Thursday, February 9, 2012

Telling Time (tip)


We started planning for our Time unit in math yesterday.  Time and money are 2 of my favorite math units!   When I introduce the clock to my kinders we'll make a clock and on the hour hand we'll put a picture of a turtle to illustrate how an hour goes slow.  On the minute hand there is a picture of a rabbit to illustrate that minutes go faster. 

I also put a turtle and rabbit on my teaching clock and the kids watch how the rabbit is always running fast around the clock while the turtle is trying it's hardest to catch it.  Usually one or two kids notice that the rabbit can get all the way around the clock while the turtle only makes it to the next number.

Of couse not every clock they see will have a turtle and rabbit on it so I also tell the kids that the minute (rabbit) hand is longer like the ears on a rabbit and the hour (turtle) hand is shorter like a short turtle.




Of course, to a teacher, 15 minutes of recess is more like a cheetah or a jet breaking the sound barrier....how DO they speed up the clocks during that time???

Hope you found this tip helpful!

6 comments:

  1. Awesome! We just finished up our time unit, I'll definitely remember this for next year. Thanks for sharing! : )

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  2. Wow!!! What a neat way to help kids understand and remember! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Thanks so much for sharing! Just starting to teach my kinder how to tell time and will use this tip for sure!

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  4. Thank you.
    What a great tip!!!
    Your parents could also go to www.letterboxlearntoread.com and download a FREE set of High Frequency Word cards that have pictures for early support.

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  5. Your students may like Telling Time with Clark the Elephant on YouTube. It a 3d animated video I made for my son. Clark dances as he teaches telling the hour.

    I used to do 3d animation for a living many years ago. When I saw how many educational videos my son watched on YouTube, I decided to get back into it and make something he would enjoy. I hope others enjoy it too!

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