In this blog post, I’ll cover math activities & teaching tips that review the Florida B.E.S.T. standards for mathematics:
MA.3.M.2.1 – Using analog and digital clocks, tell and write time to the nearest minute using a.m. and p.m. appropriately.
MA.3.M.2.2 – Solve one- and two-step real-world problems involving elapsed time.
Telling Time in 3rd Grade
Mathematical standards for telling time are some of the most consistent measurement standards across the grades. 1st graders learn how to tell time to the nearest hour and half-hour. 2nd graders tell time to the nearest 5 minutes and learn about a.m. and p.m. 2nd graders also learn the benchmarks of quarter-hours in addition to half-hours. In 3rd grade, students tell time to the minute and solve problems involving elapsed time.
Telling time is such a basic life skill! On the one hand, there are digital clocks everywhere these days – on our phones, computers, and even TVs. Telling time on a digital clock is not challenging because you can just read the numbers. On the other hand, telling time on analog clocks is very challenging! Clocks have different hands that move at different speeds and measure different units of time. The hour hand is constantly moving across an hour, closer to the next hour. And, on top of that, time is always moving forward. The best we can capture at any given time is a temporary estimate.
Working with Analog Clocks
Young children (before 3rd grade) should start to learn about time conceptually. Noticing how long activities take and when scheduled activities take place give time-keeping a context an everyday life. When learning how to tell time on an analog clock, the Judy clock is the best manipulative around!
Judy clocks have been around for years and years. They are mechanical but not electronic and have gears that make the hands move in a realistic, scaled way. Judy clocks “stop time” so children can experience where clock hands are oriented at ANY given time. When telling time to the minute, 3rd graders need to be able to work closely with images of static times in order to count the minutes being displayed, observe where the hour hand is in the cycle of an hour, and connect all of that to the two cycles (a.m. and p.m.) of hours each day.
Finding Elapsed Time
Finding elapsed time is both an important life skill and a valuable mathematical activity. Elapsed time can be found working with the circular analog clock face but can also be represented on number lines. Finding elapsed time reinforces counting in different units and using reasoning skills when times cross hours.
There are three levels of working with elapsed time in 3rd grade. The easiest level is finding a time in the future given the start time and number of minutes. Finding elapsed time between a start and end time is one step more challenging. The most challenging skill (which can be saved for students who have mastered 3rd grade time skills) is to start with an ending time and count backwards through a given elapsed time to find an activity’s start time. All of these are valuable exercises with deep roots in real life!
Standards
This 3rd grade measurement standard is one of the rare instances of synergy across the major standards! Common Core, TEKs, and Florida’s B.E.S.T. standards are all consistent in their expectations for 3rd graders to tell time to the minute, work accurately with a.m. and p.m., and work with elapsed time on analog clocks and number lines.
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