Measuring Classroom Time

Early Math Counts — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:00:16 +0000

Frequently, I see elaborate systems set up in classrooms to help children and teachers measure time. When my kids were little we told time in “Arthurs”. For us, that meant that 1 Arthur= 15 minutes, so if Louie asked when we were going to eat dinner, I would say, “In 2 Arthurs” or “in 3 Arthurs”. We developed this system because time itself made little sense to the boys, but they knew about how long one episode of Arthur lasted. They could approximate this in their minds because the TV show Arthur meant something to them.

Teachers need systems in their classrooms that measure time so that children can develop concepts of “how long” something is. It isn’t useful to say to young children, “Today, we are going to play for one hour and then go outside for 45 minutes.” Smaller increments might make more sense – A 3-Minute Warning, for instance (which may still ambiguous to a lot of young children).

This clock, The Time Tracker Classroom Timer, was developed to create time systems in the classroom. There are visual clues to help children know “how long” they have left. Green means they can keep playing, yellow means that it is time to start slowing down and red means that time is up. There are number clues that count down the time and sound effects that can be set and learned by the children.

I could see using this clock in many areas of the classroom. What do you think?

Time Tracker Classroom Timer – Early Math Counts

Measuring Classroom Time