Time - Telling the time - Planning

The Year 3 curriculum for the second week of Summer term revolves around mastering the concept of time. The national curriculum objectives for this period are comprehensive, encompassing the knowledge of seconds in a minute and days in various calendar periods, including leap years. Students are also expected to familiarize themselves with time-related vocabulary such as 'o'clock', 'a.m./p.m.', and 'noon', and to develop the ability to tell and write time from an analogue clock to the nearest minute. This includes estimating and reading time with increasing accuracy and recording and comparing time in seconds, minutes, and hours. The key vocabulary for the unit includes terms related to different times of the day, types of clocks, and units of time measurement.

Teaching resources for the unit include small clocks, worksheets, and a presentation, with additional vocabulary cards and definitions available online. The lesson begins with a review of previous learning, using small clocks for practical demonstrations of 'past' and 'to' times, supported by a narrative to contextualise the concepts. Activity sessions focus on understanding what the hour and minute hands indicate and the significance of minute marks for reading time accurately. Students learn to count in multiples of five to efficiently calculate minutes past or to the hour. The practical aspect of the lesson involves children using small clocks to represent times described by the teacher, further reinforcing their understanding. The lesson concludes with reasoning questions and a plenary that encourages verbal reasoning to solidify the concepts learned. Differentiated tasks are provided to cater to varying levels of understanding, from working towards the expected level to achieving greater depth in time-telling skills.