| Lesson start ideas | Give a creative idea how to begin a lesson |
| Which subject | Mathematics |
| What age group | Doesn't matter |
| What topic | Telling the time |
| Quantity | 1 |
| Any other preferences |
Welcome to today's mathematics lesson on telling time! Time is an essential concept that we use in our everyday lives. Without knowing how to tell time, we wouldn't know when to wake up, when to go to bed, when to catch the bus, or when to meet our friends.
Let's start with a fun warm-up activity that will help us recall what we currently know about telling time.
In this game, one student acts as the "wolf" and stands at one end of the room or playground while the other students stand at the opposite end. The wolf faces away from the students and calls out, "What's the time, Mr. Wolf?" The students then ask, "What time is it?" The wolf responds with a time, such as "3 o'clock," and the students take that many steps towards the wolf. The wolf then turns around and tries to catch any students still moving. The student caught becomes the new wolf.
Now that we've warmed up, let's get into the lesson on telling time.
The first thing we need to understand is the clock face. A clock face has twelve numbers, with the hour hand pointing to the current hour and the minute hand pointing to the current minute.
The hour hand is shorter and thicker than the minute hand, while the minute hand is longer and thinner. It's essential to understand that the hour hand moves from one hour to the next while the minute hand moves continuously around the clock face.
To tell time to the hour, we look at where the hour hand is pointing. If the hour hand is pointing to 1, we say it's 1 o'clock. If the hour hand is pointing to 6, we say it's 6 o'clock.
To tell time to the half-hour, we look at where the hour hand is pointing and where the minute hand is pointing. If the minute hand is at 6, we say it's half-past the hour. For example, if the hour hand is pointing to 5, and the minute hand is pointing to 6, we say it's half-past 5.
To tell time to the quarter-hour, we look at where the hour hand is pointing and where the minute hand is pointing. If the minute hand is at 3, we say it's a quarter past the hour. For example, if the hour hand is pointing to 2, and the minute hand is pointing to 3, we say it's a quarter past 2. If the minute hand is at 9, we say it's a quarter to the hour. For example, if the hour hand is pointing to 8, and the minute hand is pointing to 9, we say it's a quarter to 9.
To tell time to the minute, we look at where both the hour and minute hands are pointing. If the hour hand is pointing to 6, and the minute hand is pointing to 30, we say it's 6:30.
Congratulations! You now have a good understanding of how to tell time. Remember to practice as often as possible to master this valuable skill that will be useful to you throughout your life.