learning about time: lesson ideas & activities (k-1)
Children's experience with time has two aspects:
Our teaching needs to focus on learning about both these aspects. It's usually best to begin with activities about the duration of time.
The lesson ideas on this page cover both aspects of learning about time for Kindy and Year 1 students.
- duration - the length of time passing;
- telling time - indicating time at a particular moment;
Our teaching needs to focus on learning about both these aspects. It's usually best to begin with activities about the duration of time.
The lesson ideas on this page cover both aspects of learning about time for Kindy and Year 1 students.
1. The best (and easiest) introduction for Kindy children to telling time on a clock is to get the students to draw a clock on their mini-whiteboards.
Don't talk about clocks before you do this but do emphasise to the children that everyone's drawing will be different and that that's OK.
When the drawing as complete, ask for children to volunteer to show and describe their clock to the class. Do not be critical of or correct any drawing; simply help the child to describe what s/he has drawn.
2. Here are five wonderful telling-time activities for different age groups:
https://www.weareteachers.com/5-hands-on-ways-to-teach-telling-time/
3. This is the best website I've found for teaching children about time:
http://www.time-for-time.com/http://www.time-for-time.com/lesson1.htm
It's worth spending some time browsing the site to see what you can use with your class.
4. This is the first lesson in a sequence of five lessons (from the above website) which are great for introducing the concept of time to Kindy students:
http://www.time-for-time.com/lesson1.htm
5. This is a complete unit of work for Kindy on time:
https://nzmaths.co.nz/resource/passing-time
6. This interactive website has videos which explain the way various aspects of clocks work:
http://www.timemonsters.com/
7. This link shows you how to make a clock with natural materials:
https://www.sunhatsandwellieboots.com/2013/11/telling-time-outdoor-clock-made-with.html?fbclid=IwAR1MKbJviW7VwbxqJekpH0LdrGHHYcypbkHaAROQX7N1eFl77gpSaWCAXok
8. These picture books are brilliant for reading to Kindy students during a unit on time. Read and chat about the books as you eat lunch together or at any time:
http://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/maths-picture-books/#Time
Click on the covers to read more about each book.
