"On Christmas Eve, many
years ago, I lay quietly in my
bed. I did not rustle the
sheets. I breathed slowly
and silently. I was
listening for a sound -- a sound
a friend had told me I'd never
hear -- the ringing bells of
Santa's sleigh."
Erie and Wabash,
Seaboard, U.P.,
Pennsy tankcar,
twenty-two, three,
Phoebe Snow, B&O,
thirty-four, five,
Santa Fe cattle
shipped alive,
red cars, yellow cars,
orange cars, black,
Youngstown steel down to
Mobile
on Rock Island track,
fifty-nine, sixty,
hoppers of coke,
Anaconda copper,
hotbox smoke,
eighty-eight,
red-ball freight,
Rio Grande,
Nickel Plate,
Hiawatha,
Lackawanna,
rolling fast
and loose,
ninety-seven,
coal car,
boxcar,
CABOOSE!
Philip
Booth's wonderful 1957 poem,
"Crossing,"
was published as a
children's picture book in
2001.
Wonderful rhyme and
captivating illustrations
make this book a classroom
favorite.
This is the special Christmas
train,
Speeding through the night
To the cold North Pole and back
again
Before the morning light.
Who
will be the lucky child,
The one who will receive
The shiny bell of Christmas
Heard by children who believe?
Down By
The Station
Down by the station, early in
the morning,
See the little puffer-bellies
All in a row.
See the station master
Turn the little handle.
Chug! Chug! Toot! Toot!
Off we go!
Get a ticket, ticket,
ticket for the train.
Get a ticket, ticket, ticket for
the train.
Line on up ... all aboard!
Inside it's warm ... no snow or
rain.
Get a ticket, ticket, ticket for
the train.
We'll be riding in our train to
the North Pole.
We'll be riding in our train to
the North Pole.
We'll be riding in the night.
The moon and stars will shine so
bright!
We'll be riding in our train to
the North Pole.
Wheels On
The Train
Tune:
Wheels On The Bus
The wheels on the train go
clickity clack,
Clickity clack,
Clickity clack.
The wheels on the train go
clickity clack,
All along the track.
The engine of the train goes
chug, chug, chug,
Chug, chug, chug,
Chug, chug, chug.
The engine of the train goes
chug, chug, chug,
All along the track.
The whistle on the train goes
whoo-ooo-ooo,
Whoo-ooo-ooo,
Whoo-ooo-ooo,
The whistle on the train goes
whoo-ooo-ooo,
All along the track.
Train is
A-Comin'
(Spiritual)
Train is a-comin', oh, yes.
Train is a-comin', oh, yes.
Train is a-comin', train is
a-comin',
Train is a-comin', oh, yes.
Better get your ticket, oh, yes.
Better get your ticket, oh, yes.
Better get your ticket, better
get your ticket,
Better get your ticket, oh, yes.
.
Room for many more, oh, yes.
Room for many more, oh, yes.
Room for many more, room for
many more,
Room for many more, oh, yes.
Train is a-leavin', oh, yes.
Train is a-leavin', oh, yes.
Train is a-leavin', train is
a-leavin',
Train is a-leavin', oh, yes
A peanut sat on a railroad
track,
His heart was all a-flutter.
The five-fifteen came rushing
by ----------
Toot! Toot! Peanut butter.
Engine, engine Number Nine,
Running on Chicago Line.
If she's polished how she'll
shine,
Engine, engine Number Nine.
The
Freight Train
Chant or Sing to
"Fiddle Dee Dee"
Clickity, clackity, clickity
clack!
The train speeds over the
railroad track.
It rolls and rattles and
screeches its song
And pulls and jiggles its
freight cars along.
Clickity, clackity, clickity,
clack!
The engine in front is big and
black.
The cars are filled with lots of
things
Like milk, or oil, or mattress
springs.
Clickity, clackity, clickity,
clack!
The engineer waves, and I wave
back.
I count the cars as the freight
train goes
and the whistle blows and
blows....and blows!
Song of the Engine
by Christine
Weatherly
When you travel on the railway,
And the line goes up a hill,
Just listen to the engine
As it pulls you with a will.
Though it goes so very slowly
It sings this little song,
"I think I can, I think I can,"
And so it goes along.
But later on the journey,
When you're going down a hill,
The train requires no pulling,
And the engine's singing still.
If you listen very quietly
You will hear this little song,
"I thought I could, I thought I
could,"
And so it speeds along!
Here is the engine on the track;
Here is the coal car, just in
back;
Here is the boxcar to carry
freight;
Here is the mail car. Don't be
late!
Way back here, at the end of the
train
Rides the caboose through sun
and rain!
I've Been
Workin' on the Railroad
I've been workin' on the
railroad
All the livelong day.
I've been working on the
railroad
Just to pass the time away.
Can't you hear the whistle
blowing?
Rise up so early in the morn.
Can't you hear the captain
shouting?
Dinah, blow your horn!
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?
Someone's in the kitchen with
Dinah.
Someone's in the kitchen I know.
Someone's in the kitchen with
Dinah,
Strumming on the old banjo ...
and singing
Fie, fi, fiddly i o
Fie, fi, fiddly i o
Fie, fi, fiddly i o
Strumming on the old banjo.
Train Stories That Rhyme
great rhythm &
rhyme for building phonemic
awareness
Discuss the food in
Green Eggs and Ham
("Will you eat them on a
train?") versus the
snacks the children eat
on the train in
The Polar Express.
Using blackline
master for a train car
outline, have students
illustrate the sentence
"(child's name) will eat
__________ on a train."
Mount pages and bind
into a class book.
Writing
Class Book
(skills:
sequencing, telling
time)
Page 1: We
went for a ride on The
Polar Express. At
midnight, we saw one
___________.
Page 2: At 1 a.m.,
we saw two __________.
Continue adding pages
until 6 a.m., when the
children return home in
time for Christmas
morning.
Type the text and paste
it onto 12" x 18" white
construction paper, and
add student
illustrations. I
usually make 2 or more
of each class book of
this type, so that
everyone gets to be an
illustrator.
Try Some of These Easy
Geometric Projects in Your
Art Center:
Pattern Block Trains
~ have children
create trains from
pattern blocks (they'll
need to stack
rectangles, etc.,
to make the train cars
proportionally large
enough). After
they have completed
their train, have them
rebuild it by gluing
construction paper
pattern block shapes to
a black background.
Construction Paper
Trains ~ students
will construct their own
trains from uncut
construction paper,
using
TLC-style cutting
techniques.
Provide cotton balls to
be stretched out and
glued to background
paper for steam from the
boiler.
Shoe Box Trains
Milk Carton Trains
Egg Carton Trains
Make your own
jingle bell necklaces
with a bell & ribbon or
cord.
Please
contact Kelly with all questions and concerns, as she is in the office
during posted office hours. If she can't assist you, she will
contact
Victoria for further assistance.
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KinderKorner.com website, the KinderKorner Listserv, all KinderKorner
Resource
Products, and the business name/trade name "KinderKorner.com" are all
owned
and
copyrighted in full by Victoria Smith, as are all
non-credited
photos and text throughout the website.
All rights reserved.
Nothing
on this website, or any of the pages herein, may be reproduced or
placed
on another website without the explicit written permission of the
copyright holder, Victoria Smith. All materials copyright the
date
of their origin and/or posting.
Graphics on this
page are copyright protected by
the artists below, and are used
with permission.
Please do not borrow graphics
from this page.
click here
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