Time: Video playlist

How long is five minutes? Sabrina examines different ways to measure five minutes and measures Tempo’s five minute shower. Children discuss the devices they use to measure five minutes, such as a clock, a timer on a tablet and a kitchen timer. They also talk about when that is useful, for example in turn taking. Sabrina and the children make a clock cake for Tempo’s birthday, complete with 12 numbers and 60 little lines. They work out how to show five past on the cake clock, carefully counting the little lines and relate this to the number of fingers on one hand. Six people with 12 hands are gathered around the clock cake, and each hand could show the five minute intervals.

Children can use this to investigate the number five. If each person has five fingers on each hand, how many hands would you need to show 10 fingers? 30 fingers? 60 fingers? 15 fingers?Count in fives, initially whispering the numbers that are not multiples of five and say the multiples of five loudly so that the children learn the pattern. Count the little lines round the clock to check that there are five little lines between each pair of numbers. Count round the clock in fives, pointing to each number to work out how many little lines there are.