Put Your Stamp On It!

Teaching Pre K-8, Feb 2005 by Gosselin, Blanche

Cancelled stamps can be a treasure trove of learning opportunities for students and teachers alike.

Have you ever heard of Harry Wang, the Sunnyvale, CA "Stamp Man?" According to a 1997 article entitled "The Stamp Man" that appeared in Modern Maturity magazine, Wang collects used envelopes from City Hall offices and then uses the cancelled postage stamps to create colorful collages - like radiant peacocks!

Without seeking to emulate the China-born stamp artist, teachers can use cancelled stamps to advantage on any grade level.

Ready, set, go! Start collecting cancelled stamps. Look into your stashed-away correspondence files and into your attic trunks for stamped letters, postcards and packages. Ask your relatives, friends and students to do the same. Enlist an employee at a bank, a travel agency or an office to cut stamps from discarded envelopes.

Meanwhile, be sure to contact stamp companies for information on their bargain sales of stamps - you can find some for as low as $2 for 200 stamps. Mystic Stamp Company offers free beginner packets for both teachers and students: the first includes two catalogs with factual stamp stories, a United States stamp map and a magnifier; the second packet contains foreign and domestic stamps, hinges for mounting them and a stamp collectors guide.

With these aids, you'll be off to a terrific start.

Separate the stamps. Artists, musicians, writers, inventors, inventions - there's no limit to the people, places and things honored on postage stamps. Decide what grouping will work best for you. Will a particular stamp enhance your lesson in social studies? Ecology? Science? Music and art?

If you keep a picture file on a certain subject, be sure to add the useful stamps to the appropriate folder. Then, when studying that unit, allow each of your students to choose a stamp that appeals to him or her, research the topic and deliver an oral report to classmates.

A simple color collage, made from different shades of red, blue and purple stamps, can be a thing of beauty. In primary grades, a silhouette of Abraham Lincoln or George Washington, or an outline of the American flag, can be creatively covered with easily-available stamps - much to the satisfaction of even the youngest child.

Enjoy far-reaching results. Does the average student know the meaning of philately? Imperforate? Selvage? Developing a working interest in cancelled stamps can increase a young person's vocabulary.

For example, the United States Postal Service offers a wealth of online information - including the definitions and use of stamp terms. When approached by teachers, most United States post offices are happy to schedule classroom field trips. Going behind the mail delivery scene can broaden a child's outlook on life itself.

Who knows? What began as a modest stamp collecting project might result in a life-changing experience.

Stamp Collecting Sources

Mystic Stamp Company

866-660-7147 %

www.mysticstamp.com

Kenmore Stamp Company

800-225-5059

www.kenmorestamp.com

Jamestown Stamp Company

888-782-6776

www.jamestownstamp.com

United States Postal Service

www.usps.com

Blanche Gosselin is a former teacher currently residing in Putnam, CT.