Sleep Duration

Grade: 5
Duration: 60 minutes
Subjects:
Math:
Understanding of duration and elapsed time
Conversions of time using multiplication and division skills
Science (cross-curricular connection):
Length of time for Earths rotation around its axis
Length of Earths revolution around the sun
o
o

Curricular content:
Math:
Duration, using measurement of time
Multiplication and division up three digits, including division with
remainders
Learning intention:
Students will be able to make conversions between years, days,
hours, minutes, and seconds
Formative assessment:
Write explanation for task performed displaying the steps taken
and why in math journal
o Reflect on own work and explain what made it easier to
understand and what was challenging
o Write any questions you may have to address or to classify
as a wonder
Materials:
Chart paper
Dry-erase markers
Clock manipulatives
Lesson Format:
Before Phase
Activating prior knowledge:
Students should be able to understand elapsed time.
Ask students, have you ever thought about how long you spend
on certain activities, such as spending time at school? Have you
ever calculated how long you spend on tasks?

Understanding the task:

Go over basic time conversions and connect it to Earth and Sun
o How long does it take the Earth to travel once around the
Sun? So, 1 year = ___ days
o How long does it take the Earth to make one full rotation
on its axis? So, 1 day = ___ hours
o How have we decided to split up an hour? So, 1 hour = ___
minutes
o How have we decided to split up minutes? So, 1 minute =
___ seconds
Students should be able to solve these questions using
multiplication and division skills that were introduced
previously in the year
o Students can use multiplication and division strategies that
they prefer to use
o Can use clocks as manipulatives to assist with problems if
they find it necessary
Establishing Expectations:
Students are to work in groups of three to four on either a white
board or window surrounding the classroom
Students will share ideas for how to solve the problems
Students are free to use clock manipulatives in class if they want
Students are to use the basic time conversions (previous
knowledge) in class to solve the challenges
Problems will be reviewed as a class
During Phase
Let go!
Ask what time students go to bed (approximately) and what time
they wake up (approximately) - write these numbers on the
board
Show problems on board:
Problem 1 - How long were you asleep, in hours? In minutes? In
seconds?
Problem 2 - How long would you be awake today if you go to bed
at the same time tonight, in hours? In minutes? In seconds?
Problem 3 - If you slept this much every day for the past year,
how many hours were you asleep last year?
Be Curious:
Students can use methods of solving that they prefer
o Circulate to answer questions or clear misconceptions if
any

o
o

Allow students to share their thought processes with you

by explaining their work
Ask students who have completed their work how they
came up with a solution with prompts such as:
Tell me what you are doing.
I see you have started to [multiply] these numbers.
Can you tell me why you are [multiplying]?
[Substitute any process/strategy]
Can you tell me more about?
Why did you?
How did you solve it?
How does your picture connect to your equation?
Im not sure I understand what youve done here.
Can you explain it so I can make sense of it?
As suggested by Van de

Walle et. al.

Provide appropriate support:
Ensure the student understands the task: What are you trying to
figure out? If needed, change the context to a more familiar one
so that the student does understand it.
Change the mathematics to a parallel task with simpler values.
This is something students will eventually do on their own.
Ask students what they have tried: What have you tried so far?
Where did you get stuck?
Suggest that the student use a different strategy: Have you
thought about drawing a picture? What if you used cubes to
act out this problem?
Work independently with students who are struggling with the
concept
o Practice elapsed time and time conversions individually
o Provide some basic conversion sentences if student is
struggling to understand the concept
Provide worthwhile extensions:
How many days are you asleep per year?
How many days have you slept in your entire life? How long have
you been awake in your entire life?
After Phase

Engage the class in productive discussion, helping students work

together as a community of learners.
Take this second major opportunity to find out how students are
thinkinghow they are approaching the task.

Make connections between strategies or different mathematical

ideas and/or lay the groundwork for future tasks and activities.

Future connections/considerations:
What does the rotation of Earth on its axis mean in terms of
time?
What does the revolution of Earth around the Sun mean in terms
of time

Bibliography:
Walle, John A. Van d., Sandra Folk, Karen Karp, Jennifer Bay-Williams.
Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching
Developmentally, 4th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 01/2015.
VitalBook file.
https://www.nsa.gov/academia/_files/collected_learning/elementary/me
asurements/a_day_in_time.pdf