Flat Stanley Unit

Group Assignment Group 8 Title of Lesson Plan: Flat Stanley—week 1 of year long unit
Number:
Grade Level: 3rd Subject Area(s): Reading, Writing, Listening, Spelling, Science, Social
Studies, Math
Week Of: August 15 – August 19 Time Frame to complete lesson: Week for introduction of unit—year long activities
TEKS:

Listening/Speaking:
(2) Listening/speaking/culture. The student listens and speaks to gain knowledge of his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the
common elements of cultures. The student is expected to:
(A) connect experiences and ideas with those of others through speaking and listening (K-3); and
compare language and oral traditions (family stories) that reflect customs, regions, and cultures

Reading/Fluency:
(6) Reading/fluency. The student reads with fluency and understanding in texts at appropriate difficulty levels. The student is
expected to:
(A) read regularly in independent-level materials (texts in which no more than approximately 1 in 20 words is difficult for the reader
(B) distinguish fiction from nonfiction, including fact and fantasy

Writing/Written Communication:
A (A). write to record ideas and reflections (K-3);
(B) write to discover, develop, and refine ideas (1-3)
(15) Writing/penmanship/capitalization/punctuation. The student composes original texts using the conventions of
written language such as capitalization and penmanship to communicate clearly.

Social Studies:
(5) Geography. The student understands the concepts of location, distance, and direction on maps and globes.
(6) Economics. The student understands the purposes of spending and saving money.
(16) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a
variety of sources including electronic technology.
(17) Social studies skills. The student communicates effectively in written, oral, and visual forms.
(B) identify examples of actions individuals and groups can take to improve the community

Math:
(A). estimate and measure lengths using standard units such as inch, foot, yard, centimeter, decimeter, meter, and
probability and statistics.
(B). The student solves problems by collecting, organizing, displaying, and interpreting sets of data.
(C). The students collects, organize, records, and display data in pictographs and
bar graphs where data has been collected.
(D). identify the mathematics in everyday situations.
Objectives:

Students will read Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown orally, silently, and on tape.
Students will create their own Flat Stanley to send off on adventures through the state, country, and world.
Students will begin their journal and log of their own Flat Stanley adventures.
Students will measure and record their own Flat Stanley.
Students will brainstorm a list of places that Flat Stanley could visit in Texas.
Students will discuss where they have visited in Texas and where they would like to go.
Assessments:

Students will be assessed on active participation in classroom discussions.

Students will be assessed on completion of their Flat Stanley.
Students will be assessed on their friendly letter they are writing.
Students will be assessed on their ability to complete all projects within the given week.

General knowledge of what is needed to take a trip.

Requisite

General knowledge of somewhere to go in Texas.

Pre-
Environment:

Learning environment will involve the following over the course of the entire week:
Learning

1. whole group work

2. collaborative group work
3. individual group work
4. small group discussion
5. instructional technology use of the computer
 Resources
1. Use of computer

Needed:
2. Overhead
3. Maps or globes
4. Travel brochures
5. Texas monthly magazine
6. Newspapers—travel section
7. tape recorder
8. Story on tape
Software:

For extension activity later “Where In The World Is Carmen Santiago?” would be used for enrichment.
Access to word processing software.
Access to spreadsheet software.
Access to database software.
Internet

www.google.com
URL’s:
Materials:

Copy of Flat Stanley on tag for students to create, decorate, and name.
Printed

Examples of friendly letters for students to see for ideas.

Blank map of Texas.
All About My Flat Stanley
Copy of page for students to fill in on poster of Where In Texas Flat Stanley is Going?
Supplies:

Colors Pencils
Scissors Envelopes
Markers Stamps
Paper Poster Board
Address of a family member or someone in Texas who student will be sending Flat Stanley too.
Accomodations:

Abby—do not make Abby feel uncomfortable due to a stuttering issue—extra wait time is to be given to her without penalty; oral
Special

assignments are to be with student and teacher only, unless student feels comfortable answering—seek input from student; story is
available on tape for Abby to listen to several times to increase her comprehension and help with tracking for reading purposes

Procedures
Day 1:
Introduce story to class; explain that we will begin a year long adventure with Flat Stanley and give a general overview of what we will be doing with
Flat Stanley. (creating our own Flat Stanley, writing letters, researching on the internet, tracking Stanley, measuring Stanley, and explain that
beginning next week each Friday will be “Where In The World Is Flat Stanley”.

Teacher will read the story out loud to the students today during story time. Pages 1 – 15. Students are to follow along with teacher. Teacher will ask
comprehension questions based on what is happening in the story. Students will listen to the book on tape in the listening center to help reinforce the
story, aide in listening development and reading comprehension, and reading fluency. (Abby will be encouraged to listen to the tape several times to
hear examples of quality reading, along with increasing her overall reading level. More listening of stories and following along to stories will help to
bring up Abby’s reading level and aid in her reading fluency)

Students will brainstorm verbally or may write it on paper, where they went over the summer vacation. The teacher will create a list on a chart tablet
listing where students went on vacation. Encourage all students to give some type of answer, even if they just stayed home and watched television.
(In order to make Abby feel less intimidated, the teacher will give each child a piece of paper to write down what they did over the summer if they wish
not to verbally share. Teacher will demonstrate how she wants answers given, both verbally or on paper) Since it is the beginning of the school year,
the teacher needs to model expectant behavior for all students and knowing that she has Abby in her room who has a stuttering problem, making sure
that she has several ways in which to answer both verbally and non-verbally at first will help establish a relationship of trust and understanding
between student and teacher.

