In this day of digital everything, there is still a very useful place for learning to tell time on an analog clock. The Blackboard Clock is a public domain book that guides the teacher in teaching children how to tell time using a large analog clock.
Subtitled Device desk book for the primary teacher, for teaching pupils in first year and kindergarten grades how to tell time of day by the clock, and time drill, the book is reminiscent of Saxon Math for the early years. For example, the book instructs, “Tell the students that….,” or “Show the students that….” If this is an area you would prefer a bit of guidance in, you will find it here. For example:
Show The Pupils That:
The minute hand gets home twelve times as often as the hour hand.
The minute hand starts from home just when the hour hand starts from an hour.
The number of minutes from home to the minute hand is what the minute hand has counted each time, and it shows the time, or minutes past an hour.
The number of minutes from the minute hand around to home again is what the minute hand will have to count each time, and it shows the time or minutes to an hour, or of an hour.
The Blackboard Clock begins by instructing the instructor in making a large analog clock. Then we move right on to learning to tell time and drill.
The book also teaches days of the week, months, seasons, and holidays. (And in case you are too young to have ever encountered this, washing day was always on Monday and ironing day was always on Tuesday. Maybe you can substitute something that is more apropos to your family.)
Among the many reasons it is worthwhile to learn to tell time on an analog clock, include:
- It is an easy way to learn to count by ones, fives, tens, fifteens, and thirties.
- You can easily introduce fractions without overwhelming (quarter of an hour, half hour).
- An analog clock is a visual representation of where in time we actually are. The hands show the part of the hour (or day) we are on.
- There are still analog clocks around to read.
Before my oldest entered Kindergarten, we played an old computer game that used the analog clock to teach counting. I was sold. After all, what child wouldn’t prefer to take the shortcut of counting by groups of five, ten, or even fifteen, than counting all of those minutes!
The Blackboard Clock is a great assist for the tutor and it is free!
Free eBook
- Read online
- Various formats (EPUB, Kindle)
Additional Resources
Learning Resources Big Time Student Clock
This one is very similar to the one we used. Have your students count those dots from one to sixty so that they can see they land on five, ten, etc.
Clocks and Time ~ Free Unit
We have included lots of resources along with this great online find!
Keep Reading
Find: Blackline Math Masters {Free}
Over 200 pages of math-related downloads particularly suited to students in the “manipulative” math mode.
Clocks and Time ~ Free Unit
Free Clocks and Time unit looks like a fun way to learn about something that is so important to us each day.
The Arithmetic Primer by Frank H. Hall {Free eBook}
The primer lays the groundwork necessary to help a first-year student learn arithmetic.