Literature Focus Unit EDU 315 By: Mandy Stumvoll Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown.

Literature Focus Unit

EDU 315

By: Mandy Stumvoll

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

Literature Selection: Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown Stanley, Flat Again! by Jeff Brown Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures by

Jeff Brown Flat Stanley and the Magic Lamp by Jeff

Brown Flat Stanley in Space by Jeff Brown Flat Stanley’s Christmas Adventure by

Jeff Brown Invisible Stanley by Jeff Brown

Theme Study:

Students will take part in a thematic unit on cultural diversity.

This unit will integrate cultural diversity.

Students will understand cultural diversity.

Language Arts: Reading Activities The students will read various Flat Stanley

books and understand what happened to Stanley.

Students will do silent reading. Students will create a chart of the good and

bad things about being flattened like Stanley was. (participation points decided by the teacher)

Students will participate in read aloud, shared, guided, buddy and independent reading. (participation points decided by the teacher)

Language Arts: Writing Activities Students will keep a journal with teacher directed entries and

self directed entries. (completion points- hand in for the teacher to read during and after the unit)

Students will write a letter to someone who lives in another state or country about their culture. They will describe their cultural norms and ask questions about the person who receives their letter and what their cultural norms are. (participation and completion points for the letter written)

Students will write a story if they were flat Stanley. (entitled Flat students name) (completion points- hand in during the unit)

Students will create several poems (about culture, or what it would be like to be flat). (participation and completion points)

Students will create a KWL chart. (completion points)

Speaking Activities: Students will discuss in small groups and then large groups about

what it would be like to be flat. They will then discuss as a large group and create a Pros and Cons chart. (participation points)

Students will create a temperature log of the cultures the class decides on. (completion points- hand in to teacher at the end of the unit)

Students will discuss in small groups and then large groups about cultural norms. They will then discuss or ask questions about other cultural norms. (participation points)

Students will have an opportunity to share their stories about Flat (students name). (participation and completion points to be handed in)

Students will have an opportunities to share their poems they made about being flat and/or culture. (active listening points)

Students will participate in grand conversations. (participation points)

Students will discuss their KWL charts. (completion and participation points)

Listening Activities: Students will listen to the Flat Stanley song. Students will listen as the teacher discusses

cultural diversity and cultural norms. Students will listen to their peers opinions

during large and small group conversations. Students will listen to other students share

their Flat (students name) stories. Students will listen to other students poems. Students will listen to read alouds. Students will be awarded active listening

points for these different activities.

Viewing Activities: Students will view the pros and cons chart

made. Students will view pictures of other cultures. Students will view other students art work. Students will view other students Flat

students name. Students will have an opportunity to have a

“Flat Night”- parents and students will be invited to view other students work.

Students will view their journal entries.

Visually Representing Activities:

Students will select an art project from another culture and create it.

Students will create their own Flat (students name). Students will display their Flat (students name) in the

classroom or hallway. Students will create their own journal. Students will create a pros and cons list of being flat. Students will create a temperature log. Students will create a cultural diversity chart looking at

several different cultures. It will display similarities and differences between the cultures .

Students will create a poem.

Science Activities: Students will investigate other cultural norms using different

resources (in small groups)(participation and cooperation points).

Students will investigate the way other cultures schools work (in grand conversations).

Students will identify several items that certain cultures are known for (in grand conversations)(participation points).

Students will identify different culture temperatures compared to ours (as an individual).

Students will identify different cultural environments (in grand conversations).

Students will look at what makes up the human body (blood, bones, etc.) (in grand conversations) Properties of each

Students will identify what can/cannot function if stretched (in grand conversations).

Math Activities: Students will graph the daily temperatures of

the selected cultures we are focusing on. (completion points- handed in to the teacher at the end of the unit)

Students will investigate population in different cultures. (participation points)

Students will take a survey on how much they know about other cultures. (participation points)

Students will identify the difference between 2D and 3D objects. (cooperation and participation points)

Social Studies Activities: Students will study different cultures and discover

different cultural norms. (participation points) Students will have an opportunity to dress how other

cultures dress. (participation points) Students will study holidays other cultures celebrate and

decide on one they would like to celebrate as a class. Students will learn about nuclear and extended families. Students will pinpoint all the places their flat Stanley’s will

visit, along with the places Flat Stanley visited in the book. (participation and cooperation points)

Students will participate in very in-depth cultural norms and different culture conversations. (participation points)

Music and Art Activities: Students will make an art project of their choice

of an item from another culture. Students will listen to famous songs from other

cultures, such as the cultures national anthem. Students will personalize their journals with

decorations, and/or pictures. Students will decorate their Flat (students name)

books. Students will be given the option to transform

one corner of the room to a certain culture. Students will be given the option to create a

classroom bulletin board that flattened Stanley.

