Stage 4 – Supporting speakers of Aboriginal English
Supporting Speakers of Aboriginal English
Calculate different times across Australian and world time zones and calculate elapsed time.
Strategy
Students can:
- calculate different times across Australian and world time zones
- calculate elapsed time
Activities to support the strategy
Activity 1: Supporting students who are speakers of Aboriginal English
1. Place a map of Australia on IWB or wall, with each state and territory labelled.
2. Explain time zones and place time zone labels on map.
3. Divide class into three rows, representing each of the time zones of Australia.
| Western | Central | Eastern |
|---|---|---|
| Western Australia | Northern Territory South Australia |
Queensland New South Wales Australian Capital Territory Victoria Tasmania |
4. Students are given the opportunity (chance) to use a phone to ring someone in another state/territory, using both 12- and 24-hour time:
Telephone Resource: 2 tins connected by string
- Script Caller: Hi, it's (name) It's 9 here, what's it there?
- Receiver: Hey, you woke me too early. It's (time)
Ask students to identify the time difference for each phone call. If having difficulty, teacher to prompt.
5. Teacher reinforces time zone differences and displays time zone differences around the classroom. This could be done using SNAP 2006 question 22. Teacher unpacks this question and gives each student a copy. Using an IWB, show students how to scan for a question. Teacher will identify and mark where the question mark (?) appears.
6. Teacher will locate the beginning of the question and state why it is the beginning (look for capital letter). Explain that the question is the key, therefore all students should underline the whole question. State the other text/diagram is information which will need to be looked at later.
7. Another good way to engage Aboriginal students is to use gestures. Read aloud the question and then rephrase the question into a series of different questions, focusing on the use of Aboriginal English, specific to the local area and gestures.
- What was the time in Nyungar Country, Perth when Jarrah got there?
- What time did Peter arrive in Perth?
8. Skim the text and diagram to find and highlight key information. Information includes words, mathematical terms and diagrams. Ask students to underline key words/numbers and write own meaning above, e.g. Jarrah took a plane from home to Nyungar Country, Perth to see his mob. The plane left Sydney at 13:20. He travelled for 4 hours and 50 minutes.
9. Teacher provides explanation, linking time zones to travel time and using the map.
10. Teacher explores mathematical concepts using the worksheet 'Times':
- Jarrah leaves at 13:20. Discuss 24-hour time, including minutes. Jarrah's flight takes 4 hours 50 minutes.
- Add travel time to leaving time 13:20 + 4 h 50 min.
Discuss conversion of time:
- What time do we now have in Sydney time? What time is it back home?
Convert to Perth time.
- What time is it in Perth? What time is it here for the WA Mob? 18: 10 - 2h.
11. Refining the answer, teacher guides students to consider all information and adjust answer as necessary.
12. Teacher then leads students to reflect on the answer, using answer options to work through a process of elimination. Make sure the answer is in 24-hour time.
Is our answer available as a choice? Is it there? Is my answer the same as one of the choices? If so, does it make sense? If the answer is not there, repeat the steps, looking carefully at the mathematical processes.
Activity 2: Supporting students in the languages classroom
Calculating differences between time zones is used in the languages classroom to encourage students to ask simple questions and express twenty-four hour time in the target language.
1. Provide students with a map of the world or a large country showing major cities and different time zones.
References
Australian curriculum
ACMMG199: Solve problems involving duration, including using 12 and 24-hour time within a single time zone
NSW syllabus
MA4-15MG: Performs calculations of time that involve mixed units, and interprets time zones.
Links to other curriculum areas: Geography
Teacher resources
Numeracy app
World Clock – Time Zones: Select a city to find out its offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the country’s flag, the country’s time zone name and abbreviation, as well as its offset from your current location
