Lesson · 2nd Grade
Time
This lesson helps students visualize the imaginary numbers by which minutes are read on a clock. The blue hour hand extends to the blue numbers 1–12. The red minute hand extends to the red numbers, which count to 55 by fives.
Start by asking students which numbers, red or blue, are like the numbers on a real clock (blue). Follow by making sure they understand the reason their clock will have additional numbers in red.
Most students can read the hour hand long before they can read the minute hand fluently. The trouble is that a real clock face hides the minute values — the 3 means both “3 o'clock” and “15 minutes,” but only one of those is printed. This project surfaces the hidden minute count in a second color so the relationship is impossible to miss.
Materials
- Markers (1 box per student)
- Crayons (1 box per student)
- Starter sheets, page 90 (1 per student)
- Rulers (1 per student)
- Clock hand sheets, page 91 (1 per student)
- Scissors (1 per student)
- Brass tacks (for the teacher)
- The completed project, prepared by the teacher before the lesson
This is a lesson preview. The complete lesson — with step-by-step diagrams, a reproducible assessment, and the blackline masters — is in the Math Art book.