Stray Kids: Album Releases and Debut Data

Assumed level: Beginner, suitable for a child learning to read and compare dates and simple data.

Goal: Gabby will use a small timeline of Stray Kids releases to identify their debut, put releases in order, and answer questions using the data.

Materials

• Paper and pencil
• The data table below

Lesson (45 minutes)

1. Hook — 5 minutes. Ask: “If you wanted to work out which of these Stray Kids releases came first, what clues would you look for?” Explain that today you’ll use dates as data to make a timeline.
2. Show it — 10 minutes. Share this selected-release table. Explain that it is a small sample, not a complete list. “Debut” means an artist’s official beginning; the group’s official debut date was March 25, 2018. Mixtape came out before that debut.

   Release	Release date	Note
   Mixtape	January 8, 2018	Pre-debut release
   I Am NOT	March 26, 2018	Debut mini album
   I Am WHO	August 6, 2018	Mini album
   I Am YOU	October 22, 2018	Mini album
   Clé 1: MIROH	March 25, 2019	Mini album
   GO生 (GO LIVE)	June 17, 2020	Studio album
   NOEASY	August 23, 2021	Studio album
   ★★★★★ (5-STAR)	June 2, 2023	Studio album

   Model reading one row aloud: “I Am WHO was released August 6, 2018. That is after I Am NOT, which was released in March.” Point out that a pre-debut release can come before the official debut.

3. Do it together — 10 minutes. Have Gabby help arrange these three releases from earliest to latest: NOEASY, Mixtape, and GO生 (GO LIVE). Ask, “Which date is in 2018? Which is in 2020? Which is in 2021?” Then ask her to find the release closest to the group’s March 25, 2018 debut date.
4. Gabby tries it — 15 minutes. Ask Gabby to answer on paper, using the table:
   1. Which release in the table came first?
   2. Which release in the table came last?
   3. How many releases in the table are from 2018?
   4. Which came earlier: I Am YOU or Clé 1: MIROH?
   5. Was Mixtape released before or after the group’s official debut?
   6. Write one sentence comparing two releases using “earlier” or “later.”
5. Recap — 5 minutes. Ask Gabby to explain the difference between the group’s official debut date and a release date in the table. Recap: Stray Kids’ official debut was March 25, 2018; Mixtape was released earlier, and I Am NOT followed the next day.

Quick check

Expected answers: 1. Mixtape. 2. 5-STAR. 3. Three. 4. I Am YOU. 5. Before. 6. Check that Gabby correctly compares the dates.

Make it easier: Read the dates aloud together and let Gabby point to the earlier year before comparing months.

Make it harder: Ask Gabby to calculate the number of years between the 2018 debut and the 2023 release, then explain why Mixtape is not the group’s official debut.