How tall are you? Students will fill in a class chart that shows how tall each student is at the beginning of the school year. Students will fill in the chart
in December and again in May. Students will graph their growth. Students will compare their growth to that of Flat Stanley. (how he shrunk)

Day 2:
Teacher will read the story out load to the students today during story time. Pages 16 – 30. Students today will choral read after the teacher has read
each page and after the teacher has modeled good reading techniques. (Abby will be encouraged to choral read; teacher will stand in close proximity
to student, to reassure student that she can do this, and encourage her to choral read with her classmates.)
Teacher will ask comprehension questions based on what is happening in the story. Students will listen to the book on tape in the listening center to
help reinforce the story, aide in listening development and reading comprehension, and reading fluency. (Abby will be encouraged to listen to the tape
several times to hear examples of quality reading, along with increasing her overall reading level)

Show the outline of the state of Texas. Ask students where in Texas would they like to go visit or see if they could? Use the internet for a resource to
look up places in Texas. Do not limit it to traditional places such as the Alamo, Sea World, Astroworld, and Galveston. Look up places in Amarillo,
Dallas, Brenham, Corpus Christi, El Paso etc. Locate where each place would be found in Texas. Make sure that students find places and points of
interest from all areas of Texas. This is to help with teaching map skills and math skills at a later date.
Day 3:
Teacher will read the story out load to the students today during story time. Pages 31 – 46.
Students will again choral read together after the teacher has read each page. This will help all students increase in fluency, understanding, and
readability. (Abby will gain confidence in her oral reading ability a bit more each day, if she is placed in this non-threatening environment and allowed
to choral read at her own rate and ability. If she is unable to keep up, do not bring it to her attention. Allow Abby to continue to move at her own rate
continuing to encourage her)

Students will create their own Flat Stanley out of tag. Students will be encouraged to make Flat Stanley as much like them as possible. Students will
also be encouraged to add details that will make Flat Stanley look as much like them as possible, including hair and eye color. Students will en
instructed to add items of their own interest to their Flat Stanley such as a basketball, soccer ball, musical instrument, book, etc. (Abby will be able to
do this activity in a non-threatening environment and will be able non-verbally let her classmates know her likes and interests.)

Writing a letter will be introduced today. Teacher will show students examples of a friendly letter and go over the main parts of a letter. Heading,
greeting, body, closure. Students will take part in a small group or partner activity to better learn parts of a letter. Sample letters have been cut apart
and placed in envelopes. Each group will get an envelope, take out the parts and put the letter back together in the correct order. Students need to
watch for punctuation of sentences, correct order or a letter, and proper friendly letter format. Students will share with each other Students together
will create a class letter that they will send to the principal telling them about what they are doing with Flat Stanley and the plans for the year. All
students will have input in creating the class letter. (Abby in small group will have a prewritten sentence or part of a letter to help place in order. Allow
her to read her small part of the letter and place it where it belongs on the letter format sheet. When doing the whole group lesson on what to tell the
principal, use close proximity to Abby and when you see she is comfortable with a certain part of a lesson, call on her to give her input orally)

Day 4:
Teacher will read the story out load to the students today during story time. Pages 47 - 57. Students will partner read these pages with a classmate.
Students will read one paragraph and alternate with a partner. Teacher will monitor and facilitate partner groups through out the lesson. (Teacher will
hand pick the partner for Abby. The student will be told ahead of time to be patient and allow Abby additional time if she needs to when reading)

Students will need their own Flat Stanley to fill out their ”All About My Flat Stanley” sheet. The “All About My Flat Stanley” sheet has various questions
about their Flat Stanley, their likes, dislikes, interests, measurements, etc.

Students will begin writing their own friendly letter today to someone they know, a business, or point of interest in Texas. Students will be sending their
own Flat Stanley to these people, businesses, or places and asking for them to return Stanley within a month, but to take him on several adventures
throughout the local area and to keep a journal of where he has gone. Teacher letter will accompany all student letters. (Abby will write a letter to who
or wherever she would like to send her Flat Stanley. Abby may need special small group instruction to help with letter writing due to her below grade
level reading ability. It may impact her written language also. Make sure that close proximity and non-threatening environment is established for this
activity.)

Day 5:
Partner reading favorite parts of the story: Students will get with a partner and read or orally retell their favorite part of the story to a partner. This
activity is to help develop reading comprehension, retelling, facts and details, and fluency. (Abby can verbally retell her favorite part of the story to a
partner, or she can use the flannel board pieces to help retell the story and help her recall the order, facts, and what she liked based about Flat
Stanley)

Students will share their information on their “All About My Flat Stanley” with the class. (Abby will be allowed to share her information in private with
the teacher, with a partner, or with the entire class, based on the comfort level of Abby)

In cooperative learning groups, students will locate on a map where they are each sending their Flat Stanley. Each group will make a poster showing
where they are sending their Flat Stanley, who they are sending it to, and leave a space to allow students to check-off that Flat Stanley was returned.
Information gathered from this activity will be placed in a database for further use during the school year. Teacher will designate who from the group
will be the scribe, group members will be allowed to pick other roles as presenter, group manager, etc.
(Abby will be the appointed scribe for this assignment in her group by the teacher to immediately lower her stress level and allow her to take an active
role in her group activity)

Students will address their envelopes, mail their letter, Flat Stanley, and teacher instruction note. Each student will need to send off one letter.
Above activity will help in keeping track of where all the letters are being sent and when the students get back their Flat Stanley.

Group story comprehension activity: Students will get in groups and complete the sentences from the story. Students will pull out a sentence starter
and then complete it based on what happened in the story. Ex. Flat Stanley is flat because __________________________. Where did Flat Stanley
go first on his trip in the story _______________________________________? (Abby will be able to listen to students answer, and she will be
comfortable with answering only one question in the small group activity instead of in front of the entire class)