At Our School

Second grade students at Dunwoody Elementary School proudly display their original Flat Stanley Projects. The Project provides an opportunity for students to make connections with students of other member schools who have signed up with the project. Students begin by reading the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown and becoming acquainted with the story. They then create paper "Flat Stanleys" (representative drawings of the Stanley Lambchop character) and keep a journal for a few days, documenting the places and activities in which Flat Stanley is involved. Each student's Flat Stanley and its respective 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 Flat Stanley Project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade schoolteacher in London, Ontario, and Canada. It is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document where Flat Stanley has accompanied them. Dale Hubert received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001 for the Flat Stanley Project. Students 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 prefer to use e-mail for its quicker travel time.  In 2005, more than 6,500 classes from 48 countries took part in the Flat Stanley Project (historical background taken from Wikipedia). Sponsoring teachers at Dunwoody: Elaine Mach, Avis Holbrook, Mary Margaret Warshaw, Bonnie Birrell, Elizabeth Bass, Charlotte Davis, and Tami Slaton. Parent volunteers also assisted with the project. The Flat Stanleys will be mailed all over the country.

Elizabeth Bass with some second grade students displaying their Flat Stanley projects