Flat Stanley Song:

(to the tune of BINGO)

There was a boy who traveled far

and Stano was his name- o

S-T-A-N-O, S-T-A-N-O, S-T-A-N-0

And Stano was his name-o!

Physical Education Activities: Students will look at other cultures

games and play them. (participation and cooperation points)

Students will be able to fly a kite. Students will have Flat Stanley races. Students will look at Flat Stanley getting

fit.

Technology Activities: Newspapers from other cultures Look at photos of other cultures using the

internethttp://www.kidsculturecenter.com/index.htmhttp://www.mamalisa.com/

Students can take the Flat Stanley quiz: http://www.flatstanleybooks.com/kids.aspx

Students can play games on the Flat Stanley website: http://www.flatstanleybooks.com/kids.aspx

http://www.marcias-lesson-links.com/FlatStanley2.html

Watch: Flat Stanley Goes to Hollywood

Language Arts Strategies:

Activating background knowledge: students will think what they already know about cultural diversity.

Predicting: Students will make predictions of what will happen to Stanley during their readings. Students will also make predictions of what their Stanley’s will see when they are sent in the mail to other places.

Playing with Language: Students will use language creatively through their flat (students name) stories.

Revising: Students will make changes to their written work.

Connecting: Students will make connections to their readings and the cultures we look at.

Language Arts Skills:

Print: Students will recognize words on the pros and cons chart.

Comprehension: Students will recognize cultural differences.

Language: Students will apply various skills to their writing activities and speaking activities.

Reference: students will read newspaper articles from other cultures, create charts, and journals.

Grouping Patterns: Large Group: journal sharing, field trips, culture

holiday day, different culture games, listening to other cultures songs, story sharing, pros and cons chart.

Small Group: journal sharing, peer conferencing, identifying other cultures, looking at pictures of other cultures.

Individual: silent reading, researching other cultures using different resources, writing Flat (students name) stories, journal entries, making culture it, identifying different culture temperatures, identifying differences in cultural norms.

Grouping Patterns: Science Large Group: Students will investigate the

way other cultures function, identify several items that certain cultures are known for, identify different cultural environments, identify what can/cannot function if stretched.

Small Group: Students will investigate the way other cultural norms using different resources.

Individual: Students will identify different cultural environments.

Grouping Patterns: Math Large Group: Students will graph the daily

weather forecast for different cultures, investigate population in different cultures, students will compare the surveys taken.

Small Group: Students will identify the difference between 2D and 3D objects.

Individual: Students will take a survey on how much they know about cultures, and how much they know after studying cultures.

Grouping Patterns: Social Studies Large Group: Students will participate in in-

depth cultural norms and differences conversations, learn about extended and nuclear families, and study holidays in other cultures.

Small Group: Students will work as small groups to pinpoint all the places their Flat Stanley’s will visit (and the places Flat Stanley visited in the book)

Individual: Students will be to choose which culture they would like to dress up as.

Schedule:Morning Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Language Arts -Grand conversation- students make predictions.-Teacher will read out loud Flat Stanley.

-Vocabulary pretest on words from the book-Individual read Flat Stanley’s worldwide adventure-Start flat students name stories

-Create flat Stanley letters to send out-Discuss this process

- Grand conversation- students make predications-Teacher will read out loud Flat Stanley Again!-Teacher directed journal entries

-Vocabulary test-Students may share their flat students name stories

Music/Art -Students personalize their journals -Teacher guided entries

-Students will make their own life size Stanley and decorate them

-Students will pick an art project to reflect a certain culture

-Students will listen to the flat Stanley song, continue art projects

-Students will finish art project

Math -Survey what students know about other cultures-Pick 4 cultures, start a temp. log

-Temp log-Make a chart of 2D and 3D objects- Discuss 2D and 3D

-Temp log-Other culture populations, compare and contrast

- Temp log-Take a deeper look at the charts made and discuss them

-Temp log-Survey what they know now about different cultures

Afternoon

Science -What makes up a human body?-Chart- what can/cannot be stretched

- Look closer at 4 different cultures-start a chart to compare them to our culture

-Temp Logs- Discuss different cultures:-weather

Discuss different cultures:-Geography

Discuss different cultures:-Animals

P.E. -Flat Stanley gets fit-Food and exercise

-Flat Stanley races -Fly a flat Stanley kite - Play a game from another culture

-Play a game from anther culture

Social Studies -Talk about extended and nuclear families- Start to discuss 4 cultures

-Discuss cultural norms:-dress-food-language

-Continue to discuss other cultures:-holidays

-Deeper discuss cultural norms after looking closer at the cultures

- Look at a map and discover where students are sending their flat Stanley’s

Assessment: Journal entries (graded on criteria the

teacher decides upon) Creating their own Flat (students name) Participation in numerous group

discussions Flat (students name) stories Spelling test with words from other cultures Participation in physical, music and art

activities (participation grade) Active listening points rewarded for different

activities