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Time - Suggestions & activites to explore its concepts

Notes, activities, vocabulary, worksheets ...

Questioning is the basis of all learning.

Overview

Introduction

This page includes general suggestions for learning about time. Includes vocabulary list, focus questions and activities to explore seasonal time, focus questions, suggested sequence of instruction, and activities to explore times of day, along with suggestions and a sequence to introduce learners to telling daily time with an analog clock! And finally a worksheet to explore abstract time.

Exploring seasonal time

Questions for seasons

  • What can you do in winter that you can't in summer?
  • What sports are mostly played in spring, summer, fall, winter?
  • What clothes are worn in summer? winter? fall? spring?
  • What season is Thanksgiving?
  • What season is Christmas?
  • What season is the fourth of July?
  • What month is spring break?
  • What season has a long school break?
  • What months fit with each season?
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall

More resources

  • Seasonal Adaptations - Primary grade unit for animals in the classrom & beyond. Activities on Gerbils in the classroom, Responsibilities for pets, Classification of animals, Animal habitat, What do animals eat and drink? Animal Movement, Seasonal Adaptations, Zoo trip - (Field trips - suggestions, guidelines, preparation, and check list), & Plant habitat.
  • Season video - Video where Ms. Atkins and her North Wayne Elementary fifth grade students explore the Earth's rotation, revolution, and the seasons.

 

Exploring the time of day

Questions for time of day.

  1. What time does the sun rise?
  2. What time does the sun set?
  3. What time do you get up?
  4. What time does school start?
  5. What time do we eat lunch?
  6. What are some activities we do at 8:30 a.m.?
  7. What are some activities we do at 12:30 p.m.?
  8. What are some activities we do at 4:00 p.m.?
  9. What are some activities we do at 8:30 p.m.?
  10. What time do you go to bed?
  11. What are some activities we do at 2:30 a.m.?
  12. Staying up past your bedtime to see the stars is?
  13. Waking up before the alarm goes off is?

Activity - Mapping our day.

Meet with learners three times a day and repeatedly ask the same questions and record their answers. Have them record as they are able.

Charting our day

Charting our day
  Morning Noon Late afternoon
Where is the Sun in the sky?      
What does my outside shadow look like?      
What do I see outside?      
What have you just done?      
What will you do next?      
What did you eat? (recently or next)      
What does a digital clock look like?      
What does an analog clock look like?      
       

 

Exploring an Analog Clock

Learning sequence

Introduce a concrete representation for hours on an analog clock.

Start with a very big handless clock or a circle with numners 1-12 as they are on the dial of a clock.

  1. Introduce the very big handless clock with numerals 1-12.
  2. Ask the learners. What does this look like? a clock
  3. Attach it, or another similar image, to a large sheet of craft paper.
  4. Ask. How many hours does the number one represent? one
  5. If we let a blocks or polka-dots represent an hour, how many blocks or polka-dots would we need to put beside it? one
  6. Ask. How many hours does the number two represent? two
  7. If we let a blocks or polka-dot represent two hours, how many blocks or polka-dots would we need to put beside it? two
  8. Ask. Who wants to put blocks or polka-dots around the perimeter, one for each hour or glue dots for each minute.
  9. Count the blocks and write how many are at each point.
  10. How many blocks are there at each number (1-12)?
  11. What does that mean.
  12. Stack blocks to represent the hour value for each numbered place 1-12 (one block at the one for one hout, two blocks at the two for two hours, and so on).
  13. Practice having learners point to different numbers and ask others what the hour value is.
  14. Introduce a clock face with lines inplace of numbers.
  15. Discuss strategies to remember what value is at different points around the clock.
  16. If desirable put blocks at the points of 3, 6, 9 & 12 hours.
  17. Ask. How many blocks would be at each hour and write the values on the clock.

 

Introduce a concrete representation for minutes on an analog clock.

Start with a very big handless clock or a circle with numners 1-12 with lines between them. Four lines between each to represent minuetes as they are on the dial of a clock.

Clock with dots for minutes
  1. Introduce the very big handless clock with numerals 1-12 and lines between them to represent minutes.
  2. Ask. What does it look like? a clock
  3. Attach it or another similar image to a large sheet of craft paper.

CHOOSE TO START WITH ONE LINE OR THE NUMERAL ONE!

