Nodehill Maths

Basic Time Facts

The basic facts relating to time which all children need to know are:

• There are 60 seconds in a minute.
• There are 60 minutes in an hour.
• There are 24 hours in a day.
• There are 7 days in a week.
• There are approximately 52 weeks in a year.
• There are 365 days in a year, 366 in a leap year.
• There are 12 months in a year.
• That February has 28 days, 29 in a leap year, April, June, September and November each have 30 days and all the other months have 31.

The rhyme for remembering which months have which days is as follows:

30 days hath September,
April, June and November,
All the rest have 31,
Excepting February alone.
Which only has but 28 days clear
And 29 in each leap year.

Telling the Time

It is expected that by the end of Year 4 children should be able to use an analogue clock to tell the time, and be able to use the language of the analogue clock such as: half past, quarter past, quarter to, twenty past, twenty to, 8 minutes past, 8 minutes to etc. Nevertheless, since the arrival of the digital watch, it is a skill which appears to be on the decline, and some children seem to struggle with it.

In school we have resources, such as individual clocks, which the children can use to practise telling the time or the class clock, on the interactive whiteboard. Without these it is hard to practise at home, so I have prepared below a blank clock and hands which can be printed off and used for this purpose.

If your child is still struggling with this element then you can give the clock to your child and ask them to move the hands to the time given by you, or alternatively you can move the hands and get your child to tell you what time it is.

Download microsoft_word_blank_clock.pdf

I have also now prepared a blank sheet with analogue and digital clocks on. You can use these by either drawing the hands onto the analogue clocks and getting your child to write in the digital time, or write the digital time and get your child to draw in the hands on the analogue clock.

Download microsoft_word_what_time_is_it.pdf

Time All Around Us

Our lives are governed by time. We have a time to get up; a time to leave the house; a time to start work; a time to have lunch; a time for meetings; etc. So it is very important that children are able to, not only tell the time, but understand how to calculate using time.

As time is all around us it is easy to ask children questions relating to time, which will not only improve their comprehension of time itself, but also their mental maths.

Next time they put on a DVD ask them to look up the total running time on the back and tell you what it is in hours and minutes. If they start watching a DVD which lasts for, say, 85 minutes get them to tell you what time it will finish. If they have a favourite television programme get them to tell you how long it is until it starts. If there is an important date coming up get them to calculate how many days it will be, thus reinforcing their knowledge of the length of each month.

I have put together a worksheet which contains the types of time questions which children are usually asked, which your child could complete for practise. Together with this is another worksheet, which has the details removed, so that you can fill in the blanks, before getting your child to complete it, if they need further reinforcement.

Download microsoft_word_time_is_all_around.pdf