Even before children can tell time, they want to know how long they can play outside

and when
their parents will return home from work. They may also notice the hands moving on an analog
clock or the numbers changing on a digital clock. Since schedules are an essential part of a
child’s daily life, children naturally become curious about time. Sometimes, my children will sit
in front of a clock just to wait for it to make its next move. These are golden opportunities to
teach learners how to tell time. An exhibit in the form of an Analog clock is probably the best
media to teach grade three learners the concept of telling time. This essay is a write up on how
the improvised analog clock can be used for a lesson development when teaching the concept of
telling time. Key terms are defined below and these are; exhibit and an analogue clock.

Clocks are instruments that measure and show the time (Amadi, 2002). An analog clock is a
clock or watch that has moving hands and (usually) hours marked from 1 to 12 to show you the
time (Adebimpe, 2005). In short, an analogue clock is a clock with three moving hands, namely
the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand to show you the time. An exhibit in this context
refers to evidence which can be used by the teacher to substantiate to what has been described or
explained. It can be defined as media used to convey meaning or implications of the concept. In
other words, exhibit is the concrete or visual or audio evidence to what is being taught to
learners.

Students learn to tell time, typically in primary school, however, without consistent use of analog
clocks, learners lose that ability to tell time. When it comes to the time management aspect of
executive functioning skills, there is a lot to be said for watching the minute hands tick around
the clock as time passes. The passage of time on a digital clock just doesn’t have the concrete
visual impact that the ticking hands has on the face of an analog clock. Executive functioning
skills such as attention, foresight, task completion, and others play a role in telling time and
managing time.

The improvised analog can be used in lesson development. Teaching primary school learners
how to tell time can start with the process of discovering the parts of a clock. Many of young
learners are exposed to only the digital clock of a smart phone, a microwave clock, stove clock,
or the digital time shown on a television cable box, for example (Amadi, 2002). The important
skill of learning to tell time is just not a part of the typical day for many learners. This means that
the exhibit will give learners an opportunity to discover the structure and parts of an analog
clock.

Learners need to familiarise themselves with the clock (Eniayeju, 2005). The teacher can teach
time by introducing hour and minute hands. This well-made clock lets learners focus on the hour
and minute hands without distracting colors. The engraved numbers and minute marks allow
learners to feel the important clock components. The teacher need not to label the hands since
learners should be required to just focus on the size and orientation of the hands. The teacher
explains that the hour hand is short and the minute hand is long. Then he/she demonstrates how
to move the hour and minute hands.

The exhibit can also assist learners to master skip method of mastering skip counting by 5s.
(Bassey, 2002). Next, the teacher can teach learners how to skip count by 5s by recognizing the
pattern on the hundred chart. The teacher can remove strips written numbers such that learners
can be able to tell time even if it’s numbered in Roman Numerals (Eshiet, 2001). After learners
have the clock numbers committed to memory, the teacher can see if they remember the position
of the numbers when presented with a numberless clock. The teacher can create a simple
pegging activity to match the numbers to the clock.

In conclusion, this essay has explicitly explained how the improvised clock can be used to
develop the concept of time in the classroom. Media is so important in as much as teaching and
learning is concerned because it is an eye-opener. It helps the teacher to convey his message with
efficacy and clarity. It is the best way of motivating learners to learn and it is the hub of every
teaching and learning in primary school learners.
References

Amadi, R. (2002). Harnessing Educational Resources in the teaching of history of sustainable

development. Journal of Teacher Education (1) pp 140-141

Adebimpe, A. O. (2005). Improvisation of Science Teaching Resource. Science Teachers

Association of Nigeria, 40th Annual Conference Proceeding, 55-60

Bassey, U. (2002). Science and Technology and Mathematics (STM) Education. As a Basis for
Sustainable Industrialization. 43rd Annual Conference of Science Teachers Association of
Nigeria

Eshiet, I. T. (2001). Using Local Resources in Teaching. Journal of the Royal Society of
Chemistry (RSC). London 25, 718-120.

Eniayeju, I. E. (2005). Improvisation of Effective Learning of Physics: The Asaba Education

Technical and Science Education Journal, 1 (1), 92-93