A Comparison of Two Methods For Teaching Younger Children to Tell Time

Abstract

Cape Girardeau, Missouri Overview/Definitions This article reports a comparison of two methods of teaching second graders to read time from a regular clock. Method A followed the traditional sequence: telling time on the hour, on the half hour, on the quarter hour, on the five minute readings and finally on any reading. Method B followed the sequence: on or after the hour using an hour hand only, on any reading with each minute mark numbered, on any reading with only five minute marks numbered and finally on any reading with no minute marks numbered.With Method A the strategy is to get the children to assign hour.'minitte readings for increasingly more times shown. Skills usually stressed with this traditional sequence include counting by fives and counting beyond multiples of five. With Method B the strategy is more to get the children to assign hour:minute readings with fewer minute marks numbered.To some degree, Method A (traditional) is based on the proposition that reading a clock is largely a matter of counting and counting beyond multiples of five. Method B, on the other hand, is based on the proposition that to a significant degree reading a clock is a matter of memorizing numbers for positions. Many adults, after all, are quite comfortable with watches showing no numbers. Another contrast is that Method A is more a "task analysis" approach while Method B is more a "field" approach.Both methods used demonstration clocks two feet in diameter. With Method B a set of rims was included, a rim for each stage of further limiting the numbered minute marks. RationaleJudging from textbook practices, where reading a clock belongs in the curriculum is largely an open question. For the most part, it is ignored, given at best a few back-of-the-book pages in the mathematics text over a 429