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Flat Stanley's Travels
published on: 2/28/2003
Contributing Teacher(s): Crista Bobski
Subject Area: Social Studies/Geography
Grade Range: Lower Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-5)
Materials Needed:
- "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown, (Scholastic)
- group letter
- student letter
- return letter
- large mailing envelopes
- addresses from students
- Flat Stanley characters
- large USA or World map depending upon your need
- colored yarn
Process Standards:
- Goal 2.3 exchange information, questions and ideas while recognizing the perspectives of others
- Goal 3.5 reason inductively from a set of specific facts and deductively from general premises
- Goal 4.6 identify tasks that require a coordinated effort and work with others to complete those tasks
Content Standards:
- Communication Arts 1 - Speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, ...)
- Communication Arts 6. Participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas
- Social Studies 5. The major elements of geographical study and analysis (such as location, place, movement,...
Time Allowance: NA
Description: Let Flat Stanley take your classroom on all the field trips you cannot--writing, map skills, cooperative groups
Classroom Component: Procedures for Sending Flat Stanley
- Read the book Flat Stanley to your students or have your students read it independently or in groups.
- Collect addresses from your students of their family and friends that live outside of your home state.
- Divide the class into groups of 4-5 depending upon your class size. Give each group a number (ex. group 1, group 2, and so on)
- After each group has been established give the group the materials they need to send their first Flat Stanley away with (Flat Stanley, group letter, individual letter, return page, envelopes, etc.)
- Have students decide among their group what address they will send Flat Stanley to. Explain that all students will have a chance during the year to pick one of their addresses.
- Then assign jobs in the groups. The student who chooses his family or friends address is responsible for writing the individual letter. They use the letter I provide only as an example. They copy the first part of the one I wrote in their own handwriting, and they finish it with a personal message to their family or friends. Other jobs include addressing the two envelopes correctly, coloring the Flat Stanley that is on the return letter, filling in the blanks on the group letter, and etc.
- Finally students fold all three letters and Flat Stanley into the correct envelope and mail him away.
- When Flat Stanley returns I look at the letter and the contents first. Then due to the age of the students I read the return letter that was written by Flat Stanley’s host family. Then I give all of the contents to the particular group and assign new jobs.
- New jobs for Flat Stanley’s return include a thank you letter written by the group using their own ideas to the host family. Then they choose items that returned with Flat Stanley in a group presentation.
- Identify the host family and its relation to our class
- Identify the state and city if possible on the classroom maps.
- Explain a variety of the things that were sent back with him
- Choose certain items that are to be placed on the wall of souvenirs.
- Locate and measure a piece of yarn from our home town to the place Flat Stanley visited. Then place the yarn on the map. Then discuss the distance and compare it to other travels of Flat Stanley.
- Finally repeat the process for sending Flat Stanley out to a new group address.
- Improves language skills
- Improves writing skills
- Improves mapping and measurement skills
- Improves parent/teacher relations
- Above all it is extremely fun for the students, parents, recipients of the Flat Stanley, and myself.
- Spend a day or weekend with him and write us on the sheet provided explaining what you did.
- Collect things from your area and the places Flat Stanley visited (ex. pictures, postcards, maps, newspapers, etc.)
- Send us the things you collected along with Flat Stanley. Since we can not travel all over the world we are sending Flat Stanley, so he can be our traveling student. Please help us with our class project. Don''t forget to fold Flat Stanley back up and send him with all his neat stuff in the envelope we provided. Thank You, Teacher''s Name Class Sample of Student Letter Date Dear _______________,
This project can be used for language grades in many areas (letter writing, oral presentations, etc.) Also, you can use it for social studies and science grades (using map skills and measurement)
Benefits:Please contact me with any questions or comments about Flat Stanley’s Travels. This is a new project that I developed and would like to see other teachers experiment with it.
Sample of Group Letter Date Teacher''s Name Class School Name School Address City State Zip Dear ___________________,Our Class read a book called Flat Stanley. This book was about a boy that was flat and got mailed to friends in different parts of the world, because it was cheaper than flying. Our class is sending you a Flat Stanley. Please send him back to us after you have done some of the following things:
This is ______________. I''m in Mr./Mrs. (Teacher''s Name) (Grade Level) grade class this year. I wanted to send you a group letter about our class project. We are using Flat Stanley as a traveling student for our class. Please help us have a great group project by taking good care of Flat Stanley and returning him back safely.
(This paragraph you write whatever you want to your family or friends)
Thank you, Your Name Sample of Return Letter
Tell us what you
and Flat Stanley Did.
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Crista Bobski
Verona Elem.
Verona R-VII
(417) 498-6418
EMAIL: crbobsk@verona.k12.mo.us