The Polar Express

The Polar Express is a favorite Christmas holiday classic. This is a magical Christmas story by Chris Van Allsburg.

In this story, a little boy lies in bed waiting to hear the bells on Santa’s sleigh. He waits and waits, but does not hear the bells.  A friend had told him that Santa does not exist and that he would never hear those bells. All of a sudden, he hears an unexpected squeaking sound coming from outside his house.  The boy looks out the window and sees a steam engine in front of his house. The conductor invites him to board the Polar Express train.  This train is full of children in their pajamas. They are all traveling to the North Pole! The children were taken to the center of the city.  This is where the children had to wait to see who would receive the first gift of Christmas from Santa Claus.  To his surprise, Santa sat him on his lap and asked him what he wanted for Christmas.  The boy asked for a silver bell from Santa’s sleigh. A bell was taken from one of the reindeer and given to the boy. He put it in the pocket of his bathrobe.  When the children were back on the train, the boy noticed that his pocket had a hole and his bell was gone.  The children were taken back home.  On Christmas morning, the boy got an extra little present under the tree. It was the silver bell along with a note from Santa!  The little boy jingles the bell and hears a magical sound.  His parents do not hear the sound of the bell and think that the bell is broken.  Throughout the years, his friends stop hearing the bell.  The little boy never stopped believing in Santa and always heard the sound of the magical Christmas bell.

Click on the book above to see the video. The book is read by the author, Chris Van Allsburg.

Ideas for activities:

1. Students can dress up in their pajamas and drink hot chocolate the day that you read this story.

2. You can also have a silver bell waiting for the children when they return from recess, lunch or specials.
3. Hide little bells in the bucket of crayons.  When students reach in for crayons, they will hear the bells.

4. Retell the story through a reader’s theatre activity.
5. Line up the chairs and pretend that everyone is onboard a train. They will be departing from your classroom and traveling to the North Pole.

6. Locate your city on the map or a globe.  Now, locate the North Pole. Students can illustrate or write about how they would travel to get there.
7. Compare the weather in your city to the weather in the North Pole.