My School Year Timeline!

Objective: Students will be able to place the months of the school year in order by matching them to photos taken each month. Students will enjoy looking at the changes in their appearance and penmanship throughout the year.

Activities: Each month students will have their individual pictures taken with a seasonal or holiday prop.
This might be a stuffed turkey for November, a new calendar for January, or a Valentine for February. Students will also print the name of the current month on an index card. The month cards, as well as the pictures that are printed, will be laminated and stored.
After 2 or 3 months have passed the teacher will distribute the cards and pictures and let students match them up and place them in order. Cards are again stored and passed out again the following month. This activity is repeated each month.
By the end of the school year the students will have several different photos and months to work with. As the final days of school approach the students will be given all the pictures and cards and they will placed in order as an individual timeline. These can be put up for display and then sent home for an educational momento of the school year.
Students will enjoy seeing their changes in appearance including hair length, clothing, and number of missing teeth. In most cases they will also observe an improvement in penmanship. This will be a great way to learn the months of the year and see changes in themselves and others.

Variations: Students may be asked to bring photos from home of pictures during the summer. These could be scanned and added to the school year timeline to cover the entire year.

Calendars could be made with the pictures as gifts to parents or as a momento for students.

Modifications for Special Needs Students: If students have difficulty writing the names of the months these could be pre-printed by an adult.

Pictures and months could be coded with symbols or numbers for greater ease in matching.