Flat Stanley Project

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Home : 2008 : April : 24

Flat Stanley Project
By luv2teach77

I love doing the Flat Stanley project with my 2nd grade students each year. I always coordinate this unit close to our spring break. Each student makes a "flat" version of themselves. I have them color a body pattern decorating
the shirt, pants, and shoes to look like their own clothes. Then I take digital pictures of each student and attach their heads to the decorated bodies. I laminate them so they are nice and sturdy.

I also make a little "sleeping bag" for their flat characters using a library card pocket. Their flat people slide in just right. On the outside of the "sleeping bag"

I type out and glue down a little piece of paper that reads "Here's a safe place for me when I'm not on an adventure ZZZZzzzzzzzz" The kids love these!

I send their flat people home right before spring break starts with a letter explaining the project and some writing paper for each student to write about the adventures they take with their flat person. I encourage pictures or anything to make the project more creative, but don't require it. We don't send our flat people off on an adventure like most (although I've done it this way as well). I just find that my students REALLY enjoy spending their spring break doing fun things with their flat characters.

When they return from spring break, each student reads their adventure to the class and shares any pictures or trinkets they've returned with. Depending on the amount of parent involvement, I've seen anything from a whole scrapbook filled with pictures of the adventure to just a simple adventure written out by the student.

Other activities I do to extend the story include:
*writing about what it would be like to be flat
*creating a stamp collection book after reading the chapter where Stanley gets mailed to his friend's house in CA...the postmaster at our local post office donated TONS of old stamps that my students absolutely LOVE sorting through and gluing down to make their own collection.

I hope this gives others some ideas!