Telling Time Games For First and Second Graders
Teaching students to tell time can be tricky. Below, we are going to share some simple telling time games for first and second graders to implement in your math block to help your students understand how to tell time and have fun while learning it!
Flash The Clock
This game, Flash The Clock, might be the easiest game to implement. Have your students sit on the carpet or their desks. Each student will need a small Judy clock. Say a time and students will make it on their clock and then flash it to you. I tell students to hold it in front of their hearts. Here’s the important part. They have to make eye contact with you so that you can look at them and either nod yes that they are correct or let them know to try again. I also have my own large Judy clock and will make the time on mine and hide it until I see that everyone is finished.
I love this game the most because it is no pressure on them and a simple way for you to see whether a student can show the correct time. If you think your students will look at one another’s, another option is to have them in a line with their back to you. Then, they make the time on the clock and show it behind their back.
Independent Math Game
I am a big fan of independent math games. When students play independent math games, it completely takes the pressure from having to be correct or answer within a certain amount of time. Students get to take their time to figure out the answer. All that is needed is a spinner (pencil and paperclip work fine!) and a die. Students can then play the game alone to practice their time telling skills. There are options for finding the correct time on an analog clock and finding it on a digital clock. Skills included are: time to the hour, time to the half hour, and time to the five minutes. You can find this game here.
Find Your Match
This fun game, Find Your Match, is another fun one that involves Judy clocks. Have each student make a time on their individual Judy clock. Then, have them walk around with their clocks to find a match. They visit with another student. Each student reads the opposite clock. If they’re the same time, they stay together. If they’re different times, they go back to find their match. This game allows them to get up and move, but also practice reading time. If they don’t find or have a match, that’s okay! They can pick a new time and go again! Make sure to add the rule that all times must end in :00 or :30 or something similar so that they have a greater chance of finding a match.
Small Group Game
One of my favorite games (if you’ve been here a while then you already know) is Pop The Balloon! It’s a fun game for small groups in reading and math! Each student in your small group has a Pop The Balloon! Telling Time card. They start at the bottom, reading each clock on the way to the top of the card. When they reach the top, they say, “POP!” and clap their hands. This is a great time for you to assess how your students are doing with their time skills in a small group setting. You can find the game here.
Telling Time Bingo
What kid doesn’t love to play Bingo? Now you can play Bingo in your class with these free Bingo cards for telling time! You can play this game in either a small group or a whole group. This free set includes 10 different boards. You call out a time and they will find it on their Bingo card and mark it.
Why Use Telling Time Games For First and Second Graders?
I hope you enjoyed these five new games to practice telling time! Your students are guaranteed to have fun while playing! You will want to add these to your lesson plan today because they:
- are engaging
- can be easily differentiated
- can be used with very little or no prep
- are a fun way to get students up and talking about their learning
- can be early finishers, a time filler, a way to transition to the next lesson, etc.
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