Things You'll Need:
- Word program
- Scanner (optional)
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Step 1
Identify the time-span and theme of your timeline. The simplest timeline to create on your computer can be done in a Word program that uses text boxes. Depending on how much turf you plan to cover, you can either put 10 entries or less on a single page or make a template and spread your information over multiple pages. In the interests of simplicity for this exercise, you'll create a one-page timeline that covers the period between the year you were born and the present.
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Step 2
Divide the total number of years into eight equal segments. Assign each segment a year. Example: 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009. Starting with your birth year, identify one significant event that happened at each two-year increment. This can either be something that happened to you personally or that occurred in the world at large. For starters, go to the dMarie Time Capsule website (see Resources) and type in your birth date for each year on your timeline. This will provide you with the top headlines of the day as well as references to pop culture.
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Step 3
Open a new document in Word and define the layout of the page as horizontal with one-inch margins on all sides. In the center of the page, create a horizontal line that runs from the left margin all the way to the right. Three lines above this horizontal timeline and starting one inch from the left margin, type in your 1st year. Use your tab key to insert the 3rd, 5th and 7th years at two-inch intervals. Two lines below the horizontal timeline and starting two inches in from the left margin, type in your 2nd year. Use your tab key to insert the 4th, 6th and 8th years. The intervals between the years in the bottom row will also be two inches apart.
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Step 4
You will write a very short entry on the line directly below each year. Example:
1995
I am born.
If you need to go to a second line to accommodate your entry, that's fine; the objective is not to have your descriptive text run into the entries on either side. -
Step 5
Insert a text box directly above the years above the line and directly below the text entries below the line. These can be horizontal or vertical text boxes depending on the images you want to use. When you have completed this task, you'll have four evenly spaced boxes above the line and four boxes below the line.
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Step 6
Insert images that correspond to each of the eight events described. If your visual chronology is all about important benchmarks in your life, you can scan and upload photographs of yourself at different ages and insert them in the correct boxes. If your timeline highlights important events in history, you can either acquire JPEG images off the Internet or use clip art icons to represent important developments in art, music, politics, science, literature or sports.
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Step 7
Insert an arrow directly below each text box image located above the line; the arrows should point downward to the corresponding year. In your Word program, arrows can be found in the "wingdings" font selection. For entries located below the line, insert an arrow between the bottom row of the description and the top of the text box image; this arrow should point upward.
