Flat Stanley Project Directions

Flat Stanley Project Directions for Mrs. Yanai’s Class March 2, 2009

We have just finished reading the story, Flat Stanley, by Jeff Brown. The main character is a little boy who suddenly becomes flat. He quickly discovers he can do many wonderful things like slide under doors and fly like a kite. He was even mailed to his friend’s home for a visit!

After reading the information below and reviewing the papers in the TAN envelope, please have a discussion with your child as to who they would like to send their Flat Stanley packet to. PLEASE SEND THE PACKET TO SOMEONE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, if at all possible. We are very excited to be participating in the Flat Stanley Project in hopes of learning more about many new places around our world, both near and far. (If you are unable to send Flat Stanley out of the country, please try to send him to another state.)

Flat Stanley and the completed packet must be returned to class by Friday, May 1. As each Flat Stanley returns, we will be plotting the various countries represented on a world map. Your child will share with their classmates all that they’ve learned about the country Flat Stanley visited.

Flat Stanley BACKGROUND: Since 1995, hundreds of thousands of elementary school students worldwide have sent the character across the globe as part of the Flat Stanley Project, a program centered on paper cutouts of the title character from the 1964 children's book Flat Stanley. "In the book by Jeff Brown, Stanley gets squashed flat by a falling bulletin board," says Dale Hubert, a Canadian third-grade teacher who created the Flat Stanley Project. "Stanley's parents rolled him up, put him in an envelope and mailed him to his friend in California." The program is designed to encourage students to learn more about people and places around the world. The project ended its first year with 13 participating classrooms -- with Stanley traveling in Ontario. It wasn't long before they spread to Hawaii, New York and Florida. Ten years later, Stanly has traveled as far as Afghanistan, Antarctica, Africa -- and even with astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

In today's homework envelope, you will find a large TAN envelope stuffed with:

* Two letters on YELLOW paper * A template of Flat Stanley * A legal-sized white envelope

DIRECTIONS - MAIL the envelope with the contents by March 9th. (Include the two YELLOW pages, Flat Stanley template, and white envelope)

BE SURE TO COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING BEFORE SENDING.

1. Please address the large TAN envelope to the person your child decides to send his/her Flat Stanley project to

2. Address WHITE legal-sized envelope with your home address for recipient to mail back Flat Stanley, letter, and photo

3. Write your home address on the YELLOW letter that explains the project to the recipient (in case they misplace white envelope)

4. Leave BLANK the journal page starting with "Dear ____ and Mrs. Yanai's First Grade Students," as the recipient will be completing this page and mailing it back to your child with Flat Stanley