I came across this idea the other day and we have started to use it.  We have had a time trying to fit all the historical events we studied on a traditional wall timeline.  The kids each have a notebook timeline but we like to have one visible in our classroom. We always seem to run out of space in a time period when adding pictures, never mind that sometimes we come across events a little out of sequence.  Using a paper chain seems to make it easier to add new events without having to make the pictures fit into a specific amount of space.

The idea is that you make a paper chain, using different colored paper for the different time frames.  We have finished World History and are beginning the History of America, so we have chosen to use red, white and blue strips to form our chain (in that order). On the white strips we are writing the year.  Then we are taking a smaller rectangular piece of paper, punching a hole in the top, gluing our picture and information to that, then attaching it to the right year with a piece of yarn.  Now we are free to add as many events as we like to the same time period.  We can also add another link easily if we find we need. The only draw back I see is that it will be a bit bulky for storing when we are finished with it, but I figure we can eventually flatten it out.  I thought this would be a great visual way to see the way historical events ‘connect’ to each other.

(Note: I’ll add some pictures when the chain gets a little longer. We just started this method this week.)