On “Polar Express” Day, students and teachers were invited to wear their pajamas.  (Dress code still to be followed, of course, when choosing jammies.)  The conductor (a former principal at HGS and a former teacher’s husband at RGS) went to each classroom, blew a train whistle, and “conducted” the students to our Polar Express.  As the students entered the library (at HGS) or the gym (at RGS) the instrumental “suite” from the movie soundtrack was playing. 

As soon as all students were seated our conductor punched tickets and then announced that we were off!  (Tickets were printed on gold paper and distributed ahead of time.)

The plan was for me to be seated (in my jammies) and sitting quietly at the front of the “train car”.  As soon as we were “rolling” I would stand up and begin reading the book aloud.  Unfortunately I developed a terrible case of laryngitis.  Fortunately my aides Ellen and Margaret jumped in at each school and performed the read aloud.

After the story the conductor led everyone to disembark.  Each student received a bell as the song “Believe” from the movie soundtrack played them off the train.  I passed out the bells whispering ”Merry Christmas”… not knowing about my laryngitis, students would whisper it back! 

After passing out bells to the first group one first grader received a bell that didn’t ring.  Her teacher quipped, “you must not believe!”  “But I DO!” she wailed.  We immediately replaced the bell for the young believer and then sorted through them all before the next group came.  There were a handful which didn’t ring. 

When we did this four years ago I did it only for K-3… but I chose to include the whole school(s) this time and I did not regret it.   Four years ago, few students had seen the movie.  Now most have seen it… and don’t remember there was a book.  My eighth graders loved it as much as the little guys.  (Although I confess I saved the bells that didn’t ring and distributed them to select junior highers!)

One of them, after sitting down, remarked to me, “this looks like you guys went to a lot of work”.  (How wonderful for him to notice!)  A younger student said “this was better than the movie”.  (The book ALWAYS is!)  Another quipped, “this was faster than the movie!”.  But no one topped the kindergarten girl who four years ago, as the final words of the story hung in the air, peered up at me through her coke bottle glasses and sincerely vowed, “I believe!”

I believe, too.  I believe in books and the power of reading.  I believe it is worth my time and effort to create a memory for my students.  I believe in young people because they aren’t finished yet.  And I believe in He who was truly the first gift of Christmas over 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. 

Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas.

Before I started reading the book to the students, I used it to discuss endpapers, title pages, and copyright date:

• We looked at how endpages are heavier to attach the book to the cover and how they can often be decorative in themselves.
• With each group we examined the title page. Kindergarten students were able to read the title along with me. We discussed how Virginia Lee Burton was both author and illustrator. For the second and third graders I mentioned how important the title page will be when they begin reading for information and must cite where they obtained the information. And, yes, I used the word “cite” but I explained it in context.
• I then referred to the back of the title page and challenged the teachers (who all remain in the room while I read) whether they knew the official name for the back of the title page. None of them knew it was a Latin word, verso. I assured the students that verso is probably a library/publishing only word – but now they know it, too! With some groups I mentioned how verso and reverse are related words because of the Latin.
• The copyright date of The Little House is 1942. I always try to relate copyright years to the world for students: In 1942 World War II was just started, and my father was six year’s old. Not all students have a concept of time; one first grader followed my time-line explanations by asking me how old I was in 1942. Without any hint of criticism I guided him to think about how old I would have been if my father was six years old. “We’re only six,” another student pointed out, not unkindly. The light bulb went on.

As I open to the first page I ask the students to watch the Little House because she is definitely the main character in this book. I point out how Burton made the house seem alive with emotions as the book progresses. I find this one of the most appealing aspects of the book and the students agree!

Many books can (and should) be read straight through so pace and story aren’t interrupted, but The Little House invited stopping to examine a few things. Vocabulary words and concepts we paused for included phases of the moon taking approximately a month (as beautifully represented in Burton’s illustration) and older words such as horseless carriage and cellar. I usually don’t give definitions or explanations, but rather lead the students with questions so they can make the connections themselves. This is SO much more valuable and they are very proud of themselves when they figure it out or already know it. And it is not always the “best and brightest” who make the connections so it can be a real boost for any student. We also discussed how the nearby large town once had trolleys, how Chicago is famous for her elevated trains, and how a nearby apple orchard is blurry pink if you pay attention driving by right now. After this very long and snowy winter spring is coming!

Read more:

SLJ article on 60th Anniversary

Houghton Mifflin books by Virginia Lee Burton

Lesson plan for The Little House

Make Way for Ducklings was the 1942 winner of the Caldecott Medal. (A number of Caldecott winners are on my top ten list of childhood favorites, however I do not recall focusing on that award as a child.) With its charcoal line drawings this book was timely for our school. Mark Kistler had just presented a wonderful assembly on drawing so my students immediately recognized elements he taught them such as shading and shadow in McCloskey’s wonderful drawings. (Kistler refers to elements of drawing as Renaissance Words and I was impressed with how much the students retained.)

The reading of Ducklings was followed with a short PowerPoint created from personal vacation pictures and photos from the Internet. (Google Image search is quick and easy!) So much in the book is real: Boston’s Public Garden, the Swan Boats, the Charles River and the Longfellow Bridge, and the State House to name a few. The PowerPoint included a map of this part of Boston. With the help of animated arrows we traced the ducklings’ trip from the Charles River across highway 28 (with Michael’s assistance), down Mt. Vernon street, right on Charles Street, across Beacon Street (with the help sent by Clancy) and into the Public Garden gate. Since 1987 visitors to the Public Garden are greeted just inside the very same gate by a statue of Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings. McCloskey’s drawings are so accurate and richly detailed! The students and teachers both enjoyed comparing the pictures in the book with the real places. (Later I discovered a wonderful resource on Google Earth – Google Lit trips - that I wish I had used.)

By connecting the book with the real world of Boston I hope to subtly introduce Information Literacy skills – higher order thinking, map reading, verifying what is real and what is not through the use of additional resources, etc.Although the humans depicted in the book are wearing 40s clothing, the book is not otherwise dated and my students responded to the book with the same enjoyment I have felt for all these years. They may be ducks, but it is still a warm story about family that leaves the reader satisfied.

Resources:

Map activities

Google Lit Trip! using Google Earth

Radio Interview with McCloskey - Enjoy yourself, but don’t bore the kids with it!