Lesson Plan | Active Learning | Time Conversion

Assumptions: This Active Lesson Plan assumes: a 100-minute class, prior student study with both the Book and the start of Project development, and that only one activity (among the three suggested) will be chosen to be conducted during the class, as each activity is designed to take up a significant portion of the available time.

Objectives

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

The objectives stage is crucial for directing students' focus toward what is essential. Here, the teacher should clearly establish what is expected of students to learn and be able to do by the end of the lesson, ensuring they understand the fundamental concepts of time unit conversion and are prepared to apply them in practical situations. Additionally, this section serves to motivate students, showing the importance and utility of the content they are about to explore.

Main Objectives:

1. Empower students to convert units of time, understanding and applying the relationship between seconds, minutes, and hours.

2. Enable students to solve practical problems involving the conversion of units of time, developing mathematical skills and logical reasoning.

Side Objectives:

1. Encourage collaboration and discussion among students during practical activities to reinforce learning.

Introduction

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

The introduction serves to engage students and review prior concepts about the conversion of time units. The proposed problem situations aim to stimulate critical thinking and practical application of knowledge, preparing students for the more complex activities that will follow. The contextualization seeks to connect mathematical content with real situations and historical curiosities, increasing interest and perceived relevance of the subject.

Problem-Based Situations

1. Imagine you are watching a movie and want to know how much time has passed since it started. If the movie started at 14:30 and now it is 16:15, how much time has passed in hours and minutes?

2. If you decide to run 1 hour a day for a week, how many minutes will you spend running in total? Convert the total time from hours to minutes.

Contextualization

The ability to convert units of time is essential in everyday situations, such as arriving on time for an appointment, calculating the duration of activities, or understanding the schedule of events. Interestingly, the standardization of time is a relatively modern concept. Before the invention of mechanical clocks, people used methods like sundials or tracked time based on the positions of the sun or candles that burned at a predictable rate. This history may help understand the importance of measuring and converting time.

Development

Duration: (70 - 75 minutes)

The development stage is designed for students to practically and playfully apply the concepts of time unit conversion studied previously. By working in groups, they will not only reinforce their mathematical understanding but also develop teamwork and communication skills. Each proposed activity aims to contextualize mathematics in real and challenging situations, ensuring meaningful and enjoyable learning.

Activity Suggestions

It is recommended to carry out only one of the suggested activities

Activity 1 - Time Detectives

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Develop skills for converting and applying units of time in a playful and collaborative context.

- Description: In this activity, students will be transformed into detectives who need to solve a time mystery. They will receive a 'time dossier' containing a series of events that occurred at different times, recorded in different units of time (seconds, minutes, hours). The challenge is to convert these units so that the detectives can reconstruct the correct sequence of events and solve the mystery.

- Instructions:

• Divide the class into groups of up to 5 students.

• Distribute a time dossier to each group, containing cards with events and their respective time units.

• Ask each group to convert all time units to a single standard (e.g., hours).

• Each group should then order the events on a correct timeline using the conversions made.

• At the end, each group presents its timeline and justifies its conversion choices.

• Class discussion on the different approaches and results.

Activity 2 - The Great Time Tournament

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Practice converting units of time in a competitive environment, encouraging speed and accuracy.

- Description: Students will participate in a math tournament where they will need to convert units of time to progress through the stages. Each stage of the tournament presents a different challenge involving time conversion, and the groups that can convert correctly in the shortest possible time will advance to the next stage.

- Instructions:

• Organize the class into groups of up to 5 students.

• Explain the tournament rules, where each group will face time conversion challenges at different stations.

• At each station, students must solve a conversion problem to advance to the next one.

• Provide materials like clocks, calculators, and conversion tables to assist the groups.

• Guide students to record their answers and the time they took to solve each challenge.

• At the end, the groups that complete the most stages correctly and in the shortest time will be the winners.

Activity 3 - Party on Time

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Apply the conversion of time units in a practical and organizational context, developing planning and time management skills.

- Description: Students will be responsible for organizing the schedule of a big party, converting times for different activities to ensure everything happens on schedule. They will need to calculate the total time for each activity and convert it to minutes, in addition to considering breaks between activities.

- Instructions:

• Divide the class into groups of up to 5 students.

• Present the party scenario, with a list of activities and their times in various time formats.

• Groups must convert each time to minutes and calculate the total time for each activity.

• Ask them to plan breaks between activities so the party runs smoothly.

• Each group presents its plan and explains the conversions made.

• Discussion about the challenges encountered and strategies used.

Feedback

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

The purpose of this feedback stage is to consolidate students' learning, allowing them to articulate and reflect on the time conversion concepts they applied in practical activities. This discussion helps identify and correct any misunderstandings, as well as promote a deeper understanding of the topic through sharing experiences and strategies among groups. It is also an opportunity for the teacher to assess the effectiveness of the teaching and the degree of student assimilation.

Group Discussion

After completing the activities, gather all students for a group discussion. Start the discussion with a brief introduction: 'Today, we explored how to convert units of time in very different scenarios. I would like each group to share a challenge they faced and how they managed to overcome it.' Encourage students to discuss not only the correct answers but also the thought process that led them there. This is a moment for reflection and mutual learning.

Key Questions

1. What were the biggest challenges you faced when converting time units during the activities?

2. How did collaboration within the group help solve the more complex problems?

3. Was there any conversion strategy that proved particularly effective? Why?

Conclusion

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

The purpose of this conclusion stage is to ensure that students have consolidated the knowledge acquired throughout the lesson. Summarizing key points helps reinforce memory and understanding of fundamental concepts, while discussing the applicability of the topic in real life aims to connect learning to practice, showing students the relevance and utility of what has been studied. This stage also serves to check if the learning objectives have been achieved and if further review is needed.

Summary

To conclude, let's recap what we learned today about converting units of time. We reviewed the relationship between seconds, minutes, and hours, and how to convert between them. Practical activities, such as 'Time Detectives', 'The Great Time Tournament', and 'Party on Time', allowed us to apply these concepts in various scenarios, reinforcing students' understanding.

Theory Connection

Today's lesson was structured to connect theory with practice in a dynamic and engaging way. The proposed activities were designed for students to directly apply theoretical knowledge in everyday and challenging situations, facilitating the assimilation of mathematical concepts of time conversion in a real and meaningful manner.

Closing

Understanding the conversion of time units is crucial, not just for academic success in mathematics, but also for daily life. From planning time for daily activities to understanding event schedules, this skill is essential. It is hoped that after this lesson, students will be able to apply these concepts in various situations, becoming more effective in managing time in their lives.