Telling the Time: Games and Activities for Kids

Being able to tell the time is a tricky concept to learn – and teach! As adults, we often take reading time for granted. Living in the digital age means that our children are exposed to digital time on everything – from smartphones, computer screens to microwaves and televisions. This means that being able to read analogue time increasingly receives less value and importance. But it is an important life skill to have. This post will provide you with some great games and activities for kids to learn how to tell the time.

telling-the-time-activities-and-games-for-kids

Telling the Time is tricky.

But what is it that makes learning to tell the time so tricky? Well, students must master skip counting by 5’s in order to properly read an analogue clock. They must be familiar with the different versions of a clock face. They must understand number orientation and the function of all the clock hands. To read and analyse time, students must have an understanding of how many seconds there are in a minute. How many minutes are in an hour. How many hours in a day etc. Students must possess the ability to add and subtract hours and minutes. They need to have an understanding of the order of events in a day. Students must also have the ability to estimate a reasonable length of time that a certain activity may require (some adults still struggle with this). They also need to be familiar with calendar concepts.

So, how can we teach telling the time?

Ultimately, I believe that surrounding your children with opportunities to tell the time is the best way to teach them. Refer to your clocks at home and in the classroom – both analogue and digital. Use visual timetables in the classroom that present both the analogue and digital formats. Talk about time with your students by telling them how long till the next activity, how long until someone’s birthday etc.

Immersing kids is often the best way, as it subconsciously sinks in. This means that when they do come to direct learning of telling the time, all the puzzles pieces start coming together and making sense. It’s never too late to teach time, and more importantly time management, to kids. School-ages kids who have no ability to follow a schedule or to be self-organised will have a rougher time in the older years when responsibilities that come with age, such as rigorous study and work, mount.

Telling Time Games and Activities:

My editable classroom timetable is a great tool that combines both analogue and digital time, side-by-side. It also incorporates a daily schedule. This allows teachers to work on elapsed time. You can direct students to work out how much longer is left in a lesson by using the visual images and relating them to the classroom clock.

For some hands-on-learning, my Time Match cut-and-paste activity provides opportunities for students to practice recognising time in analogue. Both twelve and twenty-four hour, digital and word formats. This can be used as a small-group bingo game, in focus groups as a hands-on follow-up or as a whole class activity.

These 12 hour time clip-cards are another great hands-on learning activity that help younger student’s grasp the concept of 12-hour time in 5 minute intervals, and recognise time in both digital and analogue formats.

Below you will find some more resources that will help your kiddos learn to read time. Check out these fun and engaging hands-on activities created by teachers, for teachers: