Telling Time as an Everyday Use of Numbers (Phase I)
Hiroko Darnall, Thomas Dooley School, Schaumburg, IL
| Lesson Topic: Showing time on a clock and
matching each class subject with its starting time. |
Standards to Be Addressed
Illinois Learning Standards for Math
- 7.A.1b: Measure units of time using appropriate instruments (e.g., calendars,
clocks, and watches, both analog and digital).
Illinois Learning Standards for Language Arts
- 4.A.1b: Ask questions and respond to questions from the teacher and from group
members to improve comprehension.
- 4.A.1c: Follow oral instructions accurately.
Guiding Questions
- How does telling time help us everyday at school and in life?
- How do we estimate the time?
Objectives
Content Area Skills and Concepts
- Estimating time, using only the hour hand
- Understanding clockwise movement of the clock hands
- Matching daily school activities with approximate starting times
Language Skills (Oral)
- Telling time using the hour time counter じ (o’clock)
- Asking a question by constructing interrogative sentences, using the question marker
か
to
change a statement into a question:
- いまなんじですか。(What
time is it now ?)
- ＿＿＿なんじですか。(What
time is _____ ?)
- Using the
sentence pattern ______じです。(It
is ______ o’clock) to indicate what time a school subject starts
- Usingごろ
(about),
ちょっとまえ
(just
before__),
ちょっとすぎ(just
after___),
and ＿＿と＿＿のあいだ
(between__
and ___) to estimate time.
Thinking/Study Skills
- Sequencing the daily school activities according to times and applying the
skill in other situations
Materials/Resources
- School subject cards: word cards and corresponding picture cards
- Student-made clocks (one per student)
- Six additional clocks to indicate the start time for the subjects
- Pocket chart
- Construction paper for key vocabulary
Motivation
Whole Group Activity
- Show the handmade clock made the day before and review how to show and say the exact
time.
- Summarize and review what the students noticed about the clocks the
previous day.
- Remind the students that the handmade clocks are different from
the real clocks in the classroom.
- Point out the vocabulary cards, おなじ [same] and ちがう[different], in the
pocket chart.
- Tell the students that they will learn to estimate time and that they will make
a clock showing the estimated starting time for each subject.
- Clarify what estimate means by showing examples.
- Add だいたいのじかん (estimated time)
to the word list.
Teaching/Learning Activities (35 minutes)
Whole Group Activity
- Use estimation language (e.g., I went to a movie at about 7:00 and came home
between 9:00 and 10:00; I went to bed just after 11:00; I got up just before
6:00.).
- Ask students about their activities and represent the times they say on the
clock.
- Make a list of time estimation words for reference.
Pair Activity
- Students practice telling time with their activity partners.
- Partners take
turns setting the hour hand and telling the approximate time.
- The teacher
encourages clockwise movement of the clock hand.
Whole Group Activity
- Gather the students on the floor in front of the chalkboard where the pocket
chart is hanging.
- Go over the school day’s schedule using the word cards.
- Place the word cards in the pocket chart in order according to the schedule. Use
さいしょに (first), つぎに (next), それから (then), さいごに (last)
- Show the school subject picture cards and lay them on the chalkboard ledge.
- Go over each card with the class and have volunteers match the picture and word
cards.
- Place the picture cards next to the corresponding word cards.
- Use estimation language to discuss approximate start and stop times for each
activity in the daily schedule. Have the students set their clocks to each time.
Show the teacher’s clock to the students so that they can check theirs for
accuracy.
- Tell the students that they will be doing this every day as a part of the
calendar activity.
Assessment
Informal assessment through
observation, such as when students work together in pairs to use estimation
language to tell time, and when students use their own clocks to show the time
specified by the teacher. Because this is a language-intensive math lesson,
students’ understanding of the vocabulary will be key to their successfully
answering questions from the teacher and participating with their partners. The
teacher should also be sure to note students’ non-verbal behavior, i.e., how
they move the hands on their personal clocks, to check for understanding.
Extension
Ask students
to find out the times for their after-school activities, such as music lessons,
sports practice, homework, and dinner. Send a note home to encourage parents to
use estimated time for activities with their students, such as “you need to
leave home about 4:00,” or “your dad will come home just after 10:00 tonight.”