Charmaine Wistad's Timeline Book
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First of all, I purchased a 9X12 artist's sketchbook with approx. 95 pages. Then I decided how I was going to divide the periods of history (more on that below) and I chose a different colored marker to coincide with each period. In my book, I put a 3/4 size page between the regular pages from the Year 1 AD on. The reason for the 3/4 size page is so that you can still see the numbers of the timeline above the page. It gives you extra space for that period if you need it. It is especially nice to have this extra space if you are going to add to the timeline over many years as you pass several times through the same period of history. To make this 3/4 page I just marked the cutting line with a pencil then used my rotary cutter to cut the top 1/4 of the page off.
Here's the breakdown of the periods:
1 page.....In the Beginning (no dates specified...because we really don't know)
1 page...The Fall (no dates)
1 page....The Flood (no dates)
1..(2 page spread) .....From the Flood to 3500 BC
17...(2 page spreads ).....Ancient Civilizations 3500 BC to 500 BC (100 years per 2 page spread)
10...(2 pg spreads).....Classical World 500 BC to 500 AD (100 years per 2 pg. spread) * from 1 AD on I added the extra page in the middle. You'll have to add that into your count if you want to do it that way.
9 1/2 ..(2 pg spreads)......Middle Ages 500AD to 1450 AD (100 years per 2 pg spread)
1 3/4...(2 pg. spreads) ..Renaissance and Reformation 1450 AD to 1610 (100 years per 2 pg. spread)
4...(2 pg spreads.).......Exploration and Colonization 1610 to 1750 ( 50 years per 2 pg. spread)
3 1/2..(2 pg. spreads) Industrial Revolution 1750-1914 ( 50 years per 2 pg. spread)
3 ...(2 pg. spreads ) The World Today 1914- 2050 ( 50 years per 2 pg. spread)
Here's what I did for colors:
In the Beginning.....black
The Fall and the Flood.....black
From Flood to 3500 BC......brown
Ancient Civilizations ....green
Classical World .....teal
Middle Ages......purple ( and I added an additional black line for the Dark Ages 500AD- 900AD)
Renaissance and Reformation......orange ( and I added a blue line for the Age of Exploration 1420-1550)
Exploration and Colonization......blue ( and added a purple line for Age of Kings and Queens 1610-1770)
Industrial Revolution .....red
World Today......black
On the pages where I added in a second color line to designate another period...I wrote the name of that period near the line in it's appropriate color.
Our sketchbook contains 95 pages. Even with adding in the extra 3/4 page from 1AD on I still have about 20 blank pages left at the back. So........
If I were going to do this over again , I would start making the 2 pg spreads at 50 year intervals from about 1 AD on and perhaps just skip the extra middle sheet. (If you have enough pages you could also do the entire book (from 3500 BC on) using 50 years per 2 page spread.)
Another possibility would be to use a 3 ring binder and loose pages. That way you could add them in as need be and you would not need the 3/4 pages. You could purchase drawing paper (which is heavier than copier paper) and then cut it to size and hole punch it. This would give you a nice weight paper to work with.
For timeline figures I used pictures I cut out or copied from and old Funk and Wagnall's encyclopedia, made photo copies from books, or I drew them myself. Some are also from a purchased timeline figure set from J & K Schooling. There timeline figures are meant to be put on the wall so they are a little large for a timeline book. However, the author does give permission to photocopy and reduce them in size. Here is a link to J&K Schooling http://www.jkschooling.com/
Charmaine