  1. Ask. How many minutes does the first line represent? one
  2. If we let a lock block or polka-dot represent a minute, how many blocks or polka-dots would we need to put beside it? one ... OR
  3. Ask. How many minutes does the number one represent? five
  4. If we let a block or polka-dot represent a minute, how many blocks or polka-dots would we need to put beside it? five
  5. Ask. How many minutes does the second line represent? two
  6. If we let a block or polka-dot represent a minute, how many blocks or polka-dots would we need to put beside it? two ... OR
  7. Ask. How many minutes does the number two represent? ten
  8. If we let blocks or polka-dot represent the number of minutes at the two, how many blocks or polka-dots would we need to put beside it? ten
  9. Ask. Who wants to put blocks around the perimeter, one for each minute or glue dots on to represent minutes.
  10. Count the blocks and write how many are at each point. Can vary between numbers and lines or stick to one or the other until the answers are consistent and accurate. Then swithc it up according to the learner's needs.
  11. How many blocks are there at each number (1-12)?
  12. What does that mean?
  13. Stack blocks to represent the minute value for each numbered place 1-12 (five blocks at the one for five minutes, ten blocks at the two for ten minutes, and so on).
  14. Count by fives.
  15. How does that compare to counting by ones?
  16. Practice counting and have a learner point to different numbers and ask the others what the value is.
  17. Discuss strategies to remember what value is at different points around the clock.
  18. If desirable put blocks for the other minutes or ask students how many blocks would be at each minute and write the values on the clock.

Introduce an analog clock as a concrete representation of minutes.

Move to a one Handed Clock

  1. Next put an hour hand on a clock to make a one handed clock.
  2. Move the hand and have students tell the time by saying something like one o'clock, one something, 12 something, or two something…
  3. Create a rule that explains how they decide what to say.

Last a two Handed Clock

  1. Introduce a clock with two hands.
  2. Have learners explain how the hands move.
  3. What is the relation of each.
  4. Have them demonstrate how each hand moves for minutes, hours, and a day.
  5. In groups have them write a rule for telling time to the minute and hour.

Sample rules created by students

  1. Sample 1
  2. Sample 2
  3. Sample 3
  4. Sample 4

Estimating and Calculating Length of Time

  1. Have learners show the placement of hands for before, later, earlier…
  2. Have learners shade the area swept by the hands to tell the time elapsed from one time to another.
  3. If they sweep past the hour have them cross off the present hour and continue to do so every time the hand passes another hour.

Move on to using different time telling language like "till" & "after" ...

 

Family Circus comic

 

Photo album

Students working

Photo 2

 

Photo 4

 

Photo 1

 

Photo 3

Students work samples for Telling Time!

Student work sample 1

 

Student work sample 2

 

Student work sample 3

 

Student work sample 4

Vocabulary Time - Source

Clock Time & Tools

  • A.m.
  • Alarm
  • Clock (long hand, short hand)
  • Half hour
  • Hour
  • Midday
  • Minute, minutes
  • Noon
  • Midnight
  • O'clock
  • P.m.
  • Quarter hour
  • Second, seconds
  • Time
  • Watch

Parts of the Day & Daily Milestones

  • Afternoon
  • Breakfast
  • Dawn
  • Dusk
  • Evening
  • Morning
  • Night
  • Sunrise
  • Sunset
  • Tonight
  • Calendar, Days, Months & Years
  • Birthday
  • Calendar
  • Century
  • Date
  • Day (school day, vacation day, week day)
  • Days
  • Days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
  • Decade
  • Fortnight
  • Holiday, holidays
  • Millennium
  • Month, months (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December)
  • Week
  • Weekend
  • Year

Seasons

  • Fall
  • Season, seasons
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Winter

Relative Time & Transitions

  • After, afterwards
  • Ago
  • Before
  • Early
  • Late
  • Later
  • Now, currently, presently
  • Previously
  • Soon, shortly
  • Today
  • Tomorrow
  • Yesterday Duration, Frequency & Sequence
  • Always, constantly
  • During
  • Daily
  • Moment, instant, while
  • Never, ever
  • Often, frequently, sometimes, occasionally, rarely, seldom

See Vocabulary list for primary, intermediate, middle level breakdowns

 

Exploring abstract time vocabulary

Name: ______________________

Date: ______________________

Part 1: Context Clues

Instructions - Read each sentence and use the context clues in the sentence to choose the best academic time word from the Word Bank. Write the word on the blank line. Each word is used exactly once.

