How is it there has never been a child friendly way of teaching time?
It’s a skill every child must master yet still it is taught to our children in exactly the same way as it was taught to us and our grandparents so no surprise that the same learning curve is as dull and lengthy as ever. Teaching time remains a subject that many teachers feel to be one of the most frustrating of all to teach.
Yet quietly in one corner of the United Kingdom a new easier and quicker method of teaching children how to tell the time has arrived- and it works! Called Aramazu- after a make believe land that runs out of time- this story led approach turns the traditional method on its head and instead uses logic that young children can understand to explain the mysteries of the analogue clock face.
Following successful trials in eight Somerset primary schools, in 2014 Skyla Publishing, the creators of Aramazu, introduced the Aramazu Teach the Time Pack which already has been adopted by 29 schools in that county. At the heart of each pack is the interactive dvd “Understanding analogue and digital time” which holds the Aramazu stories as video books with dramatised commentary for IWB presentation accompanied by supporting lesson plans, printable activity sheets and, for the classroom, up to 30 robust laminated pupils practice clocks.
With two entry points, counting to twelve (KS/1) and counting to sixty (KS/2) the arrival of the Aramazu Teach the time Pack coincides with the arrival of the new National Curriculum and a higher profile now given to “time’.
If you go online, you can find a 14 day free trial on offer for all UK teachers at www.aramazu.com/teach-time.