Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 4

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Read analogue and digital clocks.
• Solve problems about time duration.
• Sequence days, weeks, months, and seasons.
• Use a calendar to find dates.
• Understand 'past' and 'to' for telling time.

Lesson summary

Time and calendars are fundamental tools we use every day. In South Africa, knowing how to tell time and understand calendars helps us plan our school day, know when important holidays like Heritage Day are approaching, and even understand when soccer matches are scheduled. This week, we will focus on strengthening our understanding of how time is measured and recorded using calendars. Understanding time enables us to be punctual, organize our activities, and appreciate the passing of seasons, a particularly relevant concept in a country with diverse climates and cultural traditions like South Africa.

Lesson notes

Telling Time: There are two main types of clocks: analogue and digital.

Analogue Clocks: These have hands that point to the numbers on the clock face. The short hand is the hour hand, and the long hand is the minute hand. The hour hand tells us what hour it is, and the minute hand tells us how many minutes past the hour it is. Remember that each number on the clock represents 5 minutes (e.g., the '3' represents 15 minutes).

Digital Clocks: These show the time using numbers.

The numbers to the left of the colon (:) show the hour, and the numbers to the right show the minutes.

Key Time Phrases: O'clock: When the minute hand points to the 12, it's "o'clock." For example, when the hour hand points to the 3 and the minute hand points to the 12, it's 3 o'clock.

Half Past: When the minute hand points to the 6, it's "half past" the hour. This means 30 minutes past the hour. For example, if the hour hand is halfway between 4 and 5, and the minute hand points to the 6, it's half past

4. Quarter Past: When the minute hand points to the 3, it's "quarter past" the hour. This means 15 minutes past the hour.

Quarter To: When the minute hand points to the 9, it's "quarter to" the next hour. This means 15 minutes before the next hour.

Example 1 (Analogue Clock): Imagine the hour hand is a little past the 8 and the minute hand is on the

3. What time is it? The hour hand is past the 8, so it’s 8 o’clock something. The minute hand is on the 3, which represents 15 minutes.

Therefore, the time is quarter past 8, or 8:

1

5. Example 2 (Digital Clock): A digital clock shows 10:

3

0. What does this mean? The number to the left (10) represents the hour. The number to the right (30) represents the minutes.

Therefore, the time is 10:30, or half past

1

0. Calculating Time Durations: To find how long something takes, we need to subtract the start time from the end time.

Example 3: Sipho starts playing soccer at 2:00 PM and finishes at 3:30 P

M. How long did he play soccer?

End time: 3:30 PM Start time: 2:00 PM Subtract the hours: 3 - 2 = 1 hour Subtract the minutes: 30 - 00 = 30 minutes Therefore, Sipho played soccer for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Calendars: Days, Weeks, Months, and Seasons Days of the Week: There are 7 days in a week: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Months of the Year: There are 12 months in a year: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. Remember that some months have 30 days, some have 31, and February has 28 days (29 in a leap year).

Seasons: South Africa has four seasons: Summer (December, January, February), Autumn (March, April, May), Winter (June, July, August), and Spring (September, October, November).

Using a Calendar: Calendars help us find specific dates and calculate the number of days between two dates.

Example 4: What day of the week is the 25th of December (Christmas Day) in 2024? (Learners need to have a calendar for 2024 available, or be able to access one). Find the year 2024 on a calendar. Locate the month of December. Find the 25th of December and see what day of the week it falls on.

Answer: Wednesday.

Example 5: How many days are there between the 10th of August and the 20th of August?

Count the days: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,

2

0. There are 10 days between the 10th and the 20th. (Important

Note: this example asks for the number of days between, so we exclude the start date.) Guided Practice (With Solutions)

Question 1: What time is shown on an analogue clock if the hour hand is pointing directly at the 6 and the minute hand is pointing directly at the 12?

Solution: The hour hand is pointing at the 6, so the hour is

6. The minute hand is pointing at the 12, which means o'clock.

Therefore, the time is 6 o'clock, or 6:

0

0. Question 2: A digital clock shows 4:

1

5. What time is this in "quarter past" terminology?

Solution: The digital clock shows 4 hours and 15 minutes. 15 minutes past the hour is known as "quarter past." Therefore, the time is quarter past

4. Question 3: Thando starts reading her book at 10:00 AM and finishes at 11:30 A

M. How long did she read for?

Solution: End time: 11:30 AM Start time: 10:00 AM Subtract the hours: 11 - 10 = 1 hour Subtract the minutes: 30 - 00 = 30 minutes Therefore, Thando read for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Question 4: What day of the week comes after Wednesday?

Solution: The days of the week are: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. The day after Wednesday is Thursday.

Question 5: Lebo's birthday is on the 5th of September. School starts on the 15th of January. How many months fully pass between the start of school and her birthday?

Solution: From January to September includes January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September (9 months total) Since we want to know the full months between them, we do not include September, so the months are January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and August.

Therefore, 8 full months pass.