If you give your students a Flat Teacher, they will take you on some amazing adventures; and that is exactly what happened when Chapin Street School 3rd grade teachers Wendi Lawson and Kimberly Tresch, prepared for the not so typical return to school this year.
Tresch explained the Flat Teacher activity was inspired by the popular children’s book series, Flat Stanley, written by Jeff Brown. The series recounts the adventures of Stanley Lambchop, a young boy who was squished flat when he was hit by a falling bulletin board.
“Everything about the start of this school year is different,” said Tresch. “Flat Stanley went on some pretty cool adventures and we thought it would be fun to replicate this idea- Flat Teacher style!”
“It was important to Wendi and myself that our kids felt that essential connection to their teachers, and our school, and this was one way to achieve this goal,” added Tresch.
Each student received their Flat Teacher Bitmojis of their teachers and paraprofessional, Anne Fiske and Katelyn Belliveau, along with the directions, during the Chapin Street School orientation, and it wasn’t long before the wonderful adventures began!
“They brought us apple picking, we bounced on a trampoline, joined them during dance class and soccer and hockey practice. One student even introduced us to a snake he found in his backyard,” shared Lawson.
“It was a great way to get a glimpse into their lives- what they like to do, what makes them happy,” said Lawson. “The project is also being incorporated into our ELA curriculum- specifically writing skills.”
From all accounts students enjoyed participating in this spin on the popular Flat Stanley project as much as their teachers looked forward to hearing about all of the fun adventures they experienced.
“I brought them with me to a bunch of places,” shared Mackenzie Grey. “I stopped here at Chapin, took them on my trampoline, bike riding and to my friend’s house.”
When asked if there were any other places she would like to take her Flat Teachers she answered with the sweetest response.
“I wish I could take my real teachers, not the emoji ones, to my grandmother’s house in Canada so they could meet her,” said Mackenzie. “My grandmother would really like that and I know my teachers would like meeting my grandmother, too!”
Tripp Jorge was the student who shared his snake discovery, explaining, “It was a cool snake, and big, so I picked it up to show them!”
“I love soccer, so I brought them to soccer practice,” said Alex Linna. “I thought I could talk to them about it (playing soccer) at school and maybe someday they would want to come in person and see me play.”
“This project definitely started the school year off on a positive note,” concluded Lawson, “Something both the teachers and students needed as this very different and ever changing school year began.”
