Color-coded time

This lesson introduces telling time to the minute using the analog and digital clocks. The hands are color-coded to assist with hour and minute hand discrimination. The student will use the time on the digital clock, which can then be transferred to the more difficult analog clock.

A lesson plan for grade 3 Mathematics

By Anne Clodfelter

Learn more

Related pages

• Hands up for telling time: This introductory lesson on telling time will expose children to clocks and how they work. Children will begin to understand how to tell time and how the two separate hands on the clock operate. They will also gain understanding of the concept of time in general.
• What time is it?: Students will learn to recognize analog and digital clocks. They will also gain skills to tell time to the hour on both clocks.
• Time - Light and shadow (pre-visit): Students examine the interplay of the earth and the sun by studying shadows. Students construct a sun clock and record shadows several times during a school day in order to use the earth and the sun to measure time.

Related topics

• Learn more about analog, arithmetic, clocks, counting, digital, mathematics, measurement, telling time, and time.

Help

Please read our disclaimer for lesson plans.

Legal

Learning outcomes

The goal of this lesson is to teach the students to transfer the numbers read from the color-coded digital clock face to the color-coded analog clock in order to tell time to the minute.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

45 minutes

Materials/resources

• Small, manipulative mini-clocks for the students with a red hour hand and blue minute hand
• One large demonstration clock for the teacher.
• digital clock faces on cards
• Worksheet with clock faces to be drawn on the page without the hands present.

Pre-activities

The students will be able:

• To count by 5’s using the numbers on the analog clock face and tell time to 5 minute intervals.
• To add one, two, or three to a number less than 59 (ex. 55 + 2= 57).
• To recognize and discriminate the red and blue hands as hour and minute hands.
• To recognize which direction is clockwise motion.
• To read the numbers on the digital clock face, such as 1:30 or 1:35, etc.

Activities

The teacher will demonstrate with mini clocks and/or digital clock cards:

1. The students will review counting by fives around the analog clock face.
• Clockwise rotation of the clock hands.
• Red is the hour hand and the black is the minute hand.
• Digital clock face is red for hour (colon): black for minute.
2. Teacher demonstrates with the large clock on five minute intervals, and the students are asked to add one to the number. (For example, 1:35 plus one equals 1:36). Students demonstrate with the mini clocks.
3. Match the digital clock cards with a mini clock on the five minute intervals.
4. Use digital clock card face with hour and specific minutes to set the mini clock to match. (see attachment below)
5. Counting by 5’s clockwise motion and add (+1) or add(+2) to set the clock accurately to the minute (ex., 1:31, or 1:32).

Guided Practice

1. Worksheets for the students to make the digital clock cards match the analog mini clock. (see attachment)
2. Hands on a clock are provided and the students must write the correct time to the minute on the digital clock line.
3. Any combination of transferring time in analog and digital forms using the color-coded concept.

Assessment

Hands on a clock are provided and the students must write the correct time to the minute on the digital clock line.

Teacher shows a time to the minute on the demonstration clock and the students must write the correct time on their paper as a digital clock face, for example: ___:___ (hour is written in red and minute is written in blue)

Supplemental information

Creative Publications
Windows on Math ( Grades: Prek-2)
788 Palomar Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Copyright, 1987

Attachments:

• Assessment 1
• Assessment 2
• Guide

Comments

Extension Activities:
The teacher states a hypothetical time word problem and have the students solve using the mini clocks in analog or digital. For example, Johnny arrived at the bus stop at 2:35. If he boarded the bus two minutes later, what time did he board?