Time

Astronaut reaction speed

Quality AssuredCategory:ComputingPublisher:STEM Learning

This activity includes a game-based approach to measuring reaction speed. Fast reflexes are vital to astronauts who may need to deal with rapidly escalating incidents and high-speed projectiles.

The effect of distraction on reaction speed is investigated – students collect multiple readings and take averages, discussing the validity of results.

Time Zones

Quality AssuredCategory:MathematicsPublisher:Twig

This film is aimed at secondary, but may be used with upper primary learners. It looks at time zones around the planet and how these changes affect people.

The key points made in the film are:

•There are 24 time zones, which are regions on Earth that are bound by longitudinal lines.
•Local time depends on what time zone you are in.
•The system of Greenwich Mean Time was established in 1884, and by 1929 most countries had aligned their clocks accordingly.
•At any given moment, the time will be different in different places in the world.

The Spinning Earth

Quality AssuredCategory:SciencePublisher:Royal Observatory Greenwich

In this activity, children are introduced to the rotating Earth and the concept of longitude. They will carry out arithmetic that relates the 24 hour clock with the Earth’s rotation. The questions in the activity require an understanding of angle: one hour being equal to 15 degrees rotation of the Earth.

Working Internationally

Quality AssuredCategory:MathematicsPublisher:Department for Education

The first two pages could be used to provide an activity where children use their knowledge oof time zones and apply this to the real world. They record the time in different time zones on the provided worksheet. They then consider some of the consequences of one time zone stretching across a considerable geographic space (Paris to Warsaw or the single state of China) or having different time zones within one country (the US uses five different time zones). This resource has been created for lower secondary, but could be adapted for use with older primary learners, or used to extend thinking and learning about time zones.

Earth and space: space presenters

Quality AssuredCategory:SciencePublisher:Hamilton Trust

A collection of lesson plans and practical activities based around the Sun, Moon and Earth. They explore why we have  day and night, the four seasons and the Moon’s phases. The Sun and planets making up our Solar System are also investigated.