Time: Video playlist

How long is a minute? Sabrina wants to enter a competition to rap the most words in one minute but is not sure how long this is. Children explore what they can do in one minute providing useful reference points e.g. 60 star jumps as each takes one second. Sabrina considers how we can see one minute passing on the clock as the minute hand moves from one little line to the next, recognising that there are 60 little lines around the clock. She finds it easier to use a sand timer to measure one minute in order to practise her rap. She raps for one minute, managing to say 180 words in that time.

Show the children a one-minute timer and see if they can be silent for one minute. What else can they do in one minute? Whose name can you write the most times in one minute? Why? Help children to recognise that if the name is short, it is quicker to write. Ask children if they can count the little lines round a clock. How many are there all together? How many are there between 1 and 2, or 2 and 3? Once they have had a chance to investigate, tell them that there are 60 lines round the clock because there are 60 minutes in one hour.