Telling Time with Centers

Centers

Area: Time measurement

Source: Barbara Heinz

Purpose: This activity allows students to put together all the conceptual information that they have been gathering related to telling time to one minute. It puts them in a real-life situation where telling time to one minute is important. Also, as a side note, the students are developing spatial and problem-solving skills by putting together complex puzzles.

Standards: Materials:

-four or five 200-piece puzzles
-a working analog clock on every desk
-a dry erase board

Objectives: TSW tell time to one minute. TSW participate in a cooperative activity.

Procedures:

1. Students are put (or put themselves) into groups of four or five, depending on class size, since a maximum of five groups are needed.
2. Each group chooses a name and it is recorded on the dry erase board.
3. Students then choose one “clock-watcher” and one “piece-counter” out of the students on their team.
4. There is one puzzle and one clock on each table. Each group chooses one table at which to begin the game.
5. The teacher tells the students that they will have seven minutes to work on their puzzle. The “piece-counter” counts the number of pieces that they put together. The “clock-watcher” watches the clock to determine when seven minutes have passed.
6. At the end of the seven minutes, the students discuss how many pieces they put together and record it on the dry erase board. Then, they consult the “clock-watcher” to determine what the current time is, to the minute, and they record that on the board also. (The teacher records the start time at the beginning of each round).
7. Then, the groups switch tables, and the activity proceeds until all the puzzles are completed.

Modification: The students play the same game, but the times at each table are varied.

Extension: The students get together after all the data is recorded and decide which group put the most pieces together and how much time was spent on the activity from start to finish.

Assessment: The teacher will observe the groups to determine student participation. The teacher will also perform on-going assessment by giving each group a check mark when they have recorded the correct time to one minute.


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