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There are many advantages to making your own cards for using in a language
class. You can match a precise vocabulary, level, activity, or teaching
method with uniform size materials. You can use the precise images that
you want, and tailor the texture and durability of the cards to the age
level that uses them.
Buying factory-made cards at any of the numerous ELT stores in Japan
is cheaper and faster. However, if cards with the images, vocabulary,
quality or style that you want aren't available, you can find great satisfaction
in making your own. Having a library of cards to fit any language target
at any level gives the
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teacher tremendous flexibility, and liberates the lesson from textbooks.
This is a guide to making your own cards, based on my ten years experience
of creating my own materials.
Finally... a request for feedback! Making cards has become a major hobby
for me. I hope this guide can help you find satisfaction in making your
own cards. Also, if you have additional advice (I have had no success
in laminating, for example), your contributions are very welcome. Please
post any comments on the ETJ-Aichi
web site, in the Forums section.
Thank you for your interest, and good luck with building your own library.
Peter Warner
ETJ-Aichi
Nagoya, Japan
Top
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| Materials You Need |
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1. Card images
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These are the image and/or text
that you want the card to show, drawn or printed on paper. Color images
keep children's focus far longer than black and white, and convey meaning
more clearly. B/W images can be colored in by hand with felt tip markers
to make them more effective and unique. Color copiers at convenience stores
vary widely with image quality, paper grades, and cost. Having your own
scanner and printer, and an internet connection for getting free clip art
from the internet is far superior. When you are copying or scanning, put
a sheet of solid black construction paper behind the page you are copying;
it prevents the images on adjoining pages from seeping through. Remember
also to be sensitive to copyright laws. |
The materials
Different thicknesses of
card stock
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2. Printer paper
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Some expensive color print paper
doesn't stick well to card stock, and with some cheap paper, the images
wear off after months of sliding across the table face down. (Laminating
seems to invite pealing off). Interestingly, cheaper paper works better
with black and white images than expensive color print paper. Find the type
and grade of paper that matches your printer and use. |
| 3. Card Stock |
As with the printer paper, there
are many different thicknesses, finishes, and size of card stock to choose
from. In the stationary stores, they usually have a wide selection, kept
flat in a metal cabinet with numerous thin drawers. Some thick stock will
de-laminate in less than two years. A higher degree of whiteness in the
outside finish seems to indicate higher quality and durability inside. Spend
some time looking through the drawers, to find what you want. The actual
cost is about \20 or less per A3 sheet. I buy mine in heavy reams of 100
sheets, for much less per sheet. Printed paper glued to a single layer of
high quality, thin, stiff paper is very durable, but can be folded and mangled
by restless fingers. A single layer of thick stock is fine for most uses.
For little children's cards, I use two or three layers of thick stock, sometimes
even with an additional layer of high-grade wear resistant (shiny finish)
stock as a backing. Those cards last over four years of daily use. |
| 4. Spray Adhesive |
The only way to get a smooth multi-layered
card, without lumps, is to use spray adhesive. It's fast, uniform, and touchy
to work with (more on that later). 3M produces several numbered grades of
spray adhesive in large aerosol cans; 55,66,77, 88, and 99. The 55 grade
can be peeled off, like a post-it note, the 99 grade will never move (you
can't get the air bubbles or even small wrinkles out) once contact is made.
I use only the 77 grade. Small wrinkles and bubbles can be smoothed out,
yet it never peels off. Card stock will fall apart before this adhesive
does. |
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5. Disk Paper Cutter
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A guillotine type paper cutter will never cut a triple layer card; disc
blade cutters can cut material of over four layers. Disk blade cutters
also hold the paper securely, are light and smooth to operate, can cut
minute portions off with high accuracy, and are completely safe. Guillotine
cutters offer none of these features. However, disk cutters are more expensive
and require frequent maintenance. It should be cleaned and oiled (lightly)
every three hours of operation, dis-assembled and oiled every six hours.
The cutting mat (under the blade) should be flipped over often, then replaced
every six hours, along with the disk blade.
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| 6. Old Newspaper |
Spray adhesive seems to travel horizontally
throughout the spraying area, far beyond the material you are spraying.
You will need to cover a large area to protect from this wandering glue.
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| 7. Large Table |
You need a large flat surface to push down on
as you press the paper together. Once the adhesive is sprayed, you have
about fifteen seconds to get the material smoothed out. Have a large work
area to avoid clutter, panic, and mistakes. |
| Procedure |
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1. Glue the image onto the card stock
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Spray safely! This spray
adhesive is serious stuff for the serious card-maker. To protect your lungs,
eyes, brain, CD player, computer, tatami and carpeting, DO ALL YOUR SPRAYING
OUTSIDE. Avoid windy (papers flop around) or hot days(sweat doesn't adhere
well) . Move plants and hanging laundry away from your work area. Keep your
hands clean, and take off your rings before you start (they might mark the
material as you smooth it out). Wear goggles and a mask if you can bear
them. Most important of all, DO IT OUTSIDE!!! This spray is highly invasive.
I've had an air conditioner filter get clogged up with the spray adhesive,
had it gum up the inner parts of a CD player, and I believe that using a
gas fan heater nearby at the same time can be possibly deadly. If you want
to live to see your grand-children, do it outside. |
Spray outside!!
How to arrange
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| Spread two layers of newspapers out,
creating a backstop and floor covering far beyond your actual spraying area.
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| Place a final newspaper in the center
of this, so that you can open to a fresh page as the over-spray builds up. |
| Lay the image paper face down on
this newspaper, and spray them with even passes, keeping the spray tip about
20 to 25 cm from the material. Once you have applied the adhesive, you have
less than fifteen seconds to smooth the image paper onto the card stock,
so only lay out as much you can work with in one cycle. Arrange your material
neatly to allow you to work quickly. |
| 2. Bond the card stock for durability |
If you are making multi-layered cards, do all the the bonding now, so
you only have to cut it once. Two layers is very durable, three is great
for kindergarten monsters, four layers is like a thin block of wood. A
large four-layered card might actually hurt someone if thrown.
After spraying and bonding, leave the material stacked flat. It will
continue to emit strong fumes for two hours.
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| 3. Cut the cards |
Here the fun begins!
To keep your card sets uniform, keep a full set of size templates (perhaps
worn-out cards) for each of your card sizes. Use these old cards as an
edge reference when making the first side cut, and the first end cut.
After making these first two cuts on all the material, use the template
again to set the magnetized bar on the base of the cutter for the final
two cuts.
Tape the bar down, to prevent it from shifting, or re-check it against
the template as you continue working (it will shift). Make all the third
and fourth cuts at the same time, to ensure uniformity.
With thin, flexible cards, finish by cutting off the corners by hand
with a sturdy pair of scissors. Even adults work out their nervousness
by fingering the corners, and once someone has separated the layers at
the corner, that card is doomed to that big ELT classroom in the sky very
quickly. A card with no sharp corners lasts three times as long. Sturdy
and small, or multi-layered cards don't have this problem.
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First side cut
Setting the magnetic bar
Final cuts
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| 4. Index the cards |
If you have a set of over twenty cards in one category (people, for example:
boy, brother, brother-in-law), it would be good to separate them by levels.
Mark the edge of the graded set with a wide stripe of a coded color with
a felt-tip marker.
The martial arts sequence of yellow, green, brown, and finally black
works well for this. Middle levels (between green and brown, for example)
can be indicated by a stripe of an upper color (a stripe of black down
the center of the green band).
Some observant children will notice this, and find pride in reaching
the 'green belt' level, but mainly it allows you to move quickly to the
right set of cards, and simplifies keeping track of the progress of each
class in your class planner (Example of class planner entry: "For
Wednesday 4:30P.M. class = yellow body-cards, green verb-cards, yellow/green
adjective-cards").
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Graded levels
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| 5. Storing the cards |
Use rubber bands!!
Keeping the card sets in boxes is cumbersome. Having each set separate
and banded means they are instantly visible and quickly accessible. Furthermore,
the children enjoy being given (as a reward, or even mild rebuke) the
task of getting the set back into a rubber band, as you prepare the next
activity.
Stationary stores and home centers sell lots of rubber bands, but some
brands are worthless. Many of them will fall apart just sitting on the
shelf, letting the cards come tumbling out all over as you reach for them,
or even spontaneously. The brand I like most is オーバンド (oh-bando). Even
so, keep a few bags of spares within easy reach.
If the band size is too small for the card set it's wrapped around, it
won't last six months. The wider bands (over 6mm) look rugged, but actually
tend to come un-joined more frequently than the slimmer ones.
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