1.MD.B.3

Tell and write time.

3. Tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks.

Unpacked

Learning to tell time has little to do with time measurement and more to do with the skills of learning to read a dial-type instrument.

This standard is the students’ first exposure,in the Common Core State Standards for Math, to formal instruction in telling time. The biggest source of confusion for students will be the fact that the analog clock uses one scale (the clock face) to measure two different activities (the movement of the hour hand and the movement of the minute hand). Students must understand that in the course of one hour, the hour hand moves from one number to the next number, while the minute hand makes one complete rotation around the clock. It is important for students to understand that at the beginning of each hour, the hour hand points directly to the number that indicates that hour. Then, it moves very slowly toward the next number. Thus, halfway through the hour, the hour hand will be pointing halfway between the two numbers on the clock face. Teachers must draw attention to this movement and teach children to look for the position of the hour hand when telling time. In addition, the minute hand begins the hour by pointing to the 12 on the clock face and makes one complete circle in an hour. Therefore, in half an hour, it has only completed half of a rotation around the clock face.

In the beginning, students may benefit from seeing the action of each hand on separate clock faces. For example, use a face similar to the one in Figure 1 to show students the path of the hour hand for each hour. Guide students to understand that during any given hour, the hour hand will be within that pie-shaped piece. Ask strategic questions to help students grasp that halfway through an hour, the hour hand will be in the center of the pie-shaped piece. It is critical that students recognize the movement of the hour hand independent of the minute hand.

Teachers could use a face similar to the one in Figure 2 below to show students the path of the minute hand. Guide students to understand that the numbers on the clock face represent the hours, while the tiny marks on the scale represent the minutes. Students should count the number of minutes to understand that it takes 60 minutes for the minute hand to make a complete circle. It is not necessary at this time for students to relate the numbers on the clock to five-minute intervals. Five-minute intervals will be introduced in second grade. First graders need only to recognize the location of the minute hand at the hour and half hour and that at the half hour, the minute hand has travelled thirty tiny marks on the scale to reach that point. Teachers may draw attention to the fact that thirty minutes is half of an hour.

Students need lots of practice with telling time and in transferring their skills from an analog clock to a digital representation. The use of individual clocks with moving parts allows for students to have practice with the concrete experience of telling time. A lesson in moving the minute hand forward in time, and not backwards, is necessary for correct depiction of time on an analog clock.

Relate the telling of time to everyday activities within the classroom. Integrate this skill by surveying the class on times they go to bed, times they get up, times they arrive at school in order for this skill to be more meaningful to their everyday lives. Additionally, look for opportunities throughout the day to incorporate time and the length of activities.

The teacher can talk about and discuss with students, more specifically, 60 seconds in 1 minute, and 60 minutes in one hour, and 12 hours in the morning, 12 hours in the afternoon/evening, is easier for students to understand (they can see this actually happen on a clock). It is best to go smallest unit to largest unit, as the larger the unit, the more abstract for young children.

Use timers or hour-glasses to show the passage of time.

*Use technologies that allow students to match digital times to analog representations.

Level 1
Entering / Level 2
Emerging / Level 3
Developing / Level 4 Expanding / Level 5
Bridging
Speaking / Discuss
time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks
by using manipulatives and illustrations with teacher support. / Discuss
time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocksby using manipulatives and illustrations with a partner. / Discuss
time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocksby using manipulatives and illustrations to ask and answer questions about time. / Discuss
time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocksby asking time related questions about social purposes in a small group. / Discuss
time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocksby using a variety of simple and complex sentences to discuss time. / Level 6 Reaching

ELD Standard #3: English Language Learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Mathematics.