The final lapbooking template I want to show you is the wheel template. The wheel template can work well for questions with multiple answers or for a list of questions with simple, one-to-two word answers. For example:
- Name four past Presidents of the United States.
- Name eight countries in Europe.
- How many joeys are born at one time to a mother kangaroo? How much do they weigh at birth? How long do they stay in their mother’s pouch? Can they see when they are born?
To create a wheel template, follow these steps:
- Draw a circle. When I first attempted to do this, I was frustrated by the fact that my programs all had options for drawing ovals but not circles. Don’t let that get in your way. Draw an oval and then resize the shape so that the height and the width are exactly the same. You now have a circle. I don’t recommend creating a circle larger than 6” in diameter so that there is room for it in your lapbook.
- Most programs will have some sort of ruler, grid, or guide to help you create straight lines at even intervals. First bisect the circle vertically and horizontally with solid lines to divide it into four equal parts. Next, bisect each of those sections by another straight line.
- Adjust your image so that the outside border is darker (thicker) than the interior lines.
- Now duplicate your entire creation as a new file. One of your circles will be the base of your wheel, the underneath portion where the students will write their answers. The other will be the cover, the top layer of the wheel with an open window cut into it.
- Add images to your base as desired.
- On your cover, erase all the interior lines except for one “slice” that will be the opening in your wheel. If you cannot erase only portions of lines because of the program you are using, delete the lines you do not need. Then shrink the remaining lines so that they begin in the center of the circle. That way you keep your proportions equal to your base.
- Add images to your cover as desired.
- Print, cut out, and connect the cover and base in the center with a brad fastener.
We’ll finish this series next week with a post looking at the ways you can use lapbooks to complement your writing projects.
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