Mathematics · 1st Class · Time · Summer Term

Months and Seasons of the Year

Explore the twelve months of the year and the four seasons. We will learn their names, their order, and what makes each season special.

TL;DR:This collection of activities will help your pupils journey through the year, exploring the twelve months and four distinct seasons.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• PSMC: Measures - Time

About This Topic

This topic, 'Months and Seasons of the Year', is a fundamental component of the Measures strand in the Irish Primary School Mathematics Curriculum for First Class. It directly addresses the 'Time' strand unit, moving children from understanding daily and weekly routines to grasping the larger, cyclical patterns of a year. By learning the names and sequence of the twelve months and four seasons, pupils develop crucial mathematical skills in sequencing, ordering, and understanding duration. The topic provides a rich context for developing temporal language such as 'before', 'after', 'next', and 'last'.

Furthermore, this topic offers excellent opportunities for cross-curricular integration, particularly with SESE (Social, Environmental and Scientific Education). Children can explore the scientific aspects of seasonal change, observing how weather patterns, flora, and fauna alter throughout the year in Ireland. It connects to geography by discussing appropriate clothing and activities for different weather conditions. It also links to Language by introducing new vocabulary and using stories and poems about the seasons, and to Visual Arts through creating seasonal displays and drawings. The focus is on making time tangible and relevant to the children's own lives through birthdays, holidays, and shared experiences.

Key Questions

1. Identify the season we are in now.
2. Explain how the weather changes from winter to summer.
3. Compare the activities you do in autumn with the activities you do in spring.

Learning Objectives

• Recite the twelve months of the year in the correct sequence.
• Name the four seasons and identify the current season.
• Associate characteristic weather, activities, and natural events with each season in an Irish context.
• Order personal events, such as their birthday, within the structure of the months and seasons.
• Use time-related vocabulary correctly, such as 'month', 'season', 'year', 'before', and 'after'.

Key Vocabulary

Month	One of the twelve parts that a year is divided into, such as January, February, or March.
Season	One of the four periods of the year: spring, summer, autumn, and winter, each with its own typical weather.
Year	A period of twelve months or about 365 days.
Autumn	The season between summer and winter, when the leaves often change colour and fall from the trees.
Sequence	A particular order in which related things follow each other.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

The months are just random names and can be in any order.

What to Teach Instead

The months of the year always follow the same special order, just like numbers when we count. We use this order to know when things like holidays and birthdays will happen. A song or rhyme can help us remember the sequence from January to December.

Common Misconception

A new season begins exactly on the first day of a certain month, for example, summer starts on 1st June.

What to Teach Instead

We often group months with seasons, like June, July, and August for summer, but the change in weather is gradual. The seasons are long periods, and the weather slowly changes from one to the next.

Common Misconception

The weather associated with a season is the same every single day of that season.

What to Teach Instead

While winter is generally cold, we can still have some milder, sunny days. And even in summer, we can get rainy days in Ireland. The season tells us the most likely weather, not the weather for every day.

Active Learning Ideas

Morning Circle

Seasonal Sorting Circle

Place four large hoops on the floor, each labelled with a season. Give small groups of children a collection of picture cards showing clothes, activities, weather, and nature (e.g., snowman, swimming togs, falling leaves, daffodils). The children work together to sort the cards into the correct season's hoop.

20 min·Small Groups

Morning Circle

Our Class Birthday Train

Create a long 'train' on the wall with twelve carriages, each labelled with a month in order. Each child decorates a small card with their name and birthday and places it in the correct month's carriage. This creates a visual, year-long timeline of the class.

25 min·Whole Class

Morning Circle

A Year on a Paper Plate

Each child gets a paper plate to divide into four equal sections, one for each season. They can draw a picture in each section that represents that season in Ireland, for example, a snowman for winter or a sun for summer. This helps them visualise the year as a cycle.

30 min·Individual

Real-World Connections

• Knowing the months helps us look forward to and prepare for holidays like Halloween in October and Christmas in December.
• Understanding the seasons helps us choose the right clothes to wear each day, like a raincoat in spring or a sun hat in summer.
• Planning family holidays or days out often depends on the season, for example, going to the beach in summer.
• We can observe nature changing around us, such as new flowers growing in spring or birds migrating in autumn.
• Many foods, like strawberries or pumpkins, are available at certain times of the year, which connects to the seasons.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

During a class discussion, ask pupils to name the month that comes after the current one. Use think-pair-share to have them discuss one thing they like to do in winter.

Quick Check

Provide pupils with a worksheet that has four boxes, one for each season. Ask them to draw one picture in each box that shows something that happens in that season.

Quick Check

Give children a simple 'I can' statement sheet with pictures, for example, 'I can name the four seasons'. They can colour in a smiley face next to the statements they feel confident about.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do the seasons change?

The Earth is tilted as it travels around the sun. When our part of the Earth, Ireland, is tilted towards the sun, we get more direct light and heat, so it's summer. When we are tilted away, it's winter.

How can I remember how many days are in each month?

There's a great rhyme to help: 'Thirty days has September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one, except for February alone, which has twenty-eight days clear, and twenty-nine in each leap year.'

Are the seasons the same all over the world at the same time?

No, they are not. When it's winter here in Ireland, it's summer in countries like Australia on the other side of the world. They have their Christmas on a hot, sunny day!