At the start of the history unit, post a topographical map of North America on the bulletin board. Use yarn and pushpins to make the borders for the sections that were claimed by the English, French, and Spanish in 1754. Use French and British flags made from index cards to mark the forts and cities. Label the names of the forts and cities. Move the boundary lines and flags to correspond to events that the students learn about as they study the war.
Divide the class into two groups. Have a student make two parallel lines on the bulletin board. One group will make a time line of the events that were happening in North America from 1756 to 1763. The other will detail the events that were happening in Europe in 1756 to 1763. This bulletin board project on the French-Indian War helps the students understand that the war between the British and the French was a world wide war.
Provide the students with letters to spell "French and Indian War Hall of Fame." Provide each student with a picture of a person or place that was important in the French and Indian War. After researching the person or place, the students should provide a brief explanation of why the person or place is important. Write this explanation and place under a picture that represents the person or place. Examples would be George Washington, General James Wolfe, General Louis-Joseph Montcalm and the fort at Louisburg.
The American colonists and the Native Americans were involved in the French and Indian war. There were several tribes of Native Americans. Each tribe made choices and suffered during the war. The American colonists were a diverse group of immigrants. They had different jobs, homes and clothing. Each student can make a paper cutout of a person and decorate the paper with clothing that would represent a group of people who were involved in the war. The bulletin board can be decorated with pictures of homes that the people would have lived in.
Place a large picture of a balance on the bulletin board. On one side of the balance list of the wars that England and France had from 1689 to 1783. On the opposite side of the scale have a list of the taxes that were imposed on the American colonist. This bulletin board will help the students realize that England had to face the problem of paying for the war debt. Discuss with the students how these taxes may have persuaded the colonists to seek independence.