Student Actions

Teacher Actions

• Develop deep and flexible conceptual understanding as first graders actively engage in learning to tell time to the hour and half hour through varied activities.

• Develop accurate and appropriate procedural fluency as first grade students explore several concepts related to telling time  such as: Within a day, the hour hand goes around a clock twice (the hand moves only in one direction). A day starts with both hands of the clock pointing up. When the hour hand of a clock points exactly to a number, the time is exactly on the hour. Time on the hour is written in the same manner as it appears on a digital clock. The hour hand on a clock moves as time passes, so when it is halfway between two numbers, it is at the half hour. There are 60 minutes in one hour, so when the hour hand is halfway between two hours, 30 minutes have passed. A half hour is indicated in written form by using “30” after the colon. Students need experiences exploring how to tell time in half hours and hours. For example, a clock that shows the time as 8:30. The hour hand would be between the 8 and 9, but because the hour is 8 since it is not yet on the 9 the hand is halfway between the 8 and 9.

• Develop the ability to communicate mathematical thinking, orally, and in writing, through use of models to tell time to the hour and half hour on digital and analog clocks. Students will also Interacting with peers while solving tasks.

• Implement tasks that promote reasoning and problem solving as the teacher models and demonstrates using clocks.Some lessons should focus on the duration of time while others focus on the mechanics of reading clocks.  The teacher can create a deck of cards like the example below.  Each student will need a card.  Any extra cards will need to be distributed as the cards will circle back to the beginning card.  (If the first card is I have 5:00, who has 1:30, the last card will be who has 5:00?)  This game is a great way to practice telling time.

• Support productive struggle while learning time by helping students understand the idea that 30 minutes is “halfway” since it is a difficult concept for students because they have to choose the hour that has passed. Understanding that two 30s make 60 is easy if students make drawings of tens or think about 3 tens and 6 tens. Students can also explore the concept of half on a clock by finding half of a circle. Teachers need to make sure students know that halfway around is also known as half-past.

• Facilitating meaningful math discourse by leading students during whole and small group in discussions about strategies and thinking when telling time to the hour and half-hour. Teacher will discuss telling time using appropriate vocabulary and by also explaining examples and non-examples to make sense and to build a shared understanding of telling time. This can be recorded on anchor charts to refer back to. 

Key Understandings

Misconceptions

• Recognize the time on a clock to the hour and half hour and understand the difference in digital and analog clocks.

• Know that the short hand tells the hour and long hand tells the minutes.

• The long hand and the short hand are interchangeable.

• Time has to be on the hour.

• Hour numerals are also the minute numerals on an analog clock.

• The hour and minute hands move independently. Some children believe that the hour hand suddenly moves from one dial number to the next. Use of a geared demonstration clock or a real analogue clock when teaching is the best ways to avoid or deal with these difficulties.

• The numbers of the dial are interpreted differently for different purposes. For example, a hand pointing to the 6 on an analogue clock face could be interpreted as 6 o’clock or half past. Many children become confused between these different possible interpretations.

• There are clocks with few or no numbers on the dial or Roman numerals, these often confuse students.