Time - Comparing the duration - Planning

In this Year 3 summer term lesson plan, students delve into the concept of time, specifically focusing on comparing durations. The national curriculum objectives are to understand the number of seconds in a minute, days in months, and differentiate between a year and a leap year, as well as to become proficient in telling and writing time from an analogue clock to the nearest minute. The lesson aims to enhance estimation and reading of time with increasing accuracy, and to record and compare time in terms of seconds, minutes, and hours. Essential vocabulary includes terms associated with time, such as 'o'clock', 'quarter past', and '24-hour clock', among others. Students are encouraged to use interactive clocks available online to aid their learning.

The lesson begins with a starter activity that prompts students to compare durations using their class timetable and mini clocks or number lines to help bridge over the hour. They are encouraged to discuss and explain their reasoning with a partner. The teaching input consists of exercises that require the children to apply their addition and subtraction skills, as well as their understanding of the 60 minutes in an hour, to compare different lengths of time. Independent learning is facilitated through differentiated worksheets, and the plenary focuses on key questions about the longest and shortest amounts of time. The lesson also addresses common misconceptions, such as confusion with inequality symbols, and concludes with a reflection on the skills learned and how to apply them in future scenarios. Students work towards different levels of understanding, from simply comparing the duration of events to determining the time after additional minutes have been added.