The Flat Stanley Project facts for kids
The Flat Stanley Project is a super fun educational project that started in 1995. It was created by Dale Hubert, a third-grade teacher in London, Ontario, Canada. This project uses paper cut-outs of Flat Stanley, a character from a popular children's book.
The main goal of the project is to help elementary school students get better at reading and writing. It also helps them learn about different people and places around the world. In 2001, Dale Hubert even won a special award called the Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence for his amazing idea!
Contents
The Flat Stanley Adventure
How It All Began
Dale Hubert first started The Flat Stanley Project with his students in 1995. The project gets its name from the book Flat Stanley, written by Jeff Brown in 1964. In the story, a boy named Stanley Lambchop accidentally gets flattened!
Dale Hubert explained in an interview that in the book, Stanley gets squashed flat by a bulletin board. Stanley's parents then roll him up and mail him to a friend. This idea seemed like a cool way for young students to communicate and learn.
Students in the project first read the Flat Stanley story. Then, they get black-and-white cut-outs of Flat Stanley to color. They also write a story about their Flat Stanley. This story includes details like where he's from, what he does every day, and what he likes.
After that, they mail their Flat Stanley to someone. This could be a friend or family member in another country. It could also be a student at another school taking part in the project. The person who gets Flat Stanley takes a picture with him. They also write a letter or email back to the student. This letter tells all about Flat Stanley's adventures! The student then shares the photo and letter with their class.
When the project first started, 13 classrooms in Ontario were involved. Soon, schools in the United States joined too. By 2006, the project had grown to 6,000 classes in 47 countries! By 2011, it was reported that schools in at least 88 countries were participating every year.
Stanley's Big Travels
The Flat Stanley Project became even more popular in the 2000s. This happened after it started getting lots of attention from news and social media.
People began taking photos of Flat Stanley in exciting and unusual places. He even appeared with many famous people!
For example, in 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger took his son's Flat Stanley with him. This was during his campaign for governor in California. Flat Stanley even appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno! Clint Eastwood carried his daughter's Flat Stanley to the Oscars in 2005.
US Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton have all taken pictures with Flat Stanley. Former US Vice President Dick Cheney has too. Flat Stanley even flew on Air Force One with Secretary of State Colin Powell. He also orbited Earth on the Space Shuttle Discovery!
In 2009, Flat Stanley was even on US Airways Flight 1549. This was the plane that made an emergency landing in the Hudson River. He was safely carried off the plane in a briefcase!
Flat Stanley has also been photographed with many other well-known people. These include TV stars Steve Irwin, Jamie Oliver, and Gordon Ramsay. He's met NASCAR drivers Joe Nemechek and Richard Petty. He's also been with boxer Muhammad Ali, NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, and musicians Clay Aiken and Willie Nelson.
The Flat Stanley Project was even shown on TV shows. It appeared in an episode of King of the Hill in 2004. Peggy Hill used Flat Stanley to teach kids about geography. He also showed up on The West Wing, Everybody Loves Raymond, and game shows like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Jeopardy!.
Stanley Goes Digital
In 2006, four schools in Chesterfield County, South Carolina started a project called Flat Stanley Goes Hi-Tech. Students in this project used email and webcams to talk with students in Chile and Nova Scotia, Canada. This project involved 9 teachers and over 200 students.
A documentary film was made about Flat Stanley Goes Hi-Tech. It was shown on South Carolina Educational Television. This project even won an award for using technology in schools!
Other Flat Friends
The Flat Stanley Project has inspired many similar projects around the world.
Flat Mark's Political Journey
In 2003, a teacher named Karlo Cabrera in Toronto created "Flat Mark." This was part of a project about civics and reading. The idea came from a nine-year-old student named Steven Matskoulis.
Karlo Cabrera's class sent Flat Mark to the Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. They asked him to take Flat Mark along with him while he worked. Flat Mark got to attend meetings and meet important people. He even toured Rideau Hall!
Flat Stan the Baseball Star
In 2010, the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team started a campaign called "Stand for Stan." They wanted President Barack Obama to give a special award to baseball legend Stan "The Man" Musial. Fans could download "Flat Stan the Man" cut-outs. They posted pictures of themselves with their Flat Stan on the team's website.
Thanks to this campaign, Stan Musial received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
The Flat Stanley Cup Fun
After the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015, the Chicago Tribune newspaper offered a "Flat Stanley Cup" cut-out. Fans could download it and post pictures of themselves with it on Twitter.
Flat Francis Welcomes the Pope
The Catholic Extension organization created the "Flat Francis" campaign in 2015. This was to welcome Pope Francis on his visit to the United States. People could download a Flat Francis from a website. They took pictures with their Flat Francis and shared them online.
Make Your Own Flat Self
Some schools have students create a "Flat Self." This is a cut-out designed to look like the student who made it. Students use their own name for their flat friend, like "Flat Leslie." Some even make life-sized versions by tracing their own bodies!
