of vocabulary development resources for The Polar Express highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book. Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions and pictures, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
L.3.4a,L.3.5b,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7E,3.7F,3.3A,3.3B
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All Aboard! Exploring Trains and Train Travel

This Knowledge and Fluency Passage offers a clear, engaging passage about trains, helping students understand how trains work and what it’s like to travel on one. By building background knowledge about train travel, it makes the magical journey in The Polar Express easier to picture and more exciting to read. Use this passage before reading the book to prepare students to better connect with the story and enjoy the adventure.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
|replace-resource-ccss|
TEKS Alignment
|replace-resource-teks|
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Writing with The Polar Express

The BookPagez extension activities are a great way to push student engagement beyond the pages of the text. Try using this activity with early finishers, with students who show a deeper connection with the text, or as a center activity.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Polar Express (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Making Predictions with The Polar Express (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Retelling & Summarizing with The Polar Express (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
Print

Synthesizing with The Polar Express (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Visualizing with The Polar Express (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Writing with The Polar Express (Spanish)

Worksheet
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About the Book

The cover for the book The Polar Express
Title: The Polar Express
Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Genre: Fantasy
Themes: Christmas, Winter, Adventure, Award Winners
ISBN: 9780862641436
Publisher's Summary:
Late one Christmas Eve, a young boy embarks on an extraordinary adventure aboard a mysterious train known as the Polar Express. This beautifully illustrated picture book by Chris Van Allsburg invites readers to journey with the boy and other children as they travel through the quiet, snow-filled night toward the North Pole. Guided by the enigmatic conductor, the children marvel at passing forests, icy lakes, and the magical promise of Christmas. Upon arrival, they witness a festive celebration and meet Santa Claus himself, who offers the boy the first gift of Christmas. The heart of the story lies in themes of wonder, belief, and the enduring magic of the holiday season. The Polar Express is a classic tale that encourages children to trust in the unseen and value the spirit of Christmas. Its evocative visuals and gentle storytelling make it a cherished read-aloud for classrooms, especially during the winter months. Teachers will find it a wonderful springboard for discussions about faith, imagination, and the joy of giving.
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