Time for all Ages

Designed by: Priscilla McPheeters, Caughman Road Elementary

Grade Level: Fourth     Subject: Science

Core Curriculum Objective: Research and compare the technology humans have used to measure time through out history. (4SES2-f)

Overview: Students will brainstorm in a cooperative group what they know about the history of timekeeping. The groups will each collaboratively create a KWL chart about time keeping. The students will explore the major technological advances in timekeeping. The students will research in a small group a specific type of time keeping technology of interest to them. The students will share their research with the class in chronological order. Students will complete the KWL chart with what they learned. The students will then compare the time keeping technologies in writing by writing a friendly letter to Father Time.

Focus Question: 
How have humans measured time through history? 
How are the inventions alike and how are they different?

Time Frame: Six one hour lessons

Resources/Materials:
How Things Work by David Macaulay 
The World Book Young Scientist- Machines 
Assortment of clocks, stopwatches, coo-coo clock, hour glass or minute timer etc... 

Time songs 
Time by Hootie and the BlowFish, 
Time by The Rolling Stones, 
New York Minute by Don Henley

 www.time.gov and links to http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/time.html 

www.britannica.com/clockworks/main.html 

http://webexhibits.org/calendars 

Computer lab with 8-10 computers 

Averkey 

Chart paper 

Markers 

Poster board

Culminating Assessment 
The Students will break up into 10 groups according to their preference. The students will research the human technology used to tell time using the Internet and print resources. The groups will present their findings to the class in a presentation format. The students and the teacher will negotiate whether a poster, model or diagram is required. The students will then individually write a friendly letter to Father Time analyzing time technology. The students will discuss the similarities and differences in time technology with at least four different time technologies. The students will be evaluated by the following rubric.

Time Research Project Rubric

Instructional Activities 

Activity one
Have many of the clocks out to create interest in the lesson. Play one of the songs about "time" to open the lesson. Ask the students "What do you think we are about to study?" Take a few answers Establish that we are going to talk about how humans have kept track of time and the technology they have developed. Have the children break up into groups of three to four and create a KWL chart with chart paper. Example: 

Have the children first fill out the column "What we Know" about how humans have kept track of time. Each group will share the teacher will write down each groups contributions on a master chart. The students then return to their charts and write down what they would like to know. Again a discussion follows and the teacher writes down each groups contributions under the column "What we want to know".

The teacher should have the website www.time.gov bookmarked. Using the Averkey the students should be seated where they can see the screen. The site opens with a map of the USA marked into time zones. The teacher can tie the graphic through a discussion to the student's prior learning about the Earth/Sun relationship. The teacher then needs to pull up the website http://webexhibits.org/calendars. The class can see how different cultures kept track of time. Ex. where the names for the month came from, how man keeps track of the years, the students can see the Rosette Stone the ancient Mayans created. The students should clearly see that humans developed our system of time measurement based on the Earth's rotation around the Sun and all the time mechanisms that followed worked within this system.

The activity should finish by looking at the KWL chart and see what the students all ready knew and if any of their questions had been answered yet.

Activity Two
Begin the lesson with another song about Time. Ask the students "Why do we keep track of time?" Discuss their answers and lead them to see that Man has ordered the day for reasons of business, pleasure, worship, etc.... Hand out the Culminating Activity rubric and discuss with the students that they are going to research a specific type of time technology and write a letter to Father Time. The teacher should ask, "Who is Father Time?" "Why do we humans personify things Father Time, New Years Baby, Uncle Sam?" The teacher can lead the discussion around to the point that it helps us to grasp topics in ways we can relate to. Being as old as time or a new year seen as a baby.

The teacher then needs to move to the site http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/time/time.html A Walk Through Time using an Averkey. The teacher can move through the time line paying particular attention to human need pushing the technology thus tying this lesson to their prior learning from third grade 3SES11. The teacher should demonstrate with the various types of clocks available in the classroom. The teacher should also be helping the group to see similarities and differences in the different technologies. Some of the early clocks were all based on how long it took for something to happen like a candle burn or sand to run out.

The students need to choose which specific time keeping technology they wish to research. The teacher should pull up the website www.britannica.com/clockworks/main.html The teacher should already have written down the ten different types of time technology (Sundial, Clepsydra, Astrolabe, Candle clock, Sand glass, Weight driven clock, Spring driven clock, Pendulum clock, Quartz clock, Cesium Atom clock). Allow the students to choose which one they would like to research. Depending on the size of your class you can allow two to three students to sign up for each technology. If one technology is full have a student make a second choice. The students can be allowed to pick alphabetically or from a random cup.

Explain to the groups that tomorrow you will be going to the computer lab so each group will be able to use the internet site www.britannica.com/clockworks/main.html also available should be print resources The Way Things Work by David Macaulay, Encyclopedias Volume C, The World Book Young Scientist Machines.

The students and the teacher need to negotiate the type of presentation each group is going to make. This needs to be voted on and majority rules. The choices could be a poster board, a diagram or a model demonstration or any other creative presentation you can decide upon.

Activity Three
The students should go to the computer lab or media center. The students should be allowed to research their technology using the Internet or print resources The teacher should circulate throughout the room answering questions and giving feedback.

Activity Four
The students should be allowed to work in their groups on their presentations. The teacher should circulate and answer questions and offer feedback. Groups that finish can practice their presentations for each other.

With about 15-20 minutes left in class have the students get into their KWL groups and discuss what they have learned during this project. It is preferable that the children have studied different time technology to deepen their collective knowledge base.

Activity Five
The groups will present their projects. The students in the audience will take notes to complete the written portion of their assessment. After each presentation the students may ask questions of the presenting group. Each group's posters, models etc. will be placed in a time museum in the classroom. (I have found that usually you can get about six to seven presentations done in an hour class period)

Activity Six
The presentations will continue. (finish the 3 to 4 presentations left approx. 30 min) Each student will write a friendly letter to Father Time comparing at least four time technologies. The students can use their own research and the notes they took from the other groups' presentations. (Approx. 30 min). The students will be assessed using the Culminating Assessment Rubric.