Word Bank:

century, currently, millennium, previously, fort-night, abstract, macro-duration, micro-duration, precise, sequence

1. Although the United States was ____________________
a collection of British colonies, it declared its independence and established a new sovereign nation in 1776.

2. Earth is ____________________
orbiting the sun at a speed of roughly 67,000 miles per hour, though we cannot physically feel this constant planetary motion.

3. The ancient Roman Empire flourished more than a ____________________
ago, spanning a thousand-year timeline that fundamentally reshaped Western civilization.

4. To determine the absolute ____________________
time of the chemical reaction, the lab partners utilized a digital stopwatch capable of measuring down to the millisecond.

5. In British literature, a character might travel to the countryside for a ____________________,
which means they will be away from home for exactly two weeks.

6. The dynamic ____________________
of historical events during World War II must be studied chronologically to fully comprehend the political choices that led to the peace treaties.

7. The 19th ____________________ witnessed a massive wave of industrialization, transforming global economies between the years 1801 and 1900.

Part 2: Synonyms & Frequency Matching

Instructions - Match the vocabulary word to its correct dictionary definition or synonym and write its letter beside it on the blank.

1. Constantly _______

2. Frequently _______

3. Occasionally _______

4. Seldom _______

Dictionary definitions:

A. Happening only once in a while; irregular intervals.

B. Extremely rare; almost never occurring in practice.

C. Happening all the time without stopping; continuously.

D. Regular or habitual; happening quite often.

Part 3: Critical Thinking

Instructions - Read the scenario below and answer the question using complete sentences. Use at least two words from the Word Bank in your explanation.

Scenario:

A geologist is studying the layer of rock strata found deep inside a canyon wall, while a meteorologist is tracking a sudden lightning strike during an afternoon storm.

Question: Explain how the geologist is tracking a macro-duration of time while the meteorologist is tracking a micro-duration of time.

How do their units of measurement and tools differ?

 

 

 

 

 

Answer key

Part 1: The Context Clues

(1 point each / 7 points total)

1. previously (Clue: references a past status as British colonies before 1776)

2. currently (Clue: references a present ongoing action of the Earth)

3. millennium (Clue: explicitly defines the timeline as a "thousand-year" span)

4. precise (Clue: references down-to-the-millisecond stopwatch accuracy)

5. fortnight (Clue: explicitly defines the duration as "exactly two weeks")

6. sequence (Clue: references studying historical events "chronologically" or in order)

7. century (Clue: references a hundred-year era explicitly bounded by "1801 and 1900")

Part 2: Synonyms & Frequency

(1 point each / 4 points total)

1. Constantly - C. Happening all the time without stopping; continuously.

2. Frequently - D. Regular or habitual; happening quite often.

3. Occasionally - A. Happening only once in a while; irregular intervals.

4. Seldom - B. Extremely rare; almost never occurring in practice.

Part 3: Critical Thinking

(4 points total)

Students must explain the operational difference between the long-term geological time and short-term meteorological events, using at least two words from the Word Bank (such as century, millennium, macro-duration, micro-duration, or precise).

Model High-Score Response:

The geologist is studying a macro-duration because rock layers take a century or even a millennium to slowly accumulate and form. Conversely, the meteorologist tracks a micro-duration because a lightning strike occurs in a single, precise instant. Their tools differ because the geologist uses deep-time relative dating methods, while the meteorologist requires immediate digital electronic sensors.

Grading Rubric for Part 3:

2 Points: Science Content. Explains clearly that geology deals with slow, long-term cycles (macro) while a lightning flash is an immediate, high-speed event (micro).

2 Points: Vocabulary Integration. Correctly incorporates at least two vocabulary words from the Word Bank into the structural explanation.

 

 

 

Analog clocks

What times are on the clocks?

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Analog clocks

What times are on the clocks?

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Analog clocks

Tell the time to the minute.

Clock

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Analog clocks

Tell the time to the minute.

Clock

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Set a time on the clocks.

 

Clock

 

Clock

 

Set a time on the clocks.

 

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