Technology in Your Classroom : How To... :

How To...Design and Publish Greeting Cards

These card-making resources will inspire creativity in your (and your students') special-occasion correspondence

For Reproducible click here. PDF 428KB

May is the perfect time for making greeting cards, with so many celebrations in this and upcoming months. There's Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduations from kindergarten through college and thank-you notes for parent volunteers. Don't forget the opportunity to create cards for invitations to school awards ceremonies and end-of-year events.

personalized greeting card

Create personalized greeting cards for real and favorite fictional friends.

Why greeting cards?
This is a technology integration that can fit into every curriculum at any grade level. Want to recognize favorite authors? You can mail cards to the publishers or the authors themselves. In 2006, Curious George turns 65, Winnie-the-Pooh will be 80 and Disney's Lady and the Tramp is 50. Need motivation for your American History or science/invention curriculum? You can celebrate the 300th birthday of Benjamin Franklin.

And last but not least, Teaching K-8 has been publishing for 35 years! Join us in our 35th anniversary celebration with cards for all occasions.

Cards and more

  1. Pop-up cards. Turn to the expertise of paper-engineering pro Robert Sabuda at www.robertsabuda.com/popmakesimple.asp for detailed instructions on creating simple pop-ups. Also, an exclusive Sabuda-Reinhart dinosaur pop-up card template can be printed from our Online Extras section at www.TeachingK-8.com

    To create your own pop-up cards using a word processing program, follow these simple steps:
    Step 1 – Open a new page in your word processing program and use the Page Setup feature to turn it to landscape.

    Step 2 – Divide your page into three columns. Column 1 is the front of your card. Columns 2 and 3 are your inside text. Write your inside greeting.

    Step 3 – Select a picture or graphic and place it over the dividing line between columns 2 and 3.

    Step 4 – Print and fold, accordian-style, along the column lines.

    Step 5 – Cut around the graphic on the top and bottom, leaving the middle attached. When the card opens, out pops the graphic! The card will fit in a standard envelope.

  2. Greeting card simulation. The U.S. Mint has a great website on money called H.I.P. Pocket Change™. Visit www.usmint.gov/kids and click on "Games" to find Plinky's Create-a-Card game. Students purchase graphics and simple greetings using their allowance. There's even a complete economics lesson for creating a card store in the classroom.

  3. E-cards. There are many websites for sending electronic greeting cards. Here are just a few:
    • Canon – Download graphics for creating cards or print ready-made cards.
      http://dyn.c-ij.com/english/greetings

    • Crayola – Click on Send a Card for a variety of print and e-mail cards featuring crayon art created by children. www.crayola.com

    • Regards.com – Add a border and background to suit your creativity and select famous quotes by category for your greeting card verse. Print your card or send via e-mail. Encourage students to use this site to create cards for classmates with summer birthdays. www.regards.com

  4. Greeting card lessons. The web also offers a number of lesson plans for using cards in the curriculum.

Whether it's for a student birthday or a milestone celebration, choose an occasion and create!

For Reproducible click here. PDF 428KB

Linda K. Lindroth is Technology Editor and Web Coordinator for Teaching K-8. She is also a Technology Resource Teacher in a K-5 computer lab in Lexington, KY.

May 2006, Vol.36, No.8