1. THE TIMELINE BOARD: Our timeline was made from 2 - 22"x 28" white poster boards. We cut them in half LENGTHwise and taped them end to end. The finished size was 11" x 112" (it ends up quite long, roughly 9'!), however we filled the whole thing! We ran a long strip of vinyl tape down the center, alternating red and blue as we came to each place where we had taped the boards together. We purchased the vinyl tape at an office supply store, but you can use whatever you like. Even a markered line would work just fine, just keep it fat so you can use it to write years and topics in (e.g..: 1861, Battle of Vicksburg, Emancipation Proclamation, etc...) We used gold and silver acrylic markers for that, as they would write well on the vinyl tape.

2. THE TIMELINE COPY: I found a great website that has the timeline we used all written out. It also has great photos you can print off and use on your timeline. I found that adding pictures helped my 'visual' kids remember things better. Print off the timeline and use it as your base for information.

All of the penmanship was gleaned from this. However, you must be discreet, as some quotes aren't appropriate (although few) and there's actually much more information than you need. We chose the main events and battles, as well as in some cases, steps through the battles. For example, The Merrimac vs. the Monitor might have received one spot, but the Battle of Gettysburg received about 5-7 spots of coverage. We also utilized the Lincoln timeline (accessible from The History Place website as well). 

3. CREATING COPY BLOCKS: For all copy that had a picture to go with it, I created blocks on the computer that would have lines that the children could write each paragraph of copy on. I printed these out on colored paper to make it a more visually appealing timeline. You can usually fit approximately 6 - 8 blocks per page. Some gave room for little copy, some for more. There was also room on each block to glue the picture on. I also printed off another copy of the timeline from 'The History Place' and cut up the individual copy and picture, attaching each group to a colored paper so they would have everything together. I would assign the children up to four groups of copy per day for penmanship. All copy that did not have a photo was written directly on the timeline board, but not until after all colored papers were completed and temporarily placed where they would go on the board. The penciled writing on the board was then gone over with pen (by me--the children had written enough and I didn't want to exhaust them on this--and I didn't alter a thing keeping it truly their own). We used a colored pen, again for appearance.

    **Note: You can find additional pictures from the highlighted words on The History Place timeline that you may have to print out reduced. There are also archived photos at this website:

4. FINISHING UP: When your timeline is completed be sure and cover it with with contact paper! If you can afford it, lamination would be even more durable. It's a true work of art, and can be implemented for years to come. Be sure and talk about all the things that the children are writing about! My daughter was filling in a block about Lee's father being a famous military man, and said with surprise, "Robert E. Lee's dad was famous, too!" My son pipes in, "He comes from a long line of Lees! One of his distant relatives served with William Wallace!" and he promptly tracked down the book he read that in to read the section to us. It kicked off a great discussion about how upright people are not always made overnight, but morals, values and character are often passed through the generations and can mold  a more virtuous spirit.

Keep your timeline available throughout the unit! We've used it several times for checking information. The children also referred to it as they filled in their journals...but that's another project!

Questions or Comments?  Email us at: amypak ("at" sign) homeschoolinthewoods.com	Back to Civil War Unit Study Index	Creating the Civil War Journal	Creating the Civil War Costumes	Creating the Civil War Gazette	Creating the Civil War Filmstrip	Creating the Civil War Chess Set
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