Telling the time

Counting

NB - If the ‘normal game’ is taught at the beginning of the week, children can play as a group during independent learning time.

• Now play a variation of What’s the Time Mr Wolf as a class. In this version let each child choose one of, say, five animals: chicken, rabbit, duckling, lamb, squirrel. How many rabbits/chickens/squirrels/ lambs or ducklings has he got to eat?
• Agree which animal each child is.
• The wolf says an animal and an o’clock time, e.g. rabbits and five o’clock. The rabbits hop that number of times towards the wolf.
• The wolf gives different animals different times.
• When ‘dinnertime’ is shouted, they run back to the start, hoping not to get caught!

Song/ Rhyme

Hickory dickory dock
See the Resource download for song words.

Books

Tiddler by Julia Donaldson
Look at the clocks in the story. What time do they show? What time should he have arrived at school? What time does he swim into the school?!

What’s the Time Mr Wolf? by Debi Gliori
Follow Mr Wolf through his day with times.

Exploring and Playing

Chalk; large teaching clock; mini analogue clocks or ‘O’clock times’ (see resources); sand/straw; magnifying glasses; ‘Everyday activities’ (see resources); plastic swotters; home corner role-play items.

Active Learning

Mini analogue clocks; large teaching clock; number line; timers - sand and digital; 'Make a clock' (see resources); split pins; glue; scissors; 'Clock hunt' (see resources), tick list with written times (see resources); clipboards.

Creating and Thinking Critically

Post-it notes™ or paper with blue tac™; mini analogue clocks; whiteboard or flipchart; 'Time cards' (see resources); 'Sequence a school day' cards (see resources); A3 paper cut into long strips.