Recently one of my cousins in North Louisiana asked me if I would host her son’s Flat Stanley and show him the sights around here. I had done this a few years ago for her oldest son and it was a big hit with him and his class so he almost demanded that his little brother send his to me also. He stated his Flat Stanley was ready for his own leathers when he returned to North Louisiana.
A little info on Flat Stanley:
Flat Stanley is a 1964 children's book written by Jeff Brown (January 1, 1926 – December 3, 2003) and originally illustrated by Tomi Ungerer. It is the first in a series of books featuring Stanley Lambchop.
Stanley Lambchop and his younger brother Arthur are given a big bulletin board by their Dad for displaying pictures and posters. He hangs it on the wall over Stanley's bed. During the night the board falls from the wall, flattening Stanley in his sleep. He survives and makes the best of his altered state, and soon he is entering locked rooms by sliding under the door, and playing with his younger brother by being used as a kite. One special advantage is that Flat Stanley can now visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope. Stanley even helps catch some art museum thieves by posing as a painting on the wall. Eventually Arthur changes Stanley back to his proper shape with a bicycle pump.
The Flat Stanley Project
The Flat Stanley Project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade schoolteacher in London, Ontario, Canada. It is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document where Flat Stanley has gone with them. Dale Hubert received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001 for the Flat Stanley Project.
The Project provides an opportunity for students to make connections with students of other member schools who've signed up with the project. Students begin by reading the book and becoming acquainted with the story. Then they make paper "Flat Stanleys" (or pictures of the Stanley Lambchop character) and keep a journal for a few days, documenting the places and activities in which Flat Stanley is involved. The Flat Stanley and the journal are mailed to other people who are asked to treat the figure as a visiting guest and add to his journal, then return them both after a period of time. The project has many similarities to the Travelling gnome prank except, of course, for the Flat Stanley Project's focus on literacy.
Students may find it fun to plot Flat Stanley's travels on maps and share the contents of the journal. Often, a Flat Stanley returns with a photo or postcard from his visit. Some teachers may prefer to use e-mail.
In 2005, more than 6,500 classes from 48 countries took part in the Flat Stanley Project.
The project was featured in a 2004 episode of the animated TV series King of the Hill, in which Nancy Gribble received a Flat Stanley doll in the mail. Peggy Hill and Luanne Platter photographed it in a number of dangerous situations, resulting in the school's Flat Stanley Project being cancelled.
According to the February 26, 2009 broadcast of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Flat Stanley was on board US Airways Flight 1549 which landed safely in the Hudson River. He was carried to safety in the briefcase of his traveling companion.
In 2010, St. Louis Cardinals fans were asked via the team website, to petition President Barack Obama to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Hall of Famer Stan "The Man" Musial. A "Flat Stan" downloadable cutout figure was made available, to get Cardinals fans to take their pictures with Musial's caricature, and send them in as petitions.
How it Works
One of the many advantages of sending "flat" visitors is that they can visit friends by traveling in an envelope. Students' written work goes to other places by conventional mail and e-mail. While it might at first glance seem similar to a pen-pal activity, it is actually much more. In a standard pen-pal exchange, students rarely know how to begin or what to write about; with a Flat Stanley or another "flat" character (such as the increasingly popular Flat Stella), it's as if the sender and the recipient have a mutual friend, and writing becomes easier and more creative for children.
Davis sent me his friend, Flat Stanley and asked if I could give him a motorcycle ride. As luck would have it the rains hit and our riding time was almost completely wiped out. I had planned to take Flat Stanley out to ride dirt bikes like I did with the previous visit but the woods never dried out until I had to go back to work the weekend shift but we had a chance to hit the streets. So here is what I sent to Davis in the package Flat Stanley used to return home.
Instead of typing in the info I placed on the PowerPoint presentation I sent with Flat Stanley, Ill try to post the slides, the sound won't work but the pictures should.
A little info on Flat Stanley:
Flat Stanley is a 1964 children's book written by Jeff Brown (January 1, 1926 – December 3, 2003) and originally illustrated by Tomi Ungerer. It is the first in a series of books featuring Stanley Lambchop.
Stanley Lambchop and his younger brother Arthur are given a big bulletin board by their Dad for displaying pictures and posters. He hangs it on the wall over Stanley's bed. During the night the board falls from the wall, flattening Stanley in his sleep. He survives and makes the best of his altered state, and soon he is entering locked rooms by sliding under the door, and playing with his younger brother by being used as a kite. One special advantage is that Flat Stanley can now visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope. Stanley even helps catch some art museum thieves by posing as a painting on the wall. Eventually Arthur changes Stanley back to his proper shape with a bicycle pump.
The Flat Stanley Project
The Flat Stanley Project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade schoolteacher in London, Ontario, Canada. It is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document where Flat Stanley has gone with them. Dale Hubert received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001 for the Flat Stanley Project.
The Project provides an opportunity for students to make connections with students of other member schools who've signed up with the project. Students begin by reading the book and becoming acquainted with the story. Then they make paper "Flat Stanleys" (or pictures of the Stanley Lambchop character) and keep a journal for a few days, documenting the places and activities in which Flat Stanley is involved. The Flat Stanley and the journal are mailed to other people who are asked to treat the figure as a visiting guest and add to his journal, then return them both after a period of time. The project has many similarities to the Travelling gnome prank except, of course, for the Flat Stanley Project's focus on literacy.
Students may find it fun to plot Flat Stanley's travels on maps and share the contents of the journal. Often, a Flat Stanley returns with a photo or postcard from his visit. Some teachers may prefer to use e-mail.
In 2005, more than 6,500 classes from 48 countries took part in the Flat Stanley Project.
The project was featured in a 2004 episode of the animated TV series King of the Hill, in which Nancy Gribble received a Flat Stanley doll in the mail. Peggy Hill and Luanne Platter photographed it in a number of dangerous situations, resulting in the school's Flat Stanley Project being cancelled.
According to the February 26, 2009 broadcast of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Flat Stanley was on board US Airways Flight 1549 which landed safely in the Hudson River. He was carried to safety in the briefcase of his traveling companion.
In 2010, St. Louis Cardinals fans were asked via the team website, to petition President Barack Obama to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Hall of Famer Stan "The Man" Musial. A "Flat Stan" downloadable cutout figure was made available, to get Cardinals fans to take their pictures with Musial's caricature, and send them in as petitions.
How it Works
One of the many advantages of sending "flat" visitors is that they can visit friends by traveling in an envelope. Students' written work goes to other places by conventional mail and e-mail. While it might at first glance seem similar to a pen-pal activity, it is actually much more. In a standard pen-pal exchange, students rarely know how to begin or what to write about; with a Flat Stanley or another "flat" character (such as the increasingly popular Flat Stella), it's as if the sender and the recipient have a mutual friend, and writing becomes easier and more creative for children.
Davis sent me his friend, Flat Stanley and asked if I could give him a motorcycle ride. As luck would have it the rains hit and our riding time was almost completely wiped out. I had planned to take Flat Stanley out to ride dirt bikes like I did with the previous visit but the woods never dried out until I had to go back to work the weekend shift but we had a chance to hit the streets. So here is what I sent to Davis in the package Flat Stanley used to return home.
Instead of typing in the info I placed on the PowerPoint presentation I sent with Flat Stanley, Ill try to post the slides, the sound won't work but the pictures should.
