Rich Learning Tasks

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Clocks
Questions to facilitate the learning
• Why did the amount of time from start to end have to be more than 3 hours?
• What is the longest time it could have been? How do you know?
• How might you have set your clocks to make it 5 1
2 hours from start to end?
• Could the time have been 4 hours and 45 minutes? Explain.
Scaffolding the learning
• How much time has passed if you move the hour hand from between 6 and 7 to between 7 and 8?
• What time would it be after 3 hours from your start?
• What do you know about the time if your ‘start’ minute hand is on 7 and your ‘end’ minute hand is on 1?
Extending the learning
Students might determine all the possible start and end times if the time was 6 hours and 22 minutes.
What’s the point of this task?
Calculating the amount of time that an event lasts is an important life skill. Many students struggle to
determine elapsed time when noon or midnight is crossed and particularly when the times are not on the
hour or half hour. This task is set up so that the initial time has to be something like 6:42 or 7:38 and the
final time is on the other side of the hour: e.g. 1:12 or 2:05. Because students are allowed to choose their
own times, they can stick with multiples of 5 minutes or even half-hour intervals if that makes them
more comfortable.
Students should be encouraged to use number lines or the clocks with moveable hands to help them
calculate elapsed time.
Measurement