Flat Stanley’s Virtual Vacation A WebQuest for 2nd Grade (Standards Met: Language Arts/ Social Studies) Designed by Cindy Larson

Stanley’s Virtual Vacation Introduction Our class has finished reading a fun book called “Flat Stanley” written by Jeff Brown. In the story, Stanley Lambchop was a typical boy, who had a large bulletin board mounted on the wall over his bed. One night, while he was sleeping, the bulletin board fell on him and flattened him to a one-half inch thickness. He was surprised when he woke up to find himself flat. Stanley found himself very, very flat, but otherwise fine. However, Stanley discovered he could be folded up and mailed in an envelope to different places. This was an advantage to being flat. Stanley visited his friend in California and had a great time. Stanley now wishes for you to plan an exciting vacation for him. Your assignment is to be Stanley’s travel agent and plan his next vacation.

Task As Flat Stanley’s travel agent, you will choose a city for him to visit. You will map this location and check the weather. Next, you will write him a letter explaining his travel plans and address an envelope for his letter to be sent to your home. As Stanley’s travel agent you will choose at least 2 points of interest in the city of your choice for him to visit. When his travels are complete you will present his experience to your group and share with your peers the adventure that he enjoyed. The Work Begins Here

The Process (There are 10 steps to the process) Step 1: Choose a city from the list below. Click the name of the city that you want to send Stanley too. Read about it, take notes and find 2 or more points of interest for Stanley to visit while he is there. Honolulu, Hawaii: Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu, HawaiiHonolulu, Hawaii Jackson Hole, Wyoming: Jackson Hole, Wyoming Jackson Hole, WyomingJackson Hole, Wyoming New York City, New York: New York City, New York New York City, New YorkNew York City, New York Park City, Utah: Park City, Utah Park City, UtahPark City, Utah Orlando, Florida: Orlando, Florida Orlando, FloridaOrlando, Florida San Francisco, California: San Francisco, California San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California

Map My City Step 2: Print the map outline. Locate the vacation city on a US map. Determine the distance that he will travel. What direction will he have to travel in order to get there? Draw a line from our hometown to the vacation destination of your choice on your map. United States Map United States Map Mileage Calculator Mileage Calculator

Climate Conditions Step 3: Check the weather for Stanley’s vacation destination. Remember to make notes on the type of clothes that you think that he will need. This information will be included in the letter that you write Flat Stanley to inform him of his travel plans. Honolulu Jackson Hole Jackson Hole New York City New York City Orlando Park City Park City San Francisco San Francisco

Dress Your Best Step 4: Now that you have decided where Stanley is traveling and the climate of the city he will visit, it is time to dress Flat Stanley for his vacation. Click and Print Flat Stanley and decorate him for his trip. FLAT STANLEY is "dressed" (using crayons, markers, paints, and sometimes fabric!) in clothes that he might wear to reflect the climate and / or activities FLAT STANLEY might see or do there. For example, if he is going to be at the beach and it is hot…how would he need to be dressed? (Double Click Stanley to Print The Page)

Travel Itinerary Step 5: As a travel agent, you need to inform Stanley about his travel plans. Write a letter explaining to him where he will travel, the expected weather, necessary clothing, points of interests he will visit and any other items of information that you feel are important for Stanley to understand about his vacation. You may want to consider some of the following questions: What sites will he see? What activities will he do? What should he wear? What should he take in his suitcase? How far will he be traveling? (Double Click Stanley to Print The Page)

Mail Your Letter Step 6: Address an envelope for Flat Stanley to be sent to your home. Your address can be found on the teacher’s list next to the computer. Place our school return address in the upper left corner. Have your envelope checked off by the teacher. Once this is complete, place a stamp in the upper right corner. Now you are ready to mail a copy of Flat Stanley’s letter to your house. Photocopy your letter. Fold up your letter copy and place it in the envelope. Place the completed letter/envelope in the class mail box for mailing. When your letter arrives at home, please share the adventure that you designed for Flat Stanley with an adult.

Explore On Your Own (Optional) Step 7: Explore Flat Stanley’s travel itinerary. Use Google to travel to the destination. Visit the points of interest for Flat Stanley and explore the town through cyberspace. Satellite Map Satellite Map

See What Others Have Done (Optional) Step 8: Watch some of the adventures of Flat Stanley that he has enjoyed with others. (YouTube.com) Flat Stanley in Hollywood Flat Stanley in Hollywood

Record and Share Step 9: Record in your journal Stanley’s travel experience. How do you think Stanley enjoyed the trip that you designed? What did he see? How did he feel? What was his favorite site? What type of activities did he do? Would he visit this city again? Would he want you to design him a different trip? Where would he travel to next? Be prepared to give a 1-3 minute presentation on your experience. You will share your travel report with your reading group.

Conclusion Step 10: After you have successfully completed each step of this WebQuest, write a short reflection on this project in your Flat Stanley journal. (1-2 paragraphs) Some questions to consider before writing in your journal are: What was successful? What was challenging? Would you change anything about the experience? What did you learn from Stanley’s travels? What was surprising? Did you like being a travel agent? Hope you had fun planning Flat Stanley’s Virtual Vacation. I’m sure he enjoyed visiting the city you chose for him to visit. Come back when it’s vacation time again and try something different.

Evaluation