Targeted Tutoring Brunswick-Time

Making An Analogue Clock

Christopher Natoli


Today, we will be talking about clocks and reading the time. Despite the prevalence of digital clocks being able to read analogue clocks is still an important skill. Making an analogue clock and playing games with the clock can help your kids to develop this skill.

Making The Clock

You will need a paper plate, textas, cardboard, scissors, and a split-pin to make the clock . Firstly, get your children to write the clock numbers around the edge of the plate. Help them where needed. Secondly, get you children to cut out an hour hand and a minute hand from the cardboard. They may need your support to do this. You can even create a second hand if you like. Thirdly, puncture the centre of the plate with the split-pin and use the pin to connect your hands to your clock so that you children can move the hands. Fourthly, bend the split-pin to hold your clock hands in place. Lastly, allow your children to decorate the clock. You have now made a manipulative clock that your children can play with to explore analogue time and to calculate different intervals of time.

Playing Games With The Clock

With this, you may wish to play ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf’ with them. You may wish to get them to make different times with it. If your children like stories, you may wish to incorporate times into those stories and get them to make different times in the story. There really are many ways that you can play with it with your children to support them to better understand time.

Teaching Tips

Teaching Tips

  1. Make sure to start off with times that your children understand. For example, if your children have challenges reading or making half an hour intervals, consolidate their ability to read time by the hour first. Gradually make it more complicated.
  2. Try to find your child’s point of need and then just gradually make it more complicated from there. For example, you may start with hour intervals and then gradually introduce 30 minutes, 15 minute, 5 minute and 1 minute intervals.
  3. It can be really useful to ask them questions about what they are doing to open a dialogue with them about their understanding of time.
  4. It may be useful to let your child or children to have a go at doing it independently and then use it as a chance to address any misconceptions that they may have about analogue clocks.