"Stamps Teach" Pilot Program Brings Stamps into Classrooms!

An innovative program developed by the New Initiatives Committee of the National Postal Museum’s Council of Philatelists was launched on December 7. "Stamps Teach" offers participating third through fifth grade teachers a variety of materials for their classrooms: free lesson plans, handouts, colorful postage stamps, a classroom calendar and a complete learning center called Stamp Ventures.

Sponsored by the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, the American Philatelic Society and the American Stamp Dealers Association, the pilot program currently has 60 third through fifth grade teachers who have agreed to use stamps in their classrooms to teach one or more subjects. At the end of the pilot program, teachers will complete a short survey to evaluate the program’s effectiveness.

Lesson plans and the Stamp Ventures learning center support classroom instruction in language arts, mathematics, social studies and science. Additional subjects will be added based upon teacher feedback. Students use colorful postage stamps to complete projects that reinforce the lessons being taught by their teachers. The stamps enable students visualize the subjects and assist in remembering what they have learned.

The "Stamps Teach" pilot program is still open for additional teachers. Click here (stamps.org/DisplayPage.aspx?id=Pilot-Program, accessed January 6, 2012) for more information about this free program available on the American Philatelic Society’s website!