I can record and compare time in terms of seconds, minutes and hours; use vocabulary such as o’clock, am/pm, morning, afternoon, noon and midnight

What does this objective mean?

This objective requires children to understand the value of seconds, minutes and hours and to be able to compare them. It also requires children to be able to use time-related vocabulary (see above).

How might it be assessed in the 7+?

Children may be asked to order lengths of time. For example:

Put these lengths of time in order from the shortest to the longest:

3 hours 20 minutes 1 day 1 hour

Children may be tested on their knowledge of time-related vocabulary. For example:

Draw lines to show what time Fred does each activity:

Noon                                   Fred wakes up

7am                                     Fred is asleep

4pm                                    Fred has lunch

Midnight                           Fred finishes school

How do I teach this to my child?

A good exercise for teaching time terminology is to draw a time-graph of a typical day. Start with midnight at one side of the page and midnight at the other. With your child, plot different points in the day, adding activities or events to make it relevant to your child (e.g. in the middle of your graph, you may plot ‘noon – eat lunch’/ midnight – in bed). Add as much time vocabulary as you can to the map.

How can we practice this?

This can be built into your daily routine. As you go through the day, point out to your child the time and ensure you use the correct language (e.g. ‘look it’s 7pm- that means it’s bath time’/ ‘let’s set your alarm for 7am – that’s what time we get up for school).

Related objectives for Measurement

• I know the number of seconds in a minute, minutes in an hour, hours in a day and days in each month, year and leap year
• I can compare and order lengths, mass, volume/capacity and record the results using >, < and =
• I can measure the perimeter of simple 2-D shapes
• I can recognise and use symbols for pounds (£) and pence (p)
• I can find different combinations of coins that equal the same amounts of money
• I can solve problems in a practical context involving addition and subtraction of money in both £ and p, including giving change
• I can tell and write the time from an analogue clock, including using Roman numerals from I to XII, and from a 12-hour digital clock
• I can choose and use appropriate standard units to estimate and measure length/height in any direction (m/cm); mass (kg/g); temperature (°C); capacity (litres/ml) to the nearest appropriate unit, using rulers, scales, thermometers and measuring vessels