Mathematics Developmental Continuum
Awareness of Time: 0.5
Supporting materials
Indicator of Progress
At this level students appreciate two ways in which time is marked: the cycle of the days of the week and the cycle of the hours in the day.
They use appropriate language for the days of the week and the parts of the day. They associate common times with common events (e.g. 11 o’clock is when morning play ends, we go home at half past three) without yet having a precise meaning for this. They appreciate that as time passes, the hands of an analogue clock move and the display on a digital clock changes.
Before this, students might know that days have certain names (e.g. Monday) but not know the correct sequence or know that there are 7 days in a week. Also, they will know there are numerals on clocks (analogue and digital) but not appreciate their significance.
At this stage students are identifying aspects of the attribute of time, as indicated in the diagram below. They are using time names as labels rather than as measures. After this they will progress to learning to measure time with clocks, and later they will calculate with time. See Measurement Phases.
Illustration 1: Beginning use of time language
When a young student talks about past events such as, “Last night I went to Grandma’s house”, the event may have taken place at any time in the past. Likewise, any event in the future might be regarded as ‘tomorrow’. Students need to learn to use the terms such as today, tomorrow, yesterday, last night, this morning, this afternoon appropriately.
Illustration 2: Clocks tell the time
Prior to this level, young students will know that adults use a clock to decide when to do things. They will probably be able to 'read' a digital clock in the sense of saying that the display is 'three, one, five' or 'three fifteen', but this will have little meaning for them. They will be able to read the numerals on an analogue clock, but they cannot read the time. Many young students have more experience with digital clocks so classroom activities should build on this.
Illustration 3
Examples of the types of tasks that would be illustrative of awareness of time, aligned from the Mathematics Online Interview:
- Question 38 - Discuss features of a clock
- Question 40 (a) (b) - Days and months (some of these)
Teaching Strategies
The purpose of these activities is to establish awareness of the cycle of days in the week, and the cycle of hours in the day. This is a part of the general development of identifying the attribute of time. As is explained in Measurement Phases, the teaching strategies will therefore include play and practical activities, learning language, and comparisons (for example, comparing the times at which events occur).
At this level, students come to appreciate that displays on clocks are used to tell the time although they are not yet able to read the time. This will be accomplished by making natural reference to clocks and their changing displays throughout the school day (e.g. “We will go out to play when the long hand reaches the 12”). Ensure that the classroom has both analogue and digital clocks.
During these activities the language of time needs to be highlighted, including terms such as before, after, between, morning, afternoon, night, later, earlier, weekend, week, day, middle of the day, early in the morning, etc.
Activity 1: Sequencing events involves students identifying the order of events in their own lives and then within a familiar story, developing understanding of the ways in which we divide up days and weeks.
Activity 2: Yesterday, today and tomorrow links such language with the days of the week.
Activity 3:Times during the day gives meaning to time names such as 9 o’clock, in preparation for learning to read the time.
Activity 1: Sequencing events
The first step is for students to arrange events in their own daily life in the time order that they happen (i.e. to sequence the events). Either collect pictures or ask students to draw events from their day onto A5 sheets, for example waking up or eating lunch. These pictures can then be shuffled and ordered to show the sequence of events.
Ask questions about the events shown and encourage students to respond with a variety of time language:
- What do you do first in the morning?
- What do you do in the afternoon?
- What happens after music and before you have your dinner?
Students can also sequence events in a story. Choose some illustrations from a book that students are familiar with. These stories need to have a clear sequence (for example, the Hungry Caterpillar or Goldilocks and the Three Bears). Photocopy these illustrations and glue onto individual cards. Ask students to arrange these in correct time order according to the story. Large illustrations can be used for group work and can be arranged on the floor, across the board or pegged onto a string for display. Students can then tell the story with reference to the sequenced pictures.
Activity 2: Yesterday, today and tomorrow
Begin to teach the days of the week by having the name of the current day written on the board and referring to it at the start of each day. Later, have the names of all the days of the week displayed at the top of the board and move a marker from one to the next at the beginning of each day.
|
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Students need to link language such as before, after, yesterday, today and tomorrow, with the days of the week. Write these following phrases on a large card as shown (on the left below) and make a set of 7 cards with the days of the week. Place the cards as shown (on the right below) and discuss each morning. Attach to board with magnets.
Sample descriptions for students to understand and use:
What day is it today? Which card will we show? (e.g. Tuesday)
What day was yesterday? (Monday) Monday is the day before Tuesday.
Which of these cards is ‘Monday’?
What day will it be tomorrow?(Wednesday)
Wednesday is the day after Tuesday.
Which of these cards is ‘Wednesday’?
Monday is the day before…
Thursday is the day after …
When students master the sequence of names of the days, they can answer questions such as:
The last day of the school week is …
The names of the days on the weekend are …
How many days are there in a week?
On how many days do we come to school?
The following questions are more challenging. They involve a shift from the ‘here and now’ to imagined situations. They also require the ability to move backwards and forwards along the sequence of names, initially with visual prompts (e.g. day names in order), then without. Use real contexts from your school situation.
Pretend that tomorrow will be Sunday. What day would today be?
Pretend that tomorrow will be Friday. What day would yesterday be?
Next week, we are going on our excursion on Wednesday. We have to bring the money two days before. What day will that be? We will have the photos at school on the next day. What day will that be?
Activity 3: Times during the day
Students can ‘read the time’ on a digital clock as soon as they can recognise the numerals, but this is has no meaning until they can link the named time with a part of their day.
The first stage, achieved at this level, is for students to use times as markers of common events and then to sequence these events. Students are using times as labels, rather than as measures.
Select a few significant times during the school day, for example:
- School starts at 9 o’clock.
- We go home at 3:30 (three thirty).
- We go to Art at 10 o’clock.
Students will learn the names of these significant times if the teacher uses this language frequently.
Extend the time language in such statements (e.g. If school starts at 9 o’clock, then the first bell goes before 9 o’clock.)
Then link time labels to parts of the day:
- I have my breakfast at 8 o’clock. This is before 9 o’clock.
- 3 o’clock is in the afternoon
- 4 o’clock is after 3 o’clock.
- Tomorrow, I will come to school at 8 o’clock in the morning for my music lesson.
- There is an 8 o’clock in the morning when I have my breakfast and there is an 8 o’clock at night when I go to bed.
- Now, in the winter, it is dark when Daddy gets me from after school care at 6 o’clock. In the summer time, it was light when Daddy got me.
To develop this new language, use frequent conversations in meaningful situations, and sequencing activities as described in Activity 1 above.