2. MISCELLANEOUS CIRCULAR NO. 21 
well to request the superintendent of schools to send a letter to each 
teacher, accompanied by poster suggestions and contest rules. The 
teachers’ institute furnishes‘a good opportunity for presenting the 
plan for the milk program to all the teachers of a county. 
It is desired, wherever possible, to have all school children, from 
the first grade up, enter the milk-poster contest. Competition, how- 
ever, should be between children having the same attainments; that 
is, all the eighth grades in the county might compete with each other, 
the seventh grades with other seventh grades, and so on. 
There may be prizes or not, as the committee wishes. One good 
plan is to offer first and second prizes, and several smaller prizes. 
The time for completion of work and the place for assembling the 
posters should be definitely stated. Usually three posters from each 
grade in a school are submitted. 
The size of the poster should be specified. Many grades do poster 
work on 9 by 12 inch paper only. A more satisfactory size, however, 
is 12 by 18 inch paper. 
The medium should be specified, that is, whether the posters are 
to be made with paint, crayon, charcoal, or pencil. The lower grades 
are usually allowed to use cut-outs, that is, pictures, drawings, or 
designs cut in silhouette from magazines, newspapers, or other 
posters, while the upper grades and high schools as a rule make free- 
hand posters. This may include free-hand paper cutting. 
CONSIDERATIONS IN DESIGNING 
1. The poster should attract attention by telling its story quickly 
and effectively. Only one story should be told in each poster. Avoid 
dividing interest by having a poster tell more than one story. 
2. The story told by the poster must be based on facts. It must 
not be overstated, nor make unfair comparisons. 
3. The poster must be simple and interesting, and as beautiful as 
possible. 
4. The poster must make the reader wish to obey its message. 
The only lettering to be on the poster is contained in the legend. 
Object and letters should be drawn with the idea of being seen at as 
great a distance as possible. 
5. Signature: The name, age, grade, teacher, school, and county 
should be written on the back of each poster. It is very important 
to have all these carefully given. 
POINTS FOR JUDGING 
Every poster should illustrate clearly and forcefully a central 
theme or message. Its legend should be brief and vigorous. The fol- 
lowing points should be taken into consideration when judging 
posters: (1) Workmanship; (2) truth of the message; (3) originality. 
The poster committee should make arrangements for having the 
posters judged and prizes awarded. The committee should also 
arrange for displaying the posters in school buildings, libraries, or 
other public places; store windows are commonly used for this 
purpose. 
