How to Make Flashcards

By Jan K., The Proofer

© Copyright 2008

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This tutorial will provide the step-by-step instructions for how to make flashcards using Microsoft Word and sheets of pre-perforated postcards (an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet, available in office supply stores such as Office Depot). You can make flashcards for any subject, at any grade level, and use them as a teaching or studying tool.

For more about making and using flashcards, read: You Are Never Too Old to Use Flashcards.

For homeschoolers, making and using flashcards can be two lessons in one! First, review the computer skills needed to create the flashcards...

...and then study the material on the cards!

You only need to learn a few basic computer skills for Microsoft Word and printing on both sides of the same piece of paper to create flashcards that can be used to learn anything from ABCs to ancient history!

This tutorial will guide you through creating a postcard template in Word and inserting text, clipart, or personal photos into each postcard. Some tips for printing on both sides of one sheet of paper are also provided.

For the flashcards created in this tutorial, you will need sheets of postcards that compatible with Avery 3263 (four postcards on one sheet). The postcard blanks used in this tutorial were purchased at Office Depot, item # 915-895.

Step 2.

• Open a blank Word* document.
• On the toolbar, click on Tools, then Letters and Mailings, then Envelopes and labels.

*These instructions are written using Microsoft Word 2003. You may need to adjust the instructions for older or newer versions of Word or for other word-processing programs.

Click on Options (a button on the right side of the pop-up window).

On the Label Options window, scroll through the list of "Product Numbers" to find the Avery template number that is compatible with the sheets of postcards that you are using. Click on that product number. Then click on the OK button at the bottom right of the window.

For the purposes of this tutorial, using the postcards purchased at Office Depot (as shown in Step 1), the Avery template number is 3263.

Tip: Most "store brands" of paper, labels, and pre-formatted sheets (such as these postcards) provide the compatible Avery Template number. In this instance, there is an information sheet inside the box of postcard sheets that includes the Avery template number.

Click on the New Document button, on the right of the pop-up window.

You will now see the border lines of the four postcards. Each postcard will be one flashcard.

To insert text into the flashcard, simply start to type.

The sample to the left shows that the word TEXT has been typed into the top left-hand post card.

Shown here, the word TEXT has been centered and the font size has been changed. If you are new to working with Word and don't know how to change the font, font size, font color, or text formatting, please refer this helpful article:

• Working with Word...It's Easier than You Think!

Continue to Step 8 for inserting clipart or personal photos into your flashcard.

You can also insert clipart or photos into the flashcard.

If you are new to Word and don't know how to insert clipart or photos into a Word document, then review this helpful article:

Inserting Clipart or Photos Into a Word Document

As you can see here, the clipart image of a beach ball has been inserted into the top right postcard. To change the image (re-position it, make it larger, make it smaller), click on the ball image. A "box" will appear around the image (as shown to the left).

The ball has been centered in the postcard. To do this, you will need to click on the toolbar icon that shows several different length lines, arranged so that each line is centered.

If you don't see the "center" icon on your toolbar, then click on View (on your toolbar), click on Toolbars, and click on Formatting. Several icons should appear on your toolbar: one icon with lines that are lined up to the left, one icon with lines that are centered, and one icon with lines lined up to the right. These icons are "left justify" (text and images line up on the left margin), "centered" (text and images are centered on the page), and "right justify" (text and images line up on the right margin).

You can insert personal photos into your flashcards as well!

The steps are similar to those followed in Step 8 (refer to the helpful tutorial, link provided in Step 8).

This is a delightful way to create homeschool flashcards about history! Visit a historical site and take pictures. Then create flashcards from your pictures! Design a history lesson plan around that historical site, using your own family vacation photos! (The flashcard shown here, bottom left, is a picture of the entrance sign to the Olustee Battlefield, in Olustee, FL. It is the site of a Civil War battle. Once annually, there is a battle re-enactment staged by Civil War re-enactors. For more information, see: Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park.)

Finish the flashcards, so that you have something on all four flash, for the "front" of the flashcard.

You should now print the page.

Insert one sheet of postcards into your printer. It is best if  you print the cards on "Normal" or "Better" printing preference, so that you get a rich color. If you are printing photo flashcards, then set your printing preferences to "Photo" setting. (Refer to your printer manual for instructions on setting the print quality.)

The flashcards shown at left are the sample flashcards created for this tutorial. You can download these sample flashcards, see Step X.

Once the front of the flashcard is printed, you will now need to create the "back" of the flashcard. To do this, you will need to open a new Word document, and re-open a postcard template page (repeat Steps 2-6).

You must now put the page of flashcards back into the printer, so that when you print the back of the flashcards, it will print on the opposite side (that is, the card shown here as "One 1" will print on the opposite of the card that has one beach ball on it.

You'll notice in the illustration to the left, that the words/numbers don't seem to "match" the number of balls on the front side of the flashcard (see Step 11). This is due to the way I load paper into my printer. You may need to experiment with loading paper into your printer so that the back of the flashcard prints on the corresponding front of the flashcard. The manual that comes with your printer should provide you with tips for printing on two sides.

After you have printed the front and the back, separate the cards. You now have four flashcards. Follow these same steps for making more flashcards, for any subject, at any grade level.

If you need a little more help, or want to see these two Word documents that I created to make these four flashcards, you may download them:

• Flashcard-Front
• Flashcard-Back

(These Word documents will open up in new windows. Be sure to "Save" them to your computer. Open them in Word for help with setting up your own flashcard templates.)

Get the links you need, plus teaching tips at:

• Using Flashcards to Teach Numbers

Get a full set of free printable beginner's fractions flashcards as well as classroom lesson tips at:

• Learning Fractions: Flashcards for Simple Fractions

Get a fully illustrated, step-by-step tutorial for making worksheets:

• How to Make Easy Lesson Worksheets

This illustrated tutorial or craft may not be used as free content. For free content for your website or in your newsletter go to Jan's Free Content (http://www.jansfreecontent.com).

Jan K., The Proofer owns the copyright on all tutorials and crafts. © Copyright 2005 to present.