McKinley, a fourth grader at Crane, has graciously volunteered to demonstrate a great strategy that many of the students in our school prefer for determining elapsed time. The strategy is performed on an open number line, and students put the starting time at the beginning of the line (left), and the ending time at the end of the line (right). Students use their knowledge of landmarks/ benchmarks on the clock, including half hours and hours, and their overall knowledge of minute and hour equivalents to draw out the passage of time on a number line. Each student's response may look a little different, but there are certainly more efficient ways to do the strategy than others. Students are always encouraged to move toward more efficient strategies as they develop better understanding.
Please view McKinley's video below for a great example.
