Introduction:
This is a project where children will have the opportunity to see the world through the travels of their friend Flat Stanley.  The ideas expressed are based on or are variations of The Official Flat Stanley Website.

Learning Objectives:
Children will:

• listen and respond to the Flat Stanley stories.
• create their very own Flat Stanley.
• use the internet to reseach various places in the world.
• decide on an place in the world that they would like to learn more about.
• send their Flat Stanley, along with his travel journal, to somebody who lives in that place.
• compile their journal pages and pictures.
• compare and contrast thier culture and living environment to those in Flat Stanley's journal.

Curriculum Link:
Flat Stanley as used in this particular project can be linked to any Art, Social Studies or Language Arts curriculum.
 
 

NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards:
Standard 1.3: All students will utilize arts elements and arts media to produce artistic products and performances.

Standard 3.1 (Reading) All students will understand and apply the knowledge of sounds, letters, and words in written english to become independent and fluent readers, and will read a variety of materials and texts with fluency and comprehension.

Standard 3.2 (Writing) All students will write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.

Standard 3.3 (Speaking) All students will speak in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.

Standard 3.4 (Listening) All students will listen actively to information from a variety of sources in a variety of situations.

Standard 3.5 (Viewing and Media Literacy) All students will access, view, evaluate, and respond to print, nonprint, and electronic texts and resources.

Standard 6.7: All students will aquire geographical understanding by studying the world in spatial terms.

Standard 6.8: All students will aquire geographical understanding by studying human systems in geography.

Standard 6.9: All students will aquire geographical understanding by studying the environment and society.

Taken from The Official New Jersey Standards
 
  Literature Extensions:
Kindersley, Barnabas & Anabel. Children Just Like Me. DK Publishing Inc., 1995.
Over the past two years, a photographer and a teacher have traveled to more than 30 countries, meeting and interviewing children. Each child's story is recorded in this remarkable book, published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Extraordinary photographs bring to life the children's families and homes, their clothes and food, their friends and favorite games, and other aspects of their daily lives.

Brisson, Pat. Magic Carpet. Bradbury, 1991.
Aunt Agatha and her niece Elizabeth invent a story describing how Agatha’s Chinese carpet might have traveled from Beijing to the United States. Trace the route along with them.

Bursick, Rose. Amelia’s Fantastic Flight. Henry Holt, 1992.
Amelia builds an air plane and flies it around the world. Use a wall map to follow her travels.

Lobel, Anita. Away From Home. Greenwillow, 1994.
Each of 26 boys visits a different major city of the world that starts with the first letter of his name. Find the cities on a map. Encourage students to find cities or countries that begin with their first initial.

Priceman, Marjorie. How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. Knopf, 1994.
Follow a girl who travels to, among other countries, France, England, Jamaica, and the United States to gather the best ingredients for her apple pie.

Singer, Marilyn. Nine O’ Clock Lullaby. HarperCollins, 1991.
If it’s 10:00A.M. in Moscow, what time is it in Brooklyn, San Juan, or Guangzhou? The illustrations show what’s going on in the world as we travel the time zones. Use the globe as you read this book.

Taken from The Square of Life
 

Teacher Sites:
The Official Flat Stanley Website
Fifty States
The Flat Stanley Books- Amazon
Making Multicultural Connections Trade Books
Travel Lesson
 

Student Sites:
Ben's Guide
PBS Kids
 

This page has been composed by Tammi Oberstein, a kindergarten teacher at Wallace Elementary School in Hoboken, New Jersey.  Please e-mail her with any questions, concerns, or comments at [email protected].