Learning the time can’t be really that difficult. However, children need some support to understand the concept of analog timekeeping. Reading a clock is therefore usually taught in the first or second grade of primary school. In the first step, the children learn to read the time correctly.
Why should children learn to read time in field watches?
- Time is one of the most important quantities in everyday life.
- Being able to tell the time allows children to become more independent and to be in a certain place at an agreed time.
- This ability is important for participating in social life.
- The children learn to estimate periods of time.
Why do some children have great difficulty learning to tell the time?
If children are having a very difficult time learning to tell the time in field watches, dyscalculia/arithmetic disorders or a visual perceptual disorder could be the cause especially if other signs point to it. In consultation with the parents, learning therapists can help to find the cause.
Which watches are good for learning the time?
In order to learn the time, learning clocks are suitable, which show the hours up to 12 o’clock. The numbers should be legible. Points for the minutes should be shown between the numbers so that the children have the opportunity to count them off at the beginning and get a feeling for them.
What do children need to know to learn to tell the time?
Time division: A day has 24 hours, it starts at 00:00 and ends at 24:00, an hour has 60 minutes and a minute has 60 seconds.
Each time on the pointer clock occurs twice a day: only 12 hours are marked on the clock, but the day has 24. It can therefore be three o’clock at night or in the afternoon. To tell the difference, after twelve o’clock you count on to midnight.
Meaning of the hands: A watch has a long hand, the minute hand, and a shorter, usually wider hand, the hour hand.
Different clocks: An analog clock is a clock with hands, on a digital clock the time is indicated directly in numbers.
At what age do children learn to tell the time?
When children have learned to read numbers and have developed an understanding of numbers, they can learn to read the clock. While some children start in kindergarten with the help of their parents, many only learn it in elementary school.