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The basic principle of The Flat Stanley Project is to connect your child, student or classroom with other children or classrooms participating in the Project by sending out "flat" visitors, created by the children, through the mail (or digitally, with The Flat Stanley app). Kids then talk about, track, and write about their flat character's journey and adventures. Although similar to a pen-pal activity, Flat Stanley is actually much more enriching-students don't have to wonder where to begin or what to write about. The sender and the recipient already have a mutual friend, Flat Stanley. Writing and learning becomes easier, flows naturally, and tends to be more creative. This is what teachers call an "authentic" literacy project, in that kids are inspired to write of their own passion and excitement about the project, and given the freedom to write about many things through the rubric of the Flat Stanley character.

"The world's largest educational game ever and it's FREE! Designed to help 4 - 10 year olds strengthen their Core Skills in literacy and numeracy..."

Nonfiction Current Events @ different reading levels

"Friends play many important roles in our lives. The characteristics we value in a friend vary from one person to the next. This project uses the classic story, Charlotte's Web, to engage students in critical thinking about what makes a good friend. The Visual Ranking Tool offers students a non-threatening way to make decisions about key qualities of friendship, while also supporting literacy activities that build comprehension. "

literacy resources, activities

teacher resources, activity links

The award-winning Random House Children's Books Web site, kids@random, offers an array of materials and activities free of charge for children, teens, parents, and educators. The innovative teachers@random Web site features many teaching tools and classroom activities, including title-specific teachers' guides developed by leading educators, biographies of authors and illustrators, and podcasts. The Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, and Andrew Lost online classroom clubs provide innovative curriculum tie-ins and interdisciplinary connections for teachers during the school year. Random House is also the proud host of the award-winning www.seussville.com, Dr. Seuss's home on the Internet.

"The most dreaded word in school reading for students: book reports. Teachers assign them, viewing them as a necessary component of assessing reading comprehension. Book reports can be a contributing factor to 'readicide'. "Read-i-cide n: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools." http://stenhouse.com/html/readicide.htm. So, how can we as teachers continue to monitor our students understanding of reading material without killing the love of reading? Enter technology. Technology can help bring some excitement and creativity to the traditional book report while still displaying students understanding of reading."

For over 25 years, Garfield creator, Jim Davis, has been encouraged by countless letters from parents telling him how Garfield has helped their child learn how to read. Numerous educators have also used Garfield and his comic strip friends as a powerful tool to teach and motivate children in the classroom. As a result, Jim has long held that the comics be not only a way to a child's heart and funny bone, but also a student's brain. Jim's vision was to create a learning portal where children would want to visit because they would have fun, express themselves, and learn simultaneously. Content ranges from traditional subjects, such as reading, writing and arithmetic, to career goal exploration, art and activities created expressly for kids with LDs. Who is Professor Garfield For? PGF offers fun, engaging and transforming educational content for school children between kindergarten and 8th grade. The educational content is upgraded continuously and presented in a popular culture entertainment format. All of the content has been reviewed by educational experts and tested in classroom settings.