Ideas for Incorporating Time Into Do Now Activities, Maths Meetings, Transitions And

Ideas for incorporating time into ‘do now’ activities, Maths Meetings, transitions and opportunities outside of the maths lesson

Opportunities for pupils to consolidate and develop their learning should be planned into transitions, ‘do now’ tasks, Maths Meetings and transitions, as well as other areas of the curriculum.

Although these ideas have been grouped into different categories, many could be used in several ways, for example in a Maths Meeting or as part of a ‘do now’ activity.

‘Do now’ activities

Matching games, e.g. match a time to a picture of an analogue clock
Spot and explain a mistake on a time displayed on an analogue clock
Sequencing stories
Sequencing events in pupils’ lives
Time activities, e.g. have pupils find out how many times they can write their names in one minute
Ask ‘convince me’ questions e.g. “Convince me that the 7th February will be on a Tuesday!”

Maths Meetings

Telling the time on an analogue clock including one hour before and one hour after; half an hour before and half an hour after; ten/fifteen/twenty minutes before and after
Match activities to certain times of day with particular emphasis on 24 hours in one day
Questioning about the calendar e.g. “What day is it today? What day will it be tomorrow?”
Placing days and months in order
Time a Maths Meeting and record how long it takes

Transitions

Chanting days of the week and months of the year (starting from any day or month)
Chanting time intervals e.g. o’clock, quarter past, half past, quarter to
Call and response questions e.g. “What is the time one hour before?”
Count on and back within 31
Counting on and back in 5s within 60.

Opportunities outside of the maths lesson

Pupils could time each other doing different activities in PE
Incorporate the language of slower and faster into music, e.g. the length of the sound, the speed of a rhythm
Use of language of chronology, e.g. first, next, before, after, when retelling a story in order
Talking about times of the day, sequencing events throughout the day, and discussing length and times of activities throughout the day
Talking about events in the past
Displaying time tables
Exploring the date including the day, month and year

Linking learning at home and involving parents

Telling the time to the nearest five minute interval on an analogue clock
Questioning about what happens at different times of day, week or year
Discuss the length of different activities, e.g. brushing teeth
Discussing bus and train times
Making a timetable of activities
Talking about events on the calendar
Discuss 24 hours in one day and events that happen at different times