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S-29

The child doesn't understand time: mixes up the days of the week, can't read a clock

time-conceptssequencingspatial-thinkinggrade-2grade-3
Type: verbalType: dyslexic
What the research says
Developing time concepts about natural phenomena, distinguishing the concepts of “seasons,” “months” and “24-hour day” based on their features, learning temporal sequence and being able to work with the hierarchy of time units in practical activities are necessary prerequisites for mastering counting operations.
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, p. 32 (2005)
Exercises at home — free
Time strip: from the day to the months
Builds: Temporal sequence — the child learns to put events in order
You need: cards with the names of the parts of the day, the days of the week and the months, a rope or ribbon
  1. Lay out the parts-of-the-day cards in a row: morning — afternoon — evening — night.
  2. The child puts them in order and says: “After morning comes afternoon.”
  3. Harder: the cards are mixed up — the child restores the order.
  4. Next level: the days of the week — the same thing.
  5. Final step: the months of the year — lay them out and name the neighbors of any month.
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, ch. 4
The seasons in order
Builds: Cyclical sequence — preparing for the number line
You need: 4 cards with the seasons (drawn or printed)
  1. Make 4 cards, each with a word or picture: winter, spring, summer, fall.
  2. Shuffle them and ask the child to lay them out in order.
  3. Ask: “What comes after summer? What was before winter? Which season is missing?”
  4. Harder: remove one card — the child works out which one is missing.
  5. Link to math: “The seasons go around in a circle, like the numbers on the number strip.”
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, pp. 119–120
Find the mistake in the sequence
Builds: Restoring a broken order — understanding “before” and “after”
You need: 4 season cards in the wrong order
  1. Lay the cards out in the wrong order: summer — winter — spring — fall.
  2. Say: “There's a mistake here. Find it.”
  3. The child finds what's out of order and moves the card.
  4. After the fix: “Tell me what comes after what.”
  5. Harder: two mistakes at once.
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, p. 120
Yesterday — today — tomorrow
Builds: Orientation in relative time concepts
You need: 3 sheets of paper labeled “YESTERDAY,” “TODAY” and “TOMORROW,” a calendar
  1. Lay the three sheets out from left to right: yesterday — today — tomorrow.
  2. Ask: “What's the date today? What was it yesterday? What will it be tomorrow?”
  3. Show it on the calendar: “Here's today. To the left is yesterday. To the right is tomorrow.”
  4. “If today is Wednesday, what day was yesterday? What day will tomorrow be?”
  5. Link to math: “Numbers work the same way: to the left is smaller, to the right is bigger.”
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, p. 121
Parts of the day in order
Builds: Cyclical sequence of short periods of time
You need: 4 cards: morning, afternoon, evening, night (words or symbols)
  1. Make the cards: morning (the sun is low), afternoon (the sun is high), evening (the sun is setting), night (the moon).
  2. Shuffle them and ask the child to lay them out in order.
  3. Ask: “What happens in the morning? What do you do in the evening? What comes after evening?”
  4. Remove one card: “Which part of the day is missing?”
  5. Harder: “I'll name an activity — you tell me when it happens. Having breakfast? Going to bed?”
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, pp. 122–124
What comes first, what comes next?
Builds: Cause-and-time sequence — the foundation for solving word problems
You need: 4 cards showing a sequence of everyday actions (draw them)
  1. Draw 4 pictures of one process: 1) a dirty plate, 2) a faucet with running water, 3) a soapy sponge, 4) a clean plate on the drying rack.
  2. Shuffle them and ask the child to lay them out in order.
  3. Ask: “What was done first? What came next? Why can't they be swapped?”
  4. Harder: remove one — “What's missing?”
  5. Link to math: “A word problem has an order too — you can't add before you know how many there were.”
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, p. 125
Days of the week — neighbors
Builds: Ordinal relationships in a cycle — an analogy to the number line
You need: 7 cards with the days of the week
  1. Lay them out in order: Mon — Tue — Wed — Thu — Fri — Sat — Sun.
  2. Ask: “Who is Wednesday's neighbor? What day comes before Friday? What day comes after Thursday?”
  3. Remove one card: “Which day is missing?”
  4. Game: the child closes their eyes, you swap two days — the child finds the mistake.
  5. Link to math: “Like numbers, the days of the week always go in the same order. Friday is the fifth day, like the number 5.”
Lalaeva R.I. Dyscalculia in Children, 2005, p. 121
Seasonal nonsense
Builds: Time concepts and logical thinking
You need: 4 season cards, each with one object that “doesn't belong”
  1. Show the “Summer” card: the sun, flowers, children in swimsuits — and a snowman.
  2. Ask: “What's right? And what doesn't happen in summer?”
  3. The child removes what doesn't belong and explains.
  4. Show all four cards one at a time. Each has one or two mistakes.
  5. After all of them: “Name the seasons in order. Which one comes after which?”
  6. Game “True or not?”: “Summer comes before spring” — the child corrects it.
Baryaeva L.B., Kondratyeva S.Yu. Dyscalculia in Children, 2013, pp. 78–79
True or not? Time chains
Builds: Understanding time relationships, drawing inferences
You need: nothing
  1. Say a sentence — the child decides whether it's true or not and explains.
  2. “Summer comes before spring” (no — after). “Fall comes before winter” (yes).
  3. “Winter comes after fall” (yes). “Spring comes after summer” (no).
  4. “Evening comes after afternoon” (yes). “Morning comes before evening” (no — before afternoon).
  5. If the child makes a mistake, repeat the sentence and give them time to think.
  6. Harder: the child makes up sentences, and the adult guesses.
  7. Advanced level: “What comes after Monday?”, “What comes before Wednesday?”
Baryaeva L.B., Kondratyeva S.Yu. Dyscalculia in Children, 2013, p. 79
Without help
  • Difficulty with problems about time and speed
  • Not understanding units of time and how they relate to each other
Related cards
S-03S-28