Excel is Elementary: Timelines




Students can create timelines with Excel by utilizing fill colors, autoshapes, drawing tools as well as utilizing different text options. Younger students can use pictures to represent different events on their timelines. Timelines can visually share changes over time in different curriculum areas such as science, social studies, math and language arts. Timelines can document the events of a person's or character's life, the stages of an animal's life, the sequence of how something occured or the events in a time period.



Timeline Examples with Excel
Edison's Inventions
Students can use the template provided or create their own timeline of Thomas Edison's inventions. Simple cell coloring and text orientation enhance this timeline. Edison Timeline Template for Ten Time Periods Edison Inventions (Source: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History)

Inventions of Twentieth Century
Another way to display an Excel timeline is with graphics and without gridlines. The ability to set the degree of angle for text orientation adds another creative twist. This timeline features items used in the classroom. Inventions of Twentieth Century Worksheets include timeline without gridlines, timeline with gridlines and a template. Inventions of the Twentieth Century (Source: Inventors at About.com)

This Day in History



This day in history is a great activity for students to invetigate their birthday and historic events that occurred on their special day. This example hightlights February 14th, Valentines Day and uses an autoshape as one of the text boxes. This Day in History Timeline - February 14 This Day in History Resources This Day in History at InfoPlease.com This Day in History at the History Channel On This Day at New York Times Learning Channel This Day in History at Yahooligans

Timeline Resources
Timelines: Timeless Teaching Tools - A great article by Gary Hopkins at Education World. Several of the following lessons are listed as well as a timeline template for printing. A Celebration Timeline - A rubric is included with this lesson. A Living Timeline - Family Timeline - This lesson includes a Timeline Events List Time, Then and Now - Clothespins and index cards offer a great visual for students. A Timeline to Print - A timeline students can utilize for planning before the computer.(pdf file)

Fact Monster Timelines - Many categories are listed as well as a yearly search option.

AlternaTime - A vast resource of timelines collected by George Emery a librarian at Canisius College

American Memory Timeline - This resource was developed to help teachers and students use the vast resources at the Library of Congress.

HyperHistory Online - HyperHistory is an expanding scientific project presenting 3,000 years of world history with an interactive combination of synchronoptic lifelines, timelines, and maps.

Timeline Tools on the Web
Timeline Maker at Teach-nology - This online tool can generate up to nine lines of events.

WhoWhatWhen -Interactive Historical Timelines is a database of people and events. Create graphic timelines of periods in history and of the lives of individuals.


Back to the ABC's to Excel


Kathy Adkins February, 2003