HOW MUCH LONGERRRRRRR?!
One of the most frustrating parts of a teachers' day is the constant "how long until lunch?" "how long until recess?" "is it time to go home yet?" "Is it time for PE now?"
My most vivid memory of pre-school is using that yellow teaching clock that's in every classroom to learn how to tell time because my teacher got tired of explaining to me how many more minutes until my mom got there (I was that kid crying all day until my mom picked me up). In a world of Apple Watches, iPhones, and smartboards, kids don't care to learn to tell time anymore. Why bother figuring out where the hands are pointing or even which hand is the minute hand if you can peek at the smartboard and see the time written out for you?
While I definitely agree that in most situations you can rely on a digital clock to tell you the time, I believe being able to tell time and read an analog clock is one of the most important skills we can teach our students. It's a visual representation that can help them understand how much time is left until an event, and even helps them understand fractions.
Learning to tell time is a 1st grade math standard, yet I've been in 5th grade classrooms where students have no idea how to tell time. Teachers place bathroom sign out sheets next to a computer so students don't have to use the analog clock. This is something I feel passionately about and will definitely incorporate into my classroom to avoid the dreaded "how much longerrrrrrrr"!
I found TONS of worksheets that allow students to practice telling time, from worksheets that give you an analog clock and ask you to write what time it is, to blank analog clocks that have you draw the hands yourself.
Besides drilling them with worksheets, I think having an interactive analog clock is so important! It allows students to practice moving the hands and having a manipulative for them to explore with is invaluable. Making it a part of your morning meeting is a great way to get some practice in!
My favorite tool for telling time however, is to decorate the analog clock in your classroom. This is the setup my mom has used (thank you Pinterest!) and it's so cute and helpful! The flower petals remind the kids how many minutes each 5 increment represents, and the leaves remind them that the hour hand is the shorter hand, and the minute hand is the longer hand. This example added in what the clock looks like at those important parts of the day which is really helpful for students who need to just practice recognizing that the times match.
Definitely pinning this so that I don't forget when I have my own classroom! On that note, it's 9:55...time to go get my kids from special!
My most vivid memory of pre-school is using that yellow teaching clock that's in every classroom to learn how to tell time because my teacher got tired of explaining to me how many more minutes until my mom got there (I was that kid crying all day until my mom picked me up). In a world of Apple Watches, iPhones, and smartboards, kids don't care to learn to tell time anymore. Why bother figuring out where the hands are pointing or even which hand is the minute hand if you can peek at the smartboard and see the time written out for you?
While I definitely agree that in most situations you can rely on a digital clock to tell you the time, I believe being able to tell time and read an analog clock is one of the most important skills we can teach our students. It's a visual representation that can help them understand how much time is left until an event, and even helps them understand fractions.
Learning to tell time is a 1st grade math standard, yet I've been in 5th grade classrooms where students have no idea how to tell time. Teachers place bathroom sign out sheets next to a computer so students don't have to use the analog clock. This is something I feel passionately about and will definitely incorporate into my classroom to avoid the dreaded "how much longerrrrrrrr"!
I found TONS of worksheets that allow students to practice telling time, from worksheets that give you an analog clock and ask you to write what time it is, to blank analog clocks that have you draw the hands yourself.
Besides drilling them with worksheets, I think having an interactive analog clock is so important! It allows students to practice moving the hands and having a manipulative for them to explore with is invaluable. Making it a part of your morning meeting is a great way to get some practice in!
My favorite tool for telling time however, is to decorate the analog clock in your classroom. This is the setup my mom has used (thank you Pinterest!) and it's so cute and helpful! The flower petals remind the kids how many minutes each 5 increment represents, and the leaves remind them that the hour hand is the shorter hand, and the minute hand is the longer hand. This example added in what the clock looks like at those important parts of the day which is really helpful for students who need to just practice recognizing that the times match.
Definitely pinning this so that I don't forget when I have my own classroom! On that note, it's 9:55...time to go get my kids from special!
Hey Danielle -- great post!
ReplyDeleteI agree that telling time is SO important for kids to learn. As great as technology is, in many ways it has changed the way students learn...and that's not always a good thing! A basic skill of being able to tell time seems so foreign to students today because they all have digital watches, phones, ipads, etc. that will just easily give them the time. Something that I have found very useful and learned while writing these blog posts is that for students, and especially elementary students, it's all about VISUALS! Young students learn best by SEEING, and practicing something on their own.
I love the picture you found on Pinterest and it's nice to see that your mom uses it and that it works for her classroom! I think one of the hardest parts about telling time for students is to figure out what each number from 1-12 actually represents in minutes, so having the petals around the numbers 1-12 to help them determine it is so helpful. I also love the idea of having important times (such as a lunch and recess) noted down there, so the students can look for themselves to see what time these activities are and what it looks like on a clock.
Great post!!
Prianka
Danielle! I can not tell you how much I love this post! My coworkers and I were JUST speaking of how telling time and being able to read an analog clock is somewhat falling to the waist side in this day and age. In a digital age we sometimes forget the importance of something so simple and easily taken for granted. I really liked the worksheets you chose to use as resources for your students. But by far I would agree that the decorations of the clock was so awesome! I am definitely looking to do something likeit in my future classroom!
ReplyDeleteThis is Cyndi. I am not quite sure why my name is not popping up!
DeleteDanielle, I loved your post on time and your tittle was so funny! It’s completely relatable. My kids ask me how long all the time…usually only when we’re doing something they think is boring like grocery shopping or waiting at the doctors. Somehow the question of how much longer doesn’t come up so much at the trampoline park or when we’re ice skating. I think teaching analog time is so important and giving the students a sense of how long is also important. I really liked the example you chose of the decorated analog clock and the little clocks underneath visually representing what time important/fun things are happening during the school day. Terrific post!!
ReplyDelete