Spending TIME on Time!

Thursday January 16, 2014

For the past week, we have spent some TIME reviewing the parts of an analog clock. We were working on telling time to the nearest 5 minutes; which is expected of grade 3 students.

Here is today's problem-solving question:

Thank you to Marian Small, for another great question.

Some of the groups used iPads to work through the question. They were using EduCreations for the first time. They were told to record everything while solving the question, as I wanted to go back and hear the conversations. 

The link below will take you to a "video" created by two of my students using this app. Essentially, it is like a mini-interactive whiteboard. It allows students to write, type, insert pictures, and most importantly, allows them to record their conversations. 

Some how, i erased the oringinal video created by the pair. However, priot to its deletion, we talked about how they could improve their communication. Here were my orignal recommendations:    Next time, I would encourage students to TAKE a picture of the clock they were using, and allow them to annotate the photo, this would give a more accurate reading, and really allow them to zoom in on their discussion and the math talk; lesson learned! :) I would also likely encourage BOTH partners to talk. Zach normally is talkative, but maybe being recorded made him a bit shy?

Here is how one group went about solving the problem:

EduCreations video created by Ava and Zach

On a side note, I have just started a project looking at communicating effectively in mathematics with the use of technology. I plan to sit down with this group to review 2 stars and one WISH based on their communication in this problem-solving activity.

Again, partner conversations are essential, we will work on this.


This is what another group came up with:

They were prompted with the following questions:

Can you get the hands even closer together? 

What would the time be?

This is what they did! They impressed me, and figured it out on their own!

At the end of the lesson, we shared a number of results. It was the first time we used the adapter cable to connect the iPad to the projector. The students were impressed at the clear image, and thought it was neat to listen to their friends work through the problem. 

We showed some results that weren't very close. We talked about how being one number apart would fit the criteria of the problem. We reviewed how the clock looks as the minute hand goes around the clock. We noticed that the hour hand slowly moves as the minute hand goes around. We then consolidated our learning by revisiting their solutions they drew of their clocks originally, and adjusting the hands, to have a more accurate reading. 

Their ticket out the door for recess: They had to answer a time set on the teacher clock. This really indicated who knew the basics for telling time and who still mixed up the 
minute hand and the hour hand.

I hope you enjoyed my first BLOG entry. Until next time!!