Ms. Reloj is teaching second grade. One of her responsibilities is to teach her students how to tell time. She is concerned that her students will think that learning how to tell time is boring. What recommendations do you have for Ms. Reloj? Fill out the table located in the handout and submit the completed table as your Chapter 7 assignment.
Your primary goal in this assignment is to apply the concepts discussed in the section “Key Ideas in Information Processing Theory.” You should use your textbook’s Development and Practice section titled, “Developmental Trends: Basic Information Processing Abilities at Different Age Levels” as a guide.
Provide three recommendations for each section that is targeted to address the specific implication of information processing.
Each recommendation is explained clearly.
—|— Attention | Make the lesson engaging and relevant to students’ lives. | Second graders have short attention spans, so it is important to keep them engaged in the learning process. Ms. Reloj can do this by using a variety of activities and teaching methods, such as games, songs, and hands-on activities. She can also make the lesson relevant to students’ lives by connecting it to their daily routines and interests. For example, she could ask students to identify the times of day when they do certain things, such as eat breakfast, go to school, and play outside. | Use visual aids and concrete materials. | Second graders learn best visually and kinesthetically, so it is important to use visual aids and concrete materials when teaching them how to tell time. Ms. Reloj can use a variety of visual aids, such as clocks, diagrams, and pictures. She can also use concrete materials, such as toy clocks and manipulatives. For example, she could give each student a toy clock and have them practice setting the clock to different times. Working Memory | Break down the task of telling time into smaller steps. | Telling time is a complex task that requires students to use their working memory. Ms. Reloj can help students by breaking down the task into smaller, more manageable steps. For example, she could teach students how to read the hour hand first, then the minute hand, and then the second hand. She could also use mnemonic devices to help students remember the different parts of the clock and how to tell time. For example, she could teach students the following rhyme:
“The big hand tells the hour, the little hand tells the minute, and the skinny hand tells the seconds.”
Chunking | Group related information together. | Chunking is a process of grouping related information together to make it easier to remember. Ms. Reloj can help students chunk information about telling time by grouping related items together. For example, she could group the numbers on the clock into groups of five (0-5, 5-10, 10-15, etc.). She could also group the different parts of the clock together (hour hand, minute hand, second hand). | Provide opportunities for practice. | The best way for students to learn how to tell time is to practice. Ms. Reloj can provide opportunities for practice by giving students a variety of activities to do, such as:
- Having students practice setting and reading a clock
- Playing games that involve telling time
- Giving students worksheets or other practice materials
- Creating a classroom clock display where students can track the time throughout the day
According to the textbook’s Development and Practice section titled, “Developmental Trends: Basic Information Processing Abilities at Different Age Levels,” second graders have the following information processing abilities:
Ms. Reloj can use this information to inform her teaching methods and activities. For example, she can keep her lessons short and engaging, and she can provide opportunities for students to practice chunking information.
By following the recommendations above, Ms. Reloj can create a fun and engaging learning environment for her students while also teaching them the important skill of telling time.
Here are some additional recommendations that Ms. Reloj can follow to make her lessons on telling time even more effective: