Teaching Elapsed Time

Telling time and elapsed time always seems to be a tricky concept for kiddos.  Even though it is tricky, it's definitely a skill that they will need in the future and one we spend a lot of time on in second grade.  After reviewing telling time, we spend the bulk of our time on elapsed time.  We start by watching a Brainpop Jr on elapsed time and then make an anchor chart together.

Then, we do lots and lots of practice on the white boards. I will give students a start and end time and they have to figure out how much time has passed in between. Or I will give students a start time, how much time passes, and they have to figure out what time it ends. And, the trickiest, I give students an end time, how much time passes, and they have to figure out the beginning time.

After white board practice, I like to put it in real-life situations for them. I think when you can put math into a real life problem, it makes it easier for kids to understand. We worked on the below Elapsed Time Story Problems for two days.  The best part is it is already differentiated! There are three sets of story problems (12 cards each). A beginner, intermediate, and advanced version are included so you can differentiate and meet the needs of all of your students. The cards all have similar story problems, but the numbers are changed to differentiate.

Beginner Version

Intermediate Version

Advanced Version

Student Recording Sheet

This is now for sale in my TPT store. It's called Elapsed Time Story Problems - Differentiated.  Hope it helps your kiddos like it helped mine!