Time Games for 2nd Graders

The math for second grade math focuses on 4 critical areas:

1. Extending understanding of base-ten system: The children learn to skip count by 5s, 10s, and 100s within 1000. They read and write numbers to 1000s and compare them. They also learn to expand the numbers using base ten numerals. They understand that the each digit represents the number of thousands, hundreds, tens or ones. For example, 975 = 9 hundreds + 7 tens + 5 ones.
2.  Getting fluent with addition and subtraction: The children solve problems that involve addition and subtraction within 1000 using strategies based on place value and properties of operations. They develop fluency to add and subtract within 100. They analyze and appropriately apply methods according to the numbers and the context involved in a problem.
3. Recognizing standard units of measure: The children recognize the need for standard units of measurement (centimeters, meters). They use tools such as rulers, measuring tapes and yardsticks to measure the length of an object. They estimate the length of an object using units of feet, centimeters, meters, and inches. They understand that bigger the unit, the less iteration they need to cover the length of a given object.
4. Analyzing shapes: The students analyze and classify shapes according to their angles and sides. They describe, investigate and reason about combining and decomposing shapes to make other shapes. They learn to partition and describe the equal shares of a shape using words like halves, thirds, half of etc. 

Learn to Tell Time in Fun Way

Learning math skills through games makes learning fun. The newly learned skills of mathematics require practice. The math games encourage much more practice than the traditional methods of learning. The ability to calculate the time between the events is a skill. Not much focus is put on this when learning in a classroom. Under traditional method of mathematics learning, the kids get very little or no math game time. Math games entice students to analyze, check and justify their movement, which develops their conceptual understanding. The educators should make a proper time log which has mix of mathgametime and classroom time.

One of the most important reasons for learning time through second grade math games is to induce excitement and enthusiasm in kids. The kids are able to understand the importance of time in their daily life.

Telling time is an essential real-life skill. Learning this skill in early school years is as important as learning addition and subtraction. Learning time can be made fun when learned through activities or through games.

A learning clock with gears is an effective manipulative used to teach reading time skills. The kids can show different times on this interactive clock by moving its hands. Online analog clock or online time clock can also be used to practice reading time.

There many websites that are focused on math games for second grade and offer educational games. One can type “second grade learning games free” on a search engine to play some fun learning games. The kids can find second grade worksheets like clock worksheets, elapsed time worksheet, reading time worksheets online to get fluent with reading and writing time.  

Progression of Topic Time with Grades

Grade 1: The kids’ relate their understanding of partitioning circles to an analog clock. They see an analog clock as a circle partitioned into 12 equal parts. They learn about the hour hand and minute hand. They are able to tell time to the hour and to the half hour on an analog clock and digital clock. The kids’ get familiar with the vocabulary like 3 o’ clock and half past 3. They also are able to discriminate between time to the hour and time to the half hour. They learn about the position of a minute and hour hand. They learn how to calculate hours between events and no longer need time calculator to manage their activities.

Grade 2: The kids’ understanding of partitioning the circle into halves and quarters help them understand the concept of quarter hours. They understand that an analog time clock can be divided into four equal quarters. They learn about the terminologies like half past 9, quarter to 9, quarter past 9 etc. The kids use skip-counting to count by fives. They relate 60 minutes to 1 hour, 30 minutes to a half hour and 15 minutes to a quarter hour. For example, they relate half past 4 with 4:30, 4:15 with quarter past 4 and 4:45 with a quarter to 5. They relate numbers on the face of the clock with the intervals of 5 and use this understanding to tell time to the nearest 5 minutes. The kids also learn about a.m. and p.m. They also solve problems based on elapsed time using their subtraction skills.

Grade 3: The kids learn to tell time to the nearest minute on analog and digital clocks. They use number line as a tool to count minutes within an hour. The kids use both clock and a number line to solve clock worksheets involving addition and subtraction of intervals of minutes.

Grade 4: The kids use four operations to solve word problems involving intervals of time. These problems also involve conversions. They are expected to convert minutes to hours or vice versa to solve problems.

Tell time to the half hour or quarter hour

• Revising telling time to the hour and a half hour: The kids learn how to calculate hours in grade 1 and then revise it in grade 2. They notice the positions of an hour and minute hands at different times. They see 12 o’ clock on an analog clock where they notice both hands point to 12. The kids understand that when the minute hand completes a round, the hour hand moves to the next number. They understand that the terminology “o’ clock” is used only when it is a complete hour with no extra minutes.

They understand that when the minute hand moves halfway from 12 to 6, it covers half of the hour. They realize that when the minute hand covers half of the way, the hour hand points in the middle of the two numbers. The terminology used in this case is “half past”. For example, when the hour hand is between 8 and 9 and the minute hand is at 6, the time is 8:30 or half past 8.

• Telling time to the quarter hour: The kids visualize the circular face of the clock divided into four equal quarters. The first quarter from 12 to 3, the second quarter from 3 to 6, the third quarter from 6 to 9 and the fourth quarter from 9 to 12. They further understand that when the minute hand moves from 12 to 3, it covers the first quarter of the hour. The terminology used in this case is “quarter past”. For example: when the minute hand is 3 and the hour hand moves a little away from 1, the time is 1:15 or quarter past 1.

   

When the minute hand is at 9, the terminology used to tell time is “quarter to”. For example, in the clock shown the hour hand is closer to 4 and minute hand is at 9, the time is 3:45 or quarter to 4. 

• Question Time: The kids at this stage are expected to tell time to the hour, to the half hour and quarter hours. They should also be able to move clock hands to show a particular time.

The kids are expected to solve time worksheets that have problems like these:

• Write the time shown on the clock?

• Draw hour and minute hands on the clock to show 4:45.

Telling time to nearest five minutes

• The kids use their skip counting skills to understand that each number on the clock represents 5 minutes. They skip count by fives to see that when the minute hand is at 1, it represents 5 minutes past the hour. Similarly, when the minute hand is at 2, it represents 10 minutes past the hour. They learn that it takes 12 five minutes to get all the way around the clock. The hour changes in every 60 minutes.  For example, when the hour hand is at after 4 and the minute hand is at 8, the time is 4:40.

• Question Time: The kids at this stage are expected to tell time to the nearest 5 minutes. They should also be able to move clock hands to show a particular time.

The kids are expected to solve time worksheets that have problems like these:

• Write the time shown on the clock?

• Draw hour and minute hands on the clock to show 4:20.

Relate a.m. and p.m. to the time of the day

The kids learn that the clock shows 12 o’ clock twice a day. They learn a.m. is a way to talk about time from 12 midnight to12 noon and p.m. is a way to talk about time from 12 noon to 12 midnight.  They are able to relate a.m. and p.m. to the time of the day.

Question Time: The kids are expected to solve time worksheets that have problems like these:

• Decide whether the activity would happen in the a.m. or p.m.

Sunrise – 6 a.m. /p.m.

Going to school – 8 a.m./p.m.

Eating dinner – 9 a.m./p.m.

Elapsed time Problems involving whole hours and half hours

Elapsed time is the time passed from the start of the event to its end. The addition and subtraction skills learned in the earlier class enable kids to learn how to calculate time between events.

• Question Time: The kids are expected to elapsed time worksheets that have problems like:

• A movie starts at 3 p.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m. What is the duration of the movie?
• Jack reached his office at 8:30 a.m. He spent 8 hours in the office. At what time Jack left his office?