Flat Stanleys from Stockbridge share their travel adventures with second graders

by Nichole Whitt 

With the help of the Flat Stanley project, second grade teachers at Smith Elementary in Stockbridge are making it fun for their students to learn about different people and places, while enhancing reading and writing skills.

This project is based on the book “Flat Stanley,” written by Jeff Brown. The main character can do amazing things, mainly because he is flat. For example, one of the great things he can do is visit a friend across the country simply by being mailed in an envelope.

The second grade Smith Elementary students each made their own Stanley, then found a person to mail him to. The students also wrote a letter to their recipient. The recipient keeps Stanley for a week and writes about Stanley’s adventures in a journal. They then return these write-ups to the students, sometimes including pictures, souvenirs, and other trinkets.

The Flat Stanley project not only teaches letter-writing skills, but when the Stanleys return, students pinpoint his travels on a map and read the journals that were written.  Some Stanleys travel to other states—or even other countries!

What a fun way for Smith Elementary students to learn about communicating in written form, practicing their reading skills, and learning about geography!

Smith Elementary second graders, like those in Nicole Whitt’s class, make learning fun by participating in the Flat Stanley project. Photo provided by Nichole Whitt.