Author:  Paula 

  TEACHER'S NOTE:  YIKES, ELAPSED TIME!!!!  Quite the nightmare concept 
  to teach.  We do it though... :-)

        Our grade level invested in the large teaching Judy Instructo 
        clocks.  The student ones are not geared, and it made it 
        difficult for some to manipulate, so we bought 20 large geared 
        clocks.  (One for each teacher and 15 to share between classes.)
        This really helped.  (You could also check for cheap battery 
        operated ones, but the knobs/gears are tough to manipulate.
        I used those for a year before we got the Judy clocks.)

        We used real life examples... 

          Movie guides  (If one show starts at 1:10 and
          the next one starts at 3:30, how much time passes?)

          TV guides  (Of course this only helps with 30, 60,90
          and 120 minute time frames, but it is a good one to 
          start with and gives them practice looking at tables.

          We also use bus schedules and our own classroom schedule.

  EXAMPLE: 
          Give the start time of school and the end time... 
          Kids figure out how long they are at school.  

          Then give them the time when you typically come to school 
          and leave school... They will be very surprised how much 
          time you spend there!

          At least once a day, I ask a question like:

          "Look at the time.  We have PE at 11:15, how much time do 
          you have to work on this project?"

                                  or

          "We will work on this for 20 more minutes, and then go 
          outside.  What time will we go outside?"

  TEACHER'S NOTE: I do this almost every day of the year, but do 
  more of it as we are learning the concept.... Which I teach early
  in the year.)

  Obviously, I start off with easier ones.  As the year progresses
  they get harder.  It also helps students learn to manage their
  time better.

  I also give parents suggestions to help their child at home... 
  I give them sample questions like,

        "You have hockey practice at 6:30.  It takes 15 minutes to
        get to the rink, what time do we have to leave the house in
        order to get there on time?"

                                  or

        "We are leaving for Grandma's house at 2:00, it takes us 3
        hours to get there, and we are stopping for 30 minutes
        to eat, what time will we get to Grandma's?"

  Students also make up their own elapsed time problems and we solve
  them as a class.

  Students make time lines of a typical school day and figure out how
  much time we spend on each activity.

  The activity in our book focuses on a schedule of events at an 
  amusement park and asks questions like "What is the longest 
  activity?" "What activity can you go to if you have to leave the 
  park by 2:00?" etc.

                   PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!!

        If you have further questions, feel free to e-mail me.