Probes for Student Concepts of Clocks and Telling Time

I mentioned in another post that there are some probes that can be performed on students to get a general idea of their knowledge of clocks and telling time.  One probe is to have the students draw a clock.  The clock in the classroom needs to be covered ahead performing the probe.  The students are NOT allowed to ask ANY questions while they're drawing the clocks.  The direction given to the children is, "Draw a clock."  Any other information invalidates the probe.  If a teacher says, "Draw the hands and the numerals for the clock." she/he has prompted the children by telling them what to draw instead of finding out what they will draw on their own.  Students should also be given a one minute warning when the allotted time for drawing is almost over.  

The variety of clock drawings will be amazing!  The teacher will gain new insights into student knowledge about clocks.  Don't be surprised if a child draws a digital clock instead of an analog clock.  Remember that the direction was, "Draw a clock." 

The probe can be followed by a Directed Drawing lesson for an analog clock.  The teacher can model on the whiteboard as the students draw clocks in their math journals.  Some of the questions the teacher might ask during the directed drawing lesson are:  "How should my numerals be arranged on the clock?"  "How can I draw the hour hand and the minute hand so that they're different from each other?"  "What else can I add to my clock?" 

GIVEAWAY!  UPDATE:  Congratulations to Tammy for winning two MELISSA & DOUG clock puzzles!  Tammy, I'll send you another email.

I'm excited to let you know that I'm giving away two MELISSA & DOUG clock puzzles! One lucky person will receive both clocks.  The MELISSA & DOUG clock puzzles are a great resource that can help teach children about the parts and structure of a clock.  This is essential knowledge before children are ready to read times to the hours and half hours.  

The MELISSA & DOUG clock puzzles are incredibly interactive!  The numeral pieces are cut into shapes and will only fit in the correct position on the clock.  Hurray for a self-checking resource!  The clock puzzles also have moveable hour and minute hands.   This allows children to explore the idea of setting times on the clock. 
 

Here's an engagement activity that can be done at the beginning of a telling time unit with kindergarten or first grade students.  You'll need one or two MELISSA & DOUG clock puzzles for the activity - one clock puzzle for 1 to 12 participating students and two clock puzzles for 13 to 24 participating students. Gather the children into two groups on your carpet area or floor.  (Each group forms a circle and is seated.)  Give each child a numeral piece from one of the two clock puzzles.  Leave the extra numeral pieces inside of the clock puzzles.  Give each group one of the clock puzzles to pass around the circle.  When a child receives a clock puzzle he/she places the numeral inside the appropriate space on the clock.  The child moves the hour hand so that it points to the inserted numeral and says the numeral name.  There are other activities that can be done with the MELISSA & DOUG clock puzzles.  There is a list of suggestions included in the product.  Use the Rafflecopter form to enter the contest!  Make sure to follow the rules posted on the Contest Requirements page.  This giveaway ends on August 6, 2017 and 6:00 p.m. EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
In my next post I'll be sharing two strategies that you can use throughout the school year to maintain students' proficiency with telling time.  I'll also include two other quick probes that can easily be done to learn more about students' knowledge of a clock and of telling time.  If you haven't done so already, be sure to get the free printable sheets for my Interactive Digital Clock and my Analog Clock. 

That's all for now!

Lessons by Molly