Time

[Wendy]

Help!! I have spent 2 days trying to teach my year 3s quarter to and quarter past and I am still banging my head against the wall! I've run out of
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
s now does anyone have any suggestions? We have quartered circles and clocks. We have done quick show (which they got quite good at) but give them a clock face to draw on and it all vanishes. What can I try next?

[janeb]

Oh, how frustrating!

Have fun cutting up cakes and pizzas - real or pretend (could use playdough as well)! - so that they really get the
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
of quarters.

Then I suppose lots of turning clock hands so that they practise going "past" the o'clock and "towards" the o'clock. The more practical the better - so let the children become the hands and the numbers! Practise going clockwise around the classroom/in P.E./around a particular table etc

They'll probably still forget but at least you've all had fun!

[Wendy]

Thanks Jane,brilliant
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
s we have been turning left and right and 1/4 turns etc never thought to say clockwise! Unfortunately I only have 12 children so I had dismissed the
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
of making a human clock (it has also rained too much and the hall was out of use) but that is an
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
, I could use hoops with numbers stuck to them and the children could work in pairs to be the hands. I'll give them a rest tomorrow and go for it on Thursday. (It will give me chance to find the hoops!)

[audrey]

I've been teaching the time to my class and they finally seem to be getting the hang of it, they are all given a small clock and have to put the time on that I ask them to and show me, I have a large clock facing away from them. It is not an easy concept to teach though. Jane's
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
is very good though
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[Wendy]

That's my usual strategy Audrey, but it isn't working this time! We tried time intervals today aarg! Just because it involves clocks they have forgotten that 10 + 1 = 11. Now lying down in darkened room.

[audrey]

I hope you had company in your darkened room Wendy (a glass of red wine)
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


A nightmare I would imagine, some chn find it really difficult. I have a child who knows ALL of the o'clocks and insists on reciting them to me daily
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
He hasn't got any further bless, so know what you are going through. Not long til Xmas hols though - bare that in mind when you are reaching for the darkened room
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[NuttySupplier]

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Arghh! A real bug-bear of mine... does anyone else think it's the job of the parents to teach time??? My nephew could tell the time perfectly before he started reception, and could write all his letters and numbers, count and say the alphabet, days of the week etc... isn't this normal?

I had a Y5 girl a few years ago whose mother played merry h*ll with me coz her daughter couldn't tell the time.. not my problem!! I had a TA who sat with her every week for 2 terms during hymn practice doing time with her, it just wasn't sinking in... I asked mum how often she helped her daughter with time, if she knew evening meal / bedtimes on the clock etc., and she told me that was my job!
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[Wendy]

I spoke to the head of Y3 today about this because we are working at Y2 level at the moment and my aim is to get them onto some Y3 work. His group (the top set) are having the same problems. He came up with an interesting theory. Very few of his class wore a watch or even possessed one. Their parents told them when to get ready before going out, when to get up, go to bed etc and because they are not free to roam they did not need to know the time to know when to be back by. What do you think?
I remember that I couldn't wait to get a watch and I wasn't allowed one until I could tell the time. I taught myself very quickly!
We
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
e our human clock outside, there was progress and if I asked what time is it 1 or 2 hours later they got it! obviously don't like wordy problems!

[NuttySupplier]

You're right about the watch thing, yes. The girl I wrote about got a watch for her birthday later that year, and began to understand the concept more..

I think a lot of schools need to rethink their policy on kids not being allowed to wear watches... I know they have clocks in classrooms, but the kids would actually look at their own watch!

[janeb]

I so agree! Telling the time is like learning a language... if you don't use it, you lose it!!
I find it amazing that parents moan but don't actually help - when home tutoring one girl a few years ago (Year 8 who still couldn't tell the time), I would spend an hour a week practising but then she wouldn't look at a clock for the whole week at home!! Mum kept promising to practise at home but never followed through! ... oh, well, if she was happy to pay me to do the same thing every week...!!!