Telling the time and understanding the passing of time is a lesser-known difficulty experienced by those with dyscalculia, and sometimes those with dyslexia. In this first blog in a series of three on time I unpick exactly why learning to tell the time is so challenging.
Let’s begin by unpicking the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to tell the time – just on an analogue clock:
Numeral recognition and sequencing:
- Identifying numbers (1 – 12)
- Sequencing numbers (1-12)
- Understanding that there is a cycle (after 12 comes 1 again)
Counting skills:
- Counting by 1s from 1 to 60 (to name the minutes individually)
- Counting by 5s from 5 to 60 (to map each hour numeral to its minute value)
Spatial awareness:
- Locating positions of the numerals (12 at the top, 3 at the right, 6 at the bottom, 9 at the left)
- Following a clockwise direction
- Understanding that each number / tick is the same ‘distance’ around the clock face
Hand recognition and labelling
- Visually distinguishing between the hour, minute and second hands
- Naming each hand
- Knowing each hand’s rotation speed (hour hand: one full turn in 12 hours; minute hand: one full turn in 60 minutes; second hand: one full turn in 60 seconds)
Mapping the value
- Mapping each numeral to its minute value (so ‘1’ is 5 minutes, ‘2’ is 10 minutes, and so on)
- Using the minute increments: when the minute hand doesn’t point to a numeral, knowing how to count the single minutes using the incremental marks
Hour hand interpretation
- Knowing that when the hour hand is on a numeral then that is the hour
- Knowing that when the hour hand is half way between two numerals then the lesser number is the hour
- Knowing that when the hour hand is on ‘6’ it is half past.
- Knowing that when the hour hand is on ‘3’ it is quarter past and when it is on ‘9’ it is quarter to.
Minute hand interpretation
- Reading the minute hand’s numeral and multiplying it by five gets the minutes past the hour
- Counting the increment marks past the numeral gives the ‘extra’ minutes (e.g. two marks past ‘3’ is 3 x 5 + 2 = 22 minutes
Combining the hours and minutes
- Stating the time (e.g. six twenty three, four forty)
- Using ‘past’ and ‘to’ (e.g. knowing that when there are between 1 and 30 minutes, it is ‘past’ the hour and when there are between 31 and 59 minutes it is ‘to’ the hour)
Conventions and vocabulary
- Using o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to
- Understanding am and pm on a 12-hour clock (especially knowing we have 11am then 12pm then 1pm!)
- Writing the time using ‘:’ and not ‘.’ (2:45, not 2.45)
- Reading 2:45 as “two forty-five” and not as “two point four five” (and knowing this is different to 2.45 when reading decimal numbers
Motor skills
- Setting the clock manually
- Writing the time down
The passing of time
- Calculating the duration between two times (e.g. what time will it be in 35 minutes?)
And that list is only for reading an analogue clock! In addition to learning the 24-hour clock and 12-hour digital clocks, there are timetables to learn to read alongside understanding larger units of time and their chronological position (e.g. yesterday, the day after tomorrow, in a fortnight, next month, next year, last century). In addition to this, being able to estimate the passing of time is important (“I will be ready in about ten minutes”) and understanding when time is used as a turn of phrase rather than a specific time (e.g. “Just a second” or, exaggeratedly, “It took hours”).
So why is this so difficult to learn?
Learning to tell the time can be challenging for many children, but it is especially challenging for people with specific learning difficulties in maths, dyscalculia or dyslexia.
Number sense
Because people with dyscalculia struggle with the magnitude (size) of number, their understanding of numbers and their relationships is often weak. This affects aspects such as knowing that 5 minutes is less than 15 minutes and knowing that the minute hand on 12 means ‘o’clock’ and when it is on 6 it means ‘half past’. Reading a digital clock and understanding the relative size of numbers (e.g. 45 vs 15) can be difficult to judge.
Spatial reasoning
Often, people with specific learning difficulties in maths experience difficulties in spatial reasoning. Spatial reasoning is the ability to understand and mentally manipulate shapes, positions, directions and relationships in space. When telling the time, this can impair judging where the hour and minute hands are pointing or recognising that the minute hand moving affects the position of the hour hand. If an individual has difficulties with spatial reasoning, they may find it hard to tell which number the hand is closest to, get confused by the idea that the same position on the clock fact means different things for the hour and minute hands, estimating how far a hand has travelled around the clock face (e.g. half way or three quarters), or struggle with the circular layout (1 follows 12, and 12 is the ‘start’ – not 1). Analogue clocks require interpreting spatial positions and angles, hands moving in a circular and continuous direction requires mental rotation and spatial estimation. Seeing that half past is half way around the dial may not be obvious to someone with spatial reasoning difficulties.
Dyslexia
Dyslexic tendencies can also affect telling the time. Confusing symbols like 2 and 5 or 6 and 9 impacts accurate reading. Dyslexia often involves difficulties with sequencing (like days of the week, months or number order) so remembering that 1 comes after 12 can trip individuals up. Spelling ‘o’clock’ is not an easy task!
Working memory
Holding and manipulating information in the head can be challenging for people with a range of specific learning difficulties. When telling the time an individual needs to look at where both the hour and minute hands are, hold that information in their head, apply the rules (the short hand is the hour, the long hand is the minutes – multiply the numeral by 5 and add on how many marks more) and then say it in the correct way: “22 minutes to 3 pm”.
Language processing
Telling the time uses several conventions that have to be memorised and applied. This can be a challenge for individuals with dyscalculia and dyslexia. Remembering when to say am and pm is often a challenge in itself, as we use the convention of 11am followed by 12pm. Convention also uses “quarter to six” when the time is five forty-five (5:45).
Processing speed
An individual with processing speed difficulties may find it hard to tell the time because it involves several steps done quickly and in order. It requires fast visual processing and mental calculation. The language used is indirect, which adds to processing demands.
So how do you teach your learner wtih SpLD in maths or dyscalculia to tell the time? Read on here. For practical strategies about telling the time read here.
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