The Polar Express

Length

Please allow 50-60 minutes

Target Audience

Education: Grade(s) Pre-K Students, Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3Public Library: Library Patrons

Minimum participants:

5

Maximum participants:

30

Primary Disciplines

Gifted & Talented, Language Arts/English, Mathematics, Reading

Program Delivery Mode

Videoconference - H.323 (Polycom, Cisco/Tandberg, LifeSize, etc...)

Booking Information

Book it!

For more information contact CILC at (507) 388-3672

Provider's Cancellation Policy

Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center
Distance Learning Connection and Cancellation Policy 2012-2013


The Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center (MVESC) understands the occasional need to reschedule programs due to changing schedules, inclement weather, or technical difficulties; however, MVESC commits resources to a program the moment a reservation is received and presenters are scheduled. Presenters must be paid for their preparation, time, and travel. Please note the Distance Learning Cancellation Policy below:
1. The school will:
• Have an audience for the time and date the district scheduled the session and coordinate with teachers, technicians, coordinators, treasurers, and other parties prior to submitting the request;
• MVESC asks that anyone making a reservation please check school calendars for holidays, professional development days, and testing dates to avoid potential conflicts.
2. Failure of a school to have the audience available for the scheduled session will result in a $30 charge for the session. Scheduled events must be cancelled at least 24 hours in advance of the session to avoid the $30 cancellation fee. This fee is nonreturnable and may not be applied toward a future session.
3. MVESC strongly recommends performing a test connection at least two days prior to the event. The school has the right to cancel any program the day of the test if a successful connection cannot be made. In such a case, MVESC will not charge the $30 cancellation fee. If technical reasons prevent a successful connection on the day of the session, the $30 fee also will be waived. The $30 fee applies to all MVESC sponsored programming.
4. If you should not establish a connection, you MUST contact the MVESC by phone at the time of the connection (740-452-4518 x1133, or x1171) to notify the instructor. The MVESC will not waive the $30 fee if we are not notified that there is a connection issue.
5. If the connection you have registered for has materials that are sent by mail, you must supply the MVESC with the mailing address of the classroom that will receive the instruction. Failure to supply the MVESC with the proper address will result in additional fees for materials and postage. (The school will be charged for each kit sent by mail and the associated extra postage).
6. Taping of sessions is prohibited.
7. There is a 30 student maximum on all MVESC connections.
It is the goal of the MVESC Distance Learning Program to maintain high quality student interaction with the presenters. Limiting the number of students per session will ensure successful connections.
a. All sessions will be charged an $85.00 instructional fee.
b. For sites that go over the student maximum, an additional $25.00 (overage fee) will be applied.
c. This fee will be applied on your invoice at the end of the month.
d. For extra students added to a connection, an additional $25.00 fee will apply. (e.g. 31- 60 students—Site charged $85.00 instructional fee plus $25 overage fee; 61-90 students--Site charged $85.00 instructional fee plus $50.00 overage fee.)
8. All MVESC distance learning programs will only be scheduled upon receipt of a signed purchase order. These may be mailed or faxed to Leslie Charles at MVESC (740-455-6702). If you regularly schedule programs with MVESC, please provide a number for us to reference when invoicing for sessions completed. Invoices will be sent at the end of each month, and payment is required in U.S. dollars within 30 days of receipt.
We want this connection to be an enjoyable and valuable experience for both you and your students. We appreciate your feedback! Please don’t hesitate to contact us with questions, positive comments, or constructive criticism. We look forward to working with your classrooms in the future!

About This Provider

 

Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center

Zanesville, OH
United States

Student Connections
The MVESC offers numerous interactive student lessons. Student engagement is key! MVESC programming takes advantage of video streaming, live experimentation, electronic microscopes, and chromakey green screen technology to bring the learning experience alive for students. It is our mission to provide information, resources, and content to students through interactive video that would otherwise be inaccessible do to the limitations of time, money, and distance.

Professional Development
The MVESC Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Department, including gifted services, is organized to support school districts in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development and educational resources. Please visit our professional development link for a complete current listing of the professional development video conference offerings that we provide throughout the year.

Program Details

Format

Lesson format is as follows for grades KDG-1:
1. Discussion of receiving a special gift
2. Read and discuss story The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
3. Discuss elements of story: main character, adjectives describing how you feel, sequence of events
4. Math activities: counting, using graphs and charts to count and tell time
5. Rebus as wrap up activity
Lesson format as follows for grades 2-3:
1. Discussion of receiving a special gift
2. Exploring describing words (adjectives)
3. Read and discuss story The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
4. Discuss elements of story: characters, setting, adjectives
5. Math activities: Using a timeline to tell time and identify elapsed time, using charts and graphs
6. Rebus as wrap-up activity

Objectives

As a result of this interactive lesson, students will:
1. Describe characters, setting, and story details
2. Identify and tell time to the nearest minute and find elapsed time using a calendar or a clock (depending on grade level in attendance)
3. Make inferences regarding events and possible outcomes from information in text
4. Summarize texts, sequencing information accurately and include main ideas and details as appropriate.

Standards Alignment

National Standards

Language Arts-Grades K-12

NL.ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

NL.ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
NL.ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
NL.ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.

State Standards

For the entire list, please see associated materials. All Ohio state standards are included categorized by grade level.