Flat Stanley is a story about a boy who is flattened by a bulletin board when he sleeps. As a result he is able to travel in envelopes and have many adventures as a flat person. The book, Flat Stanley, by Jeff Brown is written on a 2.8 grade level. The version illustrated by Scott Nash (ISBN 0-06-009791-4) has very informative pictures that provide a wealth of visual information.
The Flat Stanley Project is a great way to get hearing impaired kids and ESL kids reading and writing. The concept developed from the book based on Stanley's trip to California to visit friends. Students send Flat Stanleys through the mail or email to visit different people and places. Through the project website it is possible to arrange visits for your own Stanley to visit other classes throughout the world.
To prepare for the project students need to read the book Flat Stanley. They can then write letters to the various hosts for their Stanley and they will also need to write stories to send to other classes.
Worksheets are available here to help with both comprehension and writing projects. They are in pdf format so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access them. There is also an online quiz that the students can take.
