Introduction to Place and Time

Overview

In this first lesson of the unit, students begin by exploring two ideas: place (where things happen) and time (when things happen). They connect these concepts to their own routines by describing regular places they go and changes they notice over time, using simple time language and clear mapping of locations.

Learning intentions

• Students will identify familiar places they visit regularly and describe what happens there.
• Students will describe how time affects their lives by using everyday time words (for example: morning, lunchtime, after school).
• Students will recognise that clocks show time and that minutes move in steps around the clock face.
• Students will use appropriate mathematical and everyday language to communicate location and time clearly.

Success criteria

• I can name at least three places I visit regularly and describe a reason I go there.
• I can use time words to explain when I visit each place.
• I can read and show a time to the nearest minute on a clock (including matching analog and digital displays).
• I can explain one change I have noticed in a familiar place over time.

Curriculum links

• Measurement: VC2M3M04 — reading times to the nearest minute and describing the relationship between hours and minutes on analog and digital clocks.
• Measurement: VC2M3M03 — using formal units of time (days, hours, minutes) to estimate and compare duration of events.
• Language: VC2E3LA08 — understanding that verbs are anchored in time through tense (for example, “go” vs “went”, “is” vs “was”).
• Space: VC2M3SP02 — interpreting and creating simple two-dimensional representations of familiar environments and locating key landmarks relative to each other.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 min · Hook: “My day, my places”. Teacher displays four sentence stems on the board and reads them aloud: “In the morning I…”, “At lunchtime I…”, “After school I…”, “On weekends I…”. Students turn-and-talk to add one place they go for each stem and share one idea with the class.

2. 8–18 min · Direct teach: place + time language. Teacher models two examples using a real student-friendly scenario (for example: “In the morning I go to the library. I study there.” / “Last year the library had fewer computers.”). Teacher explicitly highlights verbs in different tenses (is/was, go/went) and asks students to notice when time is being “set” in the sentence. Students practise with mini oral rehearsals: choose one place and say one “when” sentence and one “change” sentence.

3. 18–28 min · Clock connection: minutes move. Teacher shows an analog clock and a digital time (to the nearest minute) and points to the minute hand movement. Teacher explains that the minute hand moves around the clock and we can read the time to the nearest minute. Students complete a whole-class “gesture reading”: teacher calls a time (for example, 3:20), students hold up fingers to show the minute number and then point to the hour and minute hands.

4. 28–43 min · Create: personal place map + timeline labels. Teacher gives each student a simple classroom template: a rough 2D “map area” (top-down) and a box for labels. Students draw their “regular places route” in 2D (for example: home → school gate → classroom → canteen/office). Then they add two time labels using time words (morning, lunchtime, after school) and one clock time to the nearest minute for a selected routine (for example: “10:15 is recess in my memory schedule” or “At 2:30 I go to the office”). Teacher circulates, checking correct clock reading and clear location relationships (relative positions like next to, near, between).

5. 43–55 min · Share: notice place changes over time. In groups of 3, students choose one place on their map and describe a change they have noticed (for example: “The playground colour changed” or “A new sign appeared near the oval”). Teacher reminds students to include time-setting language and correct verb tense: “It is…” for now, “It was…” for the past. Groups share one best example with the class.

6. 55–60 min · Exit ticket: read + write time. Students complete a quick card:

• Part A: circle the correct digital time for an analog clock (nearest minute).
• Part B: write one sentence using a tense (for example: “At 9:00 I go to …” or “Last year I went to …”). Teacher collects for formative assessment.

Resources

• Analog clock (teacher) with visible minute markings
• Digital clock display cards (times to the nearest minute)
• Student clock cut-outs or small classroom clocks
• “My day, my places” sentence stem cards
• Simple 2D map template (home/school route box) and pencils/colouring pencils
• Clock reading worksheet/exit ticket cards
• Timer for routine transitions (optional)

Assessment

• Observation during the minute-hand gesture activity: students correctly identify hour and minute positions and can match analog to digital to the nearest minute.
• Teacher conferencing while students draw maps and add time labels: students use location language (near, between, next to) and appropriate time words.
• Exit ticket checking: accuracy reading time to the nearest minute and correct tense use in a short sentence.

Differentiation

• Support: provide a word bank for time words (morning, lunchtime, after school, tonight, last year) and location words (near, next to, between); allow students to use sentence starters for the share task.
• Support: for clock reading, offer a “3-step scaffold” on the board (find 12/60 anchor, read minute first, then hour) and provide colour coding for hour/minute hands on student clocks.
• Extension: challenge students to add a second clock time (for example start and end of an activity) and compare durations using minutes (for example, “It lasts 10 minutes longer”).
• EAL/SEN: permit oral responses recorded by the teacher, and use visual cues (icons for morning/lunch/after school) to reduce language load while still assessing time and place concepts.