Foundations of Mathematical Thinking · Senior Infants

Active learning ideas

Learning About Time

Active learning helps young children grasp time concepts because movement and physical manipulation make abstract ideas concrete. When students build clocks or time activities, they connect abstract numbers to lived experience, which builds confidence and accuracy. Hands-on tasks also let teachers spot misconceptions early and respond right away.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Junior Cycle - Measurement - M.5

• 25–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 30 min · Pairs

Hands-On Clock: Build and Read

Provide paper plates, brads, and markers for students to create analog clocks. Demonstrate setting hands for school times like 09:00, then have pairs set and read five daily times while linking to routines. Discuss as a class.

What do you do in the morning before you come to school?

Facilitation Tip

During Hands-On Clock, circulate with a large teacher clock to model correct hand movement and reinforce the idea that the minute hand completes a full circle each hour.

What to look for

Present students with a digital clock showing times like 08:00, 10:30, and 14:00. Ask them to say the time aloud and identify if it is morning or afternoon. Then, ask: 'How many hours until lunchtime at 12:00?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 35 min · Small Groups

Duration Hunt: Timer Challenges

Give small groups stopwatches or sand timers. Assign tasks like clapping for 10 seconds or walking laps, record durations on charts. Compare results and add up total times for morning activities.

Can you point to the clock when the big hand is on the 12?

Facilitation Tip

During Duration Hunt, start timers in small groups so children hear the beep and see the seconds pass, linking sound to elapsed time.

What to look for

Show a world map with different time zones marked. Ask students: 'If it is 10:00 AM in Ireland, what time might it be in Australia? Is it earlier or later?' Encourage them to explain their reasoning based on the map.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 40 min · Small Groups

Days of Week: Timeline Parade

Create a class timeline on the floor with day cards. Students in small groups act out Monday events, then Tuesday, moving along the line. Point to clocks for key times each day.

What day comes after Monday?

Facilitation Tip

During Days of Week: Timeline Parade, walk beside groups to listen for ordinal language like first, next, and last.

What to look for

Give each student a card with a picture of a common activity (e.g., eating breakfast, playing outside, going to bed). Ask them to write the approximate time they do this activity using the 24-hour clock and the day of the week it usually happens.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 25 min · Whole Class

Time Zones Map: Global Clock Sync

Display a world map with clocks for Ireland and two other places. Whole class sets times, like bedtime here versus morning there. Pairs draw family routines adjusted for zones.

What do you do in the morning before you come to school?

Facilitation Tip

During Time Zones Map: Global Clock Sync, keep a timer visible so students practice counting hours forward or backward together.

What to look for

Present students with a digital clock showing times like 08:00, 10:30, and 14:00. Ask them to say the time aloud and identify if it is morning or afternoon. Then, ask: 'How many hours until lunchtime at 12:00?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers of time in Senior Infants use repeated exposure to familiar routines to build schema. Avoid rushing to abstract notation; let children connect 09:00 to their breakfast time before introducing formal reading. Research shows that sequencing tasks like Days of Week are best taught through songs and physical movement before moving to symbols. When time zones feel confusing, anchor the concept to real routines, such as phoning a relative in a different country.

Successful learning looks like students reading digital times correctly, measuring durations using timers without prompts, and sequencing days of the week with minimal support. By the end, children should compare Ireland’s time to at least one other place using simple time zone differences. Their language should include words like morning, afternoon, and ahead or behind.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Hands-On Clock, watch for students reversing clock hands due to unfamiliarity.

  Model moving the minute hand forward in small steps, pausing at each hour mark to read the time aloud together. Ask children to explain why the hour hand moves slowly as the minute hand circles.

• During Time Zones Map: Global Clock Sync, watch for students thinking clocks run at different speeds in different places.

  Use synced clocks on the map and call out events like ‘In New York, it is 5:00 AM while here it is 10:00 AM,’ showing both clocks side by side.

• During Days of Week: Timeline Parade, watch for students believing days repeat randomly.

  Have each group lay out day cards and say the sequence aloud. Ask, ‘What comes after Tuesday? How do you know?’ to prompt reasoning and correction among peers.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play