Place the poster board on a flat surface at least the length of the longest side. Place the straight edge in the center, positioned horizontally across the poster board.
Draw a horizontal line across the poster board as guided by the straight edge. Draw a 1-inch vertical line at each end. Write the word "birth" under the left-edge vertical line and the word "current" under the right-edge line.
Write your birth year above the left-edge line. Write the current year above the right-edge line. Write your name centered at the top of the paper.
Divide your age by 36. For example, if you are 20 years old, 36 divided by 20 is 1.8 and you would now draw a short, vertical line every 1.8 inches across the length of the timeline. Calculate your number and draw the vertical lines representing each year of your life.
Place one piece of construction paper at each major event you are including on the timeline. Write the year of the event centered at the top of the piece of construction paper, about 1-inch high.
Write one or two paragraphs for each major event in your life. Cut excess construction paper using scissors when finished.
Layout all events you want to include on the timeline, moving from the earliest year to the most recent.
Place the earliest event closest to the mark with the corresponding year above the center line on the poster board. Place the second event below the center line. Continue the top, bottom, top, bottom pattern until all events are laid out across the paper.
Offset or stagger events to create a more interesting appearance. Events do not have to set next to each other horizontally. Glue each piece of construction paper with a glue stick.
Draw a line with a marker down to each point on the timeline. Continue this process until all events are connected to the timeline.