E2.4 Use units of time, including seconds, minutes, hours, and non-standard units, to describe the duration of various events.
Activity 1: Time - How Many Steps?
- Students stand around the classroom and wait for the music to begin.
- The teacher plays the music and stops it after 8 seconds.
- Students start walking in time with the music, count their steps and stop counting when the music stops.
- Students say how many steps they took in 8 seconds.
- The teacher plays the music again and stops it after 12 seconds.
- Students start walking in time with the music, count their steps and stop counting when the music stops.
- Students say how many steps they took in 12 seconds.
- Students indicate which segment took the longest and why.
Source: translated from L'@telier - Ressources pédagogiques en ligne (atelier.on.ca).
Activity 2: First Measurements of Time - How Long Does It Take…
Goal
In this activity, students measure the duration of an event using non-standard units of time.
Material
- nursery rhyme
- interactive whiteboard
- various tools for measuring time (hourglass, metronome, etcetera)
Instructions
Introduce a nursery rhyme to students.
Ask students to form teams of two.
On a table in front of the class, place an hourglass, a snow globe and other tools that represent any length of time.
Invite each team to choose a tool that will measure the length of the rhyme.
Ask students to measure the length of the rhyme using their selected tool.
Allow time for students to share their measurements with their classmates.
Extensions
Discuss ways to measure time without a tool (for example, rhythm, a march).
Source: translated from L'@telier - Ressources pédagogiques en ligne (atelier.on.ca).
Activity 3: Time - Activities for the 100th Day of School
Teachers provide special activities for students to explore the quantity represented by the number 100.
For example:
- Close your eyes for 100 seconds.
- What can you do in class for 100 minutes?
- Is 100 minutes longer or shorter than a period in the gym?
- How many laps of the gym can you run during 100 seconds?
- We will ring the bell in the school at the beginning of the day and again after 100 minutes of instruction. At what time will we ring the bell?
Source: translated from L'@telier - Ressources pédagogiques en ligne (atelier.on